Marketing With An Unfortunate Name
Some years back I worked with a woman named Sumi, a common Korean name.
Though she merited a promotion, the boss kept her buried in the basement, saying to the management team “I don’t want ‘Sue Me’ as the public image of this company.”
Those of us who argued that her skills and personality (rather than her name) should be used to guide her career trajectory in the firm were ignored.
The CEO had his way, and she left the company shortly thereafter.
Today, I’m working with an Indian chap named Shubham. Pronounced “ShoeBomb”, you just KNOW he’ll never get fair treatment in certain quarters.
There are, unquestionably, times when outside factors make your professional or personal name a potential liability. It explains why Isis Pharmaceuticals, connected in the public mind with a terrorist group, changed their name to Ionis.
So, flipping through TV channels at 4:45 this morning, I considered a commercial for Corona Beer and thought “THERE’s a brand that must rebuild from the bottom up. They’ve really got their work cut out for them!”
Then I thought about my client buying a building in Corona, CA. We’ve delayed announcing the purchase, lest we upset any customers.
These aren’t matters of poor translation from another language. Rather, they’re examples of people, businesses, and a community being punished for having the wrong name at the wrong time