tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post5211909742149282855..comments2024-01-31T09:09:55.123-08:00Comments on Lubor On Tech: Why Do We Rename Products?Lubor Ptacekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08543751955416339809noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-42174899108922150002011-09-30T04:05:42.257-07:002011-09-30T04:05:42.257-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-48204059990255950552011-05-02T14:41:28.978-07:002011-05-02T14:41:28.978-07:00Thanks for your comment, Shishank!Thanks for your comment, Shishank!Lubor Ptacekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08543751955416339809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-16556226840571619662011-05-02T14:35:55.222-07:002011-05-02T14:35:55.222-07:00Great Post ! I think re-branding works differently...Great Post ! I think re-branding works differently especially in software industry. Re-banding is either to kill the competition or enhance their offerings. And I am more inclined towards branded house strategy which makes more sense for provided expanded solution.<br /><br />ThanksShishankhttp://www.shishank.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-65283767231144563172011-05-02T13:34:00.473-07:002011-05-02T13:34:00.473-07:00While I understand your point about bringing the b...While I understand your point about bringing the brands under the house brand umbrella, I think that you examples are a bit misleading. The Apple, BMW and GM Brands are products that they developed and not products that they acquired. In those cases it makes sense to have the branding as consistent with the parent brand. <br /><br />The issue that I see with for example the Vignette and Artesia re-branding is that there is an existing community that knows this name. Granted the communities may be small and the original companies may have financial issues but the customers and analysts know these names. I think that a more appropriate comparison would be IBM. When they acquire companies they slap the IBM name in front and call it a day. Yes I know that there are always exceptions to this, but if I am looking for their Maximo product I can find it under IBM Maximo even though it was purchased by IBM 5 years ago.<br /><br />Given the pace of acquisitions by Open Text I think that the re-branding exercise creates market confusion as opposed to a sense of calm and stability.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-81397989060032868022011-05-02T09:28:21.108-07:002011-05-02T09:28:21.108-07:00Apropos emotions. Isn't that what successful b...Apropos emotions. Isn't that what successful brands are all about?<br /><br />So it's not the emotions triggered by a re-branding change ... it's the positive emotions associated to a brand that trigger a buying signal which are easily destroyed by a "rational" re-branding exercise.<br /><br />(Just did a quick search for http://www.google.com/search?q=brand+emotion ... and came across the following quote:<br /><br />"A feature can always be matched. A claim can always be mimicked. But an emotional sweet spot is something your brand can occupy all by itself. "<br /><br />in http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2007/sb2007118_797874_page_2.htm)Pelimuchttp://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/nov2007/sb2007118_797874_page_2.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-52780446218948551762011-05-02T09:20:41.568-07:002011-05-02T09:20:41.568-07:00Excellent point on the divestment and subsequent m...Excellent point on the divestment and subsequent mergers, Peter. Thanks!Lubor Ptacekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08543751955416339809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-30344838514993158302011-05-02T09:16:11.861-07:002011-05-02T09:16:11.861-07:00There is an advantage to the "house of brands...There is an advantage to the "house of brands" approach not mentioned yet: divestment is much easier.<br /><br />You can sell a whole product line w/o any damage to your other brands or the mother brand and esp. not the brand you sell.<br /><br />Happens in the Consumer Goods & Food Industry all the time.<br /><br />Sometimes even mandated by the Trade Commission (see for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procter_%26_Gamble).<br /><br />Also, a brand can better survive consecutive mergers that way (see for example Milka - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milka) and the owning company can more easily position competing products in the same segment.Pelimuchttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procter_%26_Gamblenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-53913551563540528222011-05-02T08:54:46.391-07:002011-05-02T08:54:46.391-07:00Thanks for your comment, Martin. Indeed, there is ...Thanks for your comment, Martin. Indeed, there is usually some thought and a strategy behind any brand evolution. Branding is also never static and the strategy itself may and will change overtime. Your examples are spot on.Lubor Ptacekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08543751955416339809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-62581757431907273562011-05-02T08:36:22.484-07:002011-05-02T08:36:22.484-07:00Thanks for your comments, Yuval. I've responde...Thanks for your comments, Yuval. I've responded already to Peter about the BMW example. I completely agree with your comments on the difficulties of executing acquisitions. Acquisitions are not easy and branding is just one of the elements of integration that need to be thought through. There is always plenty of other issues that can go right or wrong.Lubor Ptacekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08543751955416339809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-35580657789794819412011-05-02T08:32:46.317-07:002011-05-02T08:32:46.317-07:00It seems software companies that make many acquisi...It seems software companies that make many acquisitions are criticized for frequent rebranding. As you point out Lubor there is business benefit to rebranding - so in some ways re-branding is a right and necessity earned by growth.<br /><br />To use your car brand analogy, GM dropped the Pontiac brand, and before that Oldsmobile, as they were shrinking. And when Toyota was a rising star they created the Lexus brand. BMY had to transform the acquired Mini brand to llose the association with poor quality while building on its 'hipness'.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01278261442670898730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-73295951115515326512011-05-02T08:30:10.929-07:002011-05-02T08:30:10.929-07:00Thanks for your comment, Peter. I was indeed aware...Thanks for your comment, Peter. I was indeed aware of the fact that BMW owns the Mini and Rolls Royce brands. It actually proves my point - since they are completely different, the value of the BMW brand does not project onto the Mini and RR brands. That happens when companies grow and diversify beyond their original core value proposition. But point taken - BMW is no longer a pure 'branded house' anymore.Lubor Ptacekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08543751955416339809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-90378678021888986942011-05-02T07:24:32.359-07:002011-05-02T07:24:32.359-07:00Great Post.
One thing that makes me question the b...Great Post.<br />One thing that makes me question the branding value, especially when we look at BMW example. all of the brand values of BMW transition into the Mini cooper and its not branded BMW.<br />This makes me wonder if the move to slowly digest other brands brings value in the end or creates confusion in the market that later on brings insecurity.<br />Mos of the people i talk to still call Adobe WEM Day Software, it has merits as the product is better assessed this way and you can tell its past.<br />Another thing you stated is that "the response to a brand change is emotional" first thing is that all our dealing with brands are emotional based and less value based, second history carries also emotion and i think that the wish of the purchased to remove the history creates negative emotions rather then positive.<br />In the long run it is the most logical thing to do as integration into the buying company offers a coherent solution and not a patchwork of solutions.<br />But some time the integration will kill the product as the culture is a miss for most engineers and they leave thus rendering the product dead.<br />So not all integrations are success.<br />Hope ours is a great success as it seems to be at the moment.Yuval Ararathttp://www.yuvalararat.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6850103531860448581.post-57900448186369229522011-05-02T07:17:02.129-07:002011-05-02T07:17:02.129-07:00Actually, BMW is not as strict as you portray them...Actually, BMW is not as strict as you portray them to be. Guess who owns the Mini and Rolls Royce (cars) brand?Pelimuchttp://www.mini.comnoreply@blogger.com