The RazorKnow Organisation

Well not everyone is aware that McDonalds also owns several other bands such as Boston Markets; 650 stores in 23 states, Chipotle Mexican Grill; 230 stores in 10 states, Donato’s Pizza 200 stores in 10 states, Pret a Manager 140 stores in 4 countries, Fazoli’s 400 units in 32 states and two countries. Of this the company derives 2 Billion in annual sales, this is not even counting McDonalds. Many people are unaware of this because McDonald’s has not connected the dots. However other franchise companies which franchise and have multiple brands have.

The question shall always be to you co-market to the same customers or serve separate niches. It depends, McDonalds seems to be targeting different customers althoguh if you consider in the US people eat major meals 2-3 times per day and there are 7 days a week, we are talking about 14-21 opportunities to feed them, now obviously other than single males, most of our population will eat the majority of meals at home. However how many of those meals will be eaten out side the home and of those visits to QSRs how many can McDonalds pick up.

Apparently after considering the additional 2 billion a year in sales, quite a few and remember McDonals is in 141 countries thus far so perhaps the cannibalization discussed in the franchising industry is a US thing for McDonalds and is not affecting it’s other brands here yet or all of it’s overseas markets for it’s stead fast Micky Ds Brand. Think about it Pizza, Chicken, Tacos, Italian and Pretzels? Oh yah that Hamburger thing will never work? Sure, that is what they told Ray Kroc in the beginning, guess they were wrong.

Are you sure it is just about the Real Estate? Or did you just quote someone in a Speech one day?

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When Mitsubishi launched a new car with the name “Pajero” on the Spanish market, it became obvious very soon that the name chosen was not optimal because it immediately was the subject of jokes due to its homophony with a Spanish expression related to masturbation.

The same happened to Ford’s model “Pinto” (Portuguese for male genital) in Brazil where it was quickly renamed into “Corcel”(horse).

There is quite a long list of product names that give food to the dirty mind be they chosen accidentaly or deliberately. Obviously there seems to be a kind of tradition for this in the history of naming which originally started with place names.

Some of our ancestors obviously were too innocent to realize what burden they place on their offspring when naming places like Pratts Bottom (Kent), Brown Willy (Cornwall), Lickey End (near Birmingham), Booby Dingle (Powys), Great Cockup (Cumbria). Even places such as Thong (Kent) seem to have revealed far too much for not being the victim of lewd remarks.

The European continent, however, is also challenging the innocent mind of the English speaking travellers. In Southern Bavaria they will come across a village with the name of “Petting” and about eleven miles from there, in neighbouring Upper Austria, the shock might be inevitable when they enter the village of “Fucking”. Inspite of the fact that the inhabitants of Fucking have had enough with English-speaking tourists swiping their sign, they refuse to change their name. It goes back to the ancient Bavarian settlement and although this area was christianized by Irish and Scottish monks in the 9th and 10th century, an amendment of the name has never been deemed necessary.

No wonder that in many countries there are restrictions regarding the choice of a place name as a trademark for goods and services. One way around these restrictions is to distort the name so that it becomes indisputable but on a subliminal level takes advantage of the fact that sex sells. A recent example of successful distortion are the products of a British based fashion retailer called French Connection Group plc with the trademark FCUK. Linguists tell us that the power of a word depends on its context, and clearly the English word “fuck” falls into that category. To make it even more explicit, two new fragrances were launched named “FCUK Him” and “FCUK Her”.

On its website, FCUK demonstrates a clear picture of its marketing strategy. Whereas the linguistic allusions are close to Shakespeare’s bawdiness, the images remain subdued and innocent, which on the one hand is rather cynical but on the other hand tries to bridge the generation gap because most parents finance the quite conventional fashion attire that their children obtain from FCUK. Thus FCUK’s clients in each major market display a range of attitudes when confronted with the provocatively distorted four-letter mark. The American Family Association (AFA) promotes initiatives against FCUK such as prefabricated emails protesting against the exploitation of youngsters in such a manner.

