Famous examples of branding best practices
Let's begin with some famous brands and try to understand how they got to where they are today.
Whether it’s their entertaining origin stories, the tales of how their names came to be, or their unusual production processes and business models, these household names have been down some interesting paths and have come a long way since their inception. It just goes to show that how you start out doesn’t necessarily determine your end result, as long as you are willing to stay vigilant and adapt to changes.
Pepsi
There are many ways to come up with a name for a beverage, one of the least appetizing options seems to be evoking the sight of stomach acid and the process of digestion. It, however, worked very well for Pepsi, named after the enzyme pepsin, which breaks down proteins into smaller peptides.
First introduced as “Brad’s Drink” in 1893, Pepsi was created by Caleb Bradham, who made it at his drugstore where the drink was sold. With a history full of twist and turns, like many celebrity endorsements and its owner's bankruptcy due to sugar rations in World War two, Pepsi has become one of the most recognizable household names
Ben & Jerry’s
Ben and Jerry’s, now synonymous with delicious flavors with wacky names that reference pop culture like Cherry Garcia, The Tonight Dough and Americone Dream, only ended up in the frozen isle of supermarkets due to cost calculations early on in the company’s history.
Namely, the two geniuses behind the ice-cream brand, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, initially planned on starting a bagel company way back when they their friendship first began in high school. However, due to the costs of the equipment necessary for making bagels, the pair made a decision to sell ice-cream instead, setting up shop in a nearby college town.
Carlsberg
The story of how Carlsberg ended up with very controversial imagery on their logo touches upon how we assign meanings symbols and how they change over time. Namely, at the time of the company’s inception, in 1847, the swastika was still a positive symbol of good luck and prosperity, presumably something you’d want associated with your brand.
Used in the official trademark for Carlsberg, the swastika became quite politically charged in the 1930s, and its use by the brewery was discontinued in 1940. However, a prominent part of their brewery, which was built in 1901, called The Elephant gate, still includes swastikas.
Apple iPad
Few things are as fun to read about as feuds between big brands. Think McDonalds and Burger King, Coca Cola and Pepsi, Nike and Reebok, etc. In the tech industry, Apple leads the way in many aspects, including brand rivalries. While their operative system is commonly compared to Windows, their gadgets are usually measured against those produced by Samsung.
The tension between the two tech giants is amplified by the ongoing lawsuits, which makes it even more unusual that Samsung has been trusted by Apple to produce several crucial components for the iPad, like the screens and the A5X chips.
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce started manufacturing cars way back in 1904, and since then, despite their troubles throughout the seventies, and the eventual liquidation and acquisition by a government-owned company, they have created one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
The quality of the luxury cars they produce, which are widely regarded as the “best cars in the world”, still holds up, more than a century after the company's founding by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Namely, an estimated 75% of Rolls-Royce cars are still very much functional and can be found on roads all over the world.
Now, let’s take a look at five famous brand names that have become such a staple in our vocabulary, that we use them every day.
Kleenex
The popularity of Kleenex has led to the use of its name to refer to any type of facial tissue, regardless of the brand. Many dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster and Oxford, now include definitions in their publications defining it as such.
You don’t search for things or look words up, you “Google it”. Due to the fact that they were among the first to offer the service, the gap in the vocabulary caused by the new tech was filled with their company name.
Jacuzzi
Very few people would make the distinction between a whirlpool tub and the actual Jacuzzi name. The trademarked name is the last name of the company founder Candido Jacuzzi, who invented the hot tub for his 15-month-old son, Kenny Jacuzzi, who was born with rheumatoid arthritis.
Post-it
Post-it is what most people call any sticky note. Their recognizable yellow color came to be by accident, because the lab next-door to the Post-It team had only yellow scrap paper to use.
Xerox
Being the first of its kind, the Xerox copier is commonly used as both noun and a verb to signify any photocopier or the act of copying documents.