Brand names – don’t build the mountain twice
I never set out to build a brand and I have my suspicions of any advertising agency or designer who does.
What a brand should do is to reflect the true spirit of the group of people it represents and communicate that spirit truthfully to the world. Without truth and substance beneath, brand can only be gloss and will not survive.
The Rolling Stones’ tongue is a reflection of the lead vocalist’s anatomy and the band’s attitude. McDonald’s golden arches reflected the pioneering spirit of the company as it emerged in the 1950s, and the TGI Friday’s character spills out through its waiters, in a tradition that is handed down in their exemplary training.
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YO! is an exhilarating exclamation of life and celebrates an optimism for the future in a changing world.
I get asked why we build brand extensions like YOTEL! and YOGANIC! when their failure might reflect badly on the existing operation. Well, it seems to me that there is no need to climb the mountain twice. The YO! name has power, so I should use it. I can cope with the occasional tumble. In fact done openly it could be quite endearing. (Why don’t politicians learn that?)
The Beatles are more popular than Jesus.
John Lennon
We don’t build emotional attachments to banks, but we do to film stars and singers.
A child will resist eating something new, but wrap it up in a familiar wrapper and they’ll try it. As adults we seek things we can trust and stick with them until proven wrong.