Sex in marketing is bound to raise demand along with a few eyebrows which in addition either secure the necessary publicity or ban the product from the market. Branding an almost swear word in order to create a cash cow is, however, not restricted to fashion clothing and related products. On a recent visit to New Orleans I was surprised by the abundance of labels for their traditional hot pepper sauces. Besides the well known Tobasco, there are more spicy brand names such as “Burning rectum” or “Hot shit”.

It shows that name design must be ready to apply wit to anything that makes the blood boil and the label sell. Obviously this does not really work with other economic fields, for instance with tourism, because the places mentioned above are not among the hot spots that travel agents propagate in their catalogues.

About The Author

Wolfgang Nedobity is terminologist and CEO of NameDesigner. More info at www.namedesigner.at

namedesigner@A1plus.at

To begin, let’s define “Brand Identity,” which is the combination of consistent visual elements that are used in your marketing materials. A basic Brand Identity Kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and envelope. It can be extended to include a website, brochure, folder, flyer, or any other professionally designed pieces.

Having a Brand Identity is incredibly important to your business’s success. However, many business owners have some misconceptions about brand identities that can damage their businesses, and I’ve discussed those below:

My cousin can design my brand identity (logo, website, and marketing materials)
There are some very significant areas of your business that should be left to the professionals.

First of all, while your cousin may have been “great in art class,” this doesn’t mean that they have the knowledge and expertise required to create great graphic designs. Designing a logo, business card, or website is much different than painting a picture or making a collage. You must make a brand logo scalable, meaningful, and symbolic. See my article on the “9 Keys to an Effective Logo” for more information on what factors to consider when creating a great logo.

Second, by having a professional designer on your business marketing team, your projects will be a top priority. I have many potential clients who start their designs with a friend or relative, who are then “put on the back burner”, and then have their project drag on for months. After much frustration, they come to me and are amazed at how quickly things are completed. As a professional, I make your projects the most important items on my to-do list.

Finally, would you trust a friend to do something really important requiring unique skills for your business? Make an important client presentation for you, or give a speech? You probably would not, unless they’re a sales professional or a professional speaker. Would you trust a friend who’s “good with math” to do your corporate taxes? If you wouldn’t trust an amateur with an important business function, then why would you trust an amateur with your brand identity - the key to your marketing success?

Designing a custom brand identity is too expensive
It’s true that having your marketing materials designed is an expensive proposition. But, it may be even more expensive not having a high-quality, custom brand identity professionally designed - in terms of lost business, lack of respect from your clients, not being taken seriously in business. The list continues.

A strong brand identity quickly pays for itself. For most businesses, if just a few - two or three - new clients call you over the course of your business because of the equity that your brand identity develops, this new business would pay for your logo and brand identity design package. New customers will contact you because they remember your logo, hold on to your business card, or are impressed by your brochure. It’s likely that many more clients than the required few will contact you, and your business will grow from the (relatively) small initial investment in the brand identity.

Consider also that a brand identity is a sustainable expense. Once you’ve had a timeless logo and set of marketing materials designed, you can use them for years to come. And, once you have a strong logo, then creating consistent, targeted marketing pieces and programs is an easy addition to your existing system.

I don’t need a brand identity
If you are a professional in business, you need a brand identity. You wouldn’t imagine being in business without other important business essentials - your own computer, perhaps, or a business name or bank account. A brand identity is another of these basic business essentials - it’s the central piece to the marketing and promoting of your business.

My professional experience has taught me that there is nothing that looks less professional than not having a professional brand identity. If you don’t establish a clean, high-quality, and consistent look and feel to your materials, you’ll have a much more difficult time gaining the trust of a potential client - and signing them on to use your services. All of the Fortune 500 companies have a logo, and for a good reason - it makes them look more professional. If you want to be perceived as offering a high-caliber service, you have to look polished and “put together.”

About the Author

Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a brand identity and graphic
design expert. She has been helping small businesses grow with bold, clean and
effective logo and marketing material designs for over a decade. elf design offers
the comprehensive graphic and web design services of a large agency, with the one-
on-one, personalized attention of an independent design specialist. Erin works
closely in partnership with her clients to create designs that are visible, credible and
memorable - and that tell their unique business stories in a clear and consistent
way. For more information about elf design, please visit:

Logo design at http://www.elf-design.com