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This strikes me as terrible advice for startups. "Microsoft" is an extremely well known brand name. Standing behind that name rather than diluting it with 10 o
by hemancuso 15y ago
This strikes me as terrible advice for startups.
"Microsoft" is an extremely well known brand name. Standing behind that name rather than diluting it with 10 other sub-brands makes a lot of sense.
But if Instagram called itself "Camera" or "Camera Filter" or "Social Camera" or something exceedingly simple, it would not likely have caught the same traction. The name Instragram has now come to mean something unique. The same way the word "Microsoft" is now loaded with all sorts of connotations.
I agree that forcing users into a new vocabulary doesn't make much sense, but startups need to differentiate themselves on branding. Throwing in a word like "tweet" to compliment "twitter" makes a lot of sense.
- benwerd 15y agoI don't disagree with you at all. Updated my post to make that clearer.
- Bud 15y agoI think you're missing the point. Choosing ONE brand name and making it stick = good. Choosing seven words where one would do = bad. For instance, I just found myself browsing through a list of new Microsoft products. I found a mouse there called the "Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Limited Edition". That's just hilarious. Anyone can see that that's hilarious, and not effective branding.
- function_seven 15y agoMy first laugh-out-loud experience with this was the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch. That's exactly how the TV adverts introduced it. I couldn't keep up.
- moe 15y agoSamsung really has a knack for branding, I especially like their Nexus line. There's the Nexus One, the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy Nexus S, the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S Plus and the Galaxy S2. Give or take a few...
- AndrewDucker 15y agoThe Nexus One is an HTC phone, because the Nexus line of phones are a _Google_ brand, which switches manufacturer (and follow on from the G1). The Galaxy line is Samsung's brand. Obviously, the two brands have crossed over a couple of times.