This just in – Apple ditches the CD in the new logo for iTunes – clever move, though we wonder how much longer before the light flares and gradients start to feel tired…

(thanks for the scoop, TechCrunch)

We can’t tell if this article from BNET is simply misguided, or a thinly veiled pay-to-play piece.

If you’re thinking of changing your product, company or organization name, please read the story’s suggestions and quickly do the opposite. A few of the points to which we take issue:

1. Rejecting names because they ‘suck’ indicates you’re evaluating names against a subjective and personal set of criteria. What you should be doing is writing a brief laying out what the name needs to communicate, and evaluating candidates against that.
2. Bomgar is short, unique, memorable and absolutely 100% meaningless. Not exactly the holy grail of naming.
3. Interesting that the employee who suggests naming the company after its founder is ‘clever’. Clever like a fox. It never hurts to flatter the boss, does it?
4. You don’t have to come up with a horrible name to unify your brand – you just have to be deliberate about constructing a logical brand architecture.
5. “The company, which had revenues in excess of $22 million last year, has been on the Inc. 500 list for the last two years. Clearly, the name change paid off for Bomgar.” $22 MILLION!?!? Maybe we should change our name to Bomgar! Sorry Ms. Fenn, but post hoc ergo propter hoc doesn’t hold water.

If you’re starting or in the midst of a naming effort, RUN DON’T WALK FROM THIS ADVICE!

800 days ago we wrote, “looking and sounding different is not the be-all and end-all of branding.” It appears that the marketing geniuses at P&G have been taking BrandCulture’s admonishments to heart!

The FMCG giant has traditionally advertised Dawn, the #1 dish detergent in the country, around differentiated, value-added features: Direct Foam, Direct Foam with Bleach Alternative, Red Apple Scent with Vinegar Alternative, yada, yada, yada, see the full Dawn range of products here.

A recent BrandCulture purchase (pictured below) reveals a decidedly different approach.

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For nearly 70 years, Coach (NYSE: COH) leatherware has been associated with “classic American style,” offering handbags (representing over half of overall sales), luggage, accessories, fobs and other knickknacks.  A dominant player in the “affordable luxury” handbag category, Coach pursues a bifurcated strategy of operating “full price” and “factory” stores in different markets — but both under a single Coach masterbrand.  Although the items may appear to be the same design and quality to ill-informed consumers, they really are two separate businesses, as BrandCultureTalk recently found out much to our chagrin.

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Chalk it up to the infectious fecundity of spring, but move over American Airlines – TWA.  It’s now second place for Delta – Northwest.  Yes, after many false starts under the oft-repeated mantra of “needed industry consolidation,” United and Continental yesterday announced their boffo $3 billion + combination to create the latest and greatest and newest world’s largest airline.  Having last been through a jilted trip to the altar 2 years ago, leadership at both companies presumably had lots of time to think about what the merged entity’s brand would look like.  With a new twist on Solomonic sagacity, here’s what they decided:

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