The quick but healthy lunch destination Lettuce Eatery recently rebranded as Freshii.

They needed to be consistent with their offering, and by expanding to provide snacks, wraps and soups, a name change is in order. Proprietary research at Name Development shows that “more than 300 companies in the US change their name over the course of a year because they have outgrown it.”

NameWire.com, Name Development’s blog, reported on the reason to rebrand. “The name change is mainly due to Matthew Corrin, who originally wanted to be the “Starbucks of Salads,” but slowly widened his positioning to offer healthy meals and snacks. In short, he outgrew his name.”

But some are wondering if the new name was a good choice. The Torontoist interviewed Freshii’s CEO, Matthew Corrin who admitted that, “it might not be the greatest name in the world, and it doesn’t really mean anything,”  but he went on to affirm that, “it connotates freshness and fun. A name doesn’t really mean anything until you attach the brand to it.”

I guess Corrin believes his branding is firmly established. But can you really just transplant a brand promise from one name to another and expect the brand promise to shine through? After all, as NameWire pointed out, “Starbucks offers far more than just coffee and Burger King offers more than just burgers.” Lettuce Eatery at least had a very loyal following while Freshii risks not attracting new rabbits lunch goers.

Marketing Mag’s coverage showed the up side of the rebrand. They wrote that Corrin said that in Chicago, he “discovered that under the new name, stores sold more high-profit menu items like oatmeal, soup and frozen yogurt.”

There are many questions to ponder here:

1. Should Lettuce have abandoned the Lettuce name?
2. Was freshii a smart alternative?
3. Does the established brand promise of Lettuce carry over to freshii?
4. Is the freshii choice worth raising suspicion about riding the coat tails of the Fresh brand?
5. What would you have renamed Lettuce Eatery?

Note: read the entire Torontoish article for more about a supposed filing of an objection to the name with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for being too similar to Fresh, another healthy eatery in Toronto and supposed menu plagiarism.

Linked In’s tagline is “Relationships Matter.” True, but Linked In can be used for more than reaching out to others.

The social connection tool is a great way to network - not only in your current position, but when seeking employment elsewhere or hiring new customers and employees. But what Linked In can do for you beyond that is become a vehicle for establishing and maintaining your personal branding.

Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, recently contributed a guest post on SuperBlog with 5 tips for using Linked In to effectively brand yourself.

1. Use LinkedIn Groups
2. Fill out your profile completely
3. Unique URL
4. Applications (specifically WordPress blog RSS and Slideshare.net)
5. Linking

These are all great tips to make the most of Linked In, but what do you need to think about when putting yourself out there? Here are a few more tips to consider:

1. Chose a photo that represents you but is clean and professional. Don’t crop others out of a photo just because it’s the only picture you can find of you smiling - get a professional or amateur photographer to take proper pictures.
2. Don’t lie. Make sure that your profile holds you in good light, but don’t lie about any positions. If you’ve moved on from a company, change the dates of employment.
3. Use the system. Don’t expect to reap the benefits without giving Linked In a little love. Call upon connections when appropriate and show that you’re an active member.

Good luck!

It is not uncommon for those concerned with copyright to butt heads with the folks controlling the marketing, branding, and positioning. Last year, Re/Max filed opposition against real estate company Rehava, claiming that their logo was too similar.

From Re/Max’s attorney -

First of all, both names start with “r” and have logos with accent lines near the letter “e,” he said.

“It goes beyond that,” Scoville added. “If you chop the top off of the ‘h,’ you (almost) have the ‘m’ in Re/Max. The next letter is an ‘a,’ and if you take the ‘v’ then you have half of an ‘x.’ “

Naturally this became a big topic of discussion among blogs, forums, newspapers, and I’m sure a few conversations over copy. Whatever brand equity Re/Max thought they were losing with Rehava joining the real estate scene…it could not possibly have been as costly as their bongus lawsuit.

At some point…Re/Max got the message. Apparently the local franchisees and affiliates went nuts over the lawsuit - but not over any alleged logo similarity…but because the company who ultimately holds the most power over the reputation of their individual businesses was acting so inappropriately and being lambasted for it.

So what can you learn from this? Pick your battles and do everything you can to talk the legal minds who get paid the big bucks to protect the company’s intellectual property and copyright…aren’t acting in ways that would ultimately degrade the reputation and qulaity of the assets they are working to preserve.

Source: Neatorama and Charleston Business Journal

As if the Barack Obama brand couldn’t get any stronger in the final weeks leading up to the 2008 Presidential election in the United States, this week, Colin Powell endorsed Obama. 

Powell has a long history in U.S. politics and a strong brand image.  It’s the icing on the cake for Obama, particularly as he tells the nation that Powell would be an integral advisor if he is elected, even suggesting that he’d offer Powell a formal role in his administration if Powell were interested.

On the flip side, Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live this week doing little more than reminding everyone why her brand image doesn’t appeal to the majority of Americans.

Of course, the election isn’t over yet.  Regardless of what people say now, it all depends on who shows up on Election Day and actually votes.  In the meantime, the brand positioning will continue.  It’s certainly been an interesting election to watch from a political branding perspective.

Your thoughts (from a branding perspective, not a political perspective, please)?

Image: Flickr

The new Radiance line from Procter & Gamble’s Downy Simple Pleasures is a perfect example of branding, package design and advertising/marketing support that works in unity to create a consistent and compelling message.  It also differentiates the products in the line not just in package appearance but also in brand perception.  Let’s take a look…

First, check out the package design that is not only unique and stands out on a store shelf, as Beth Nori from The Dieline can attest to in her post on the subject, but also creates a clear brand image.  There is no doubt this package is meant to communicate upscale and luxurious indulgence.

And a close up of one of the bottles:

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Wal-Mart doesn’t want Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States.  According to a Reuters article, Obama supports a bill that would make it easier for workers, including Wal-Mart employees, to form unions.  Wal-Mart doesn’t like unions.  Wal-Mart likes people who belong to unions to shop at their stores, but Wal-Mart doesn’t want to employ them.  It’s a branding dichotomy.

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In an expose by 20/20 last month, it was discovered that many consumers purchase new tires for their cars, thinking they’re getting what they paid for - new tires - when in actuality, those tires have been sitting on a shelf in a stockroom for nearly a decade or more. 

Over 100 deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to aged tires that car owners had no idea were not new when they bought them.  Despite the deaths, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not passed regulations related to the shelf life of tires that can become brittle and crack causing what could be an extremely dangerous situation or even death - as 100 families can attest to.  Smells like a lawsuit.

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Since 1999, Harris Interactive has been conducting an annual study that ranks the reputations of Corporate America as viewed by the American public.  In 2008, the Harris Interactive Corporate Reputation study found that 71% of Americans believe the reputation of Corporate America is “poor”, but some companies are bucking the trend and building a positive, public brand reputation. 

At the top of the list of the 60 most visible U.S. companies in terms of having a positive reputation is Google who kicked Microsoft out of the top spot.  Microsoft held the number one spot for just one year after ousting Johnson & Johnson from that position in 2007 for the first time since the study began nine years ago. Check out the top 10 companies below.

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A study of people around the globe by Pew Research Center shows that the international community likes Barack Obama’s brand image more than John McCain’s.  I suppose this isn’t a surprise.

The research shows that the world expects the next U.S. President to improve the country’s policies internationally, and they think Barack Obama will have a greater impact in implementing that change than John McCain.

Check out the results below which show the percentage of people who have “a lot or some confidence” in each U.S. Presidential candidate: Read more

Can you explain your brand identity, meaning your brand position, purpose, promise and image, in one sentence? 

If you can, that’s great.  It means you have a clear definition of your current brand identity. 

If not, you need to take some time to define your brand so you can consistently communicate your brand message across all of your customer touch points. Read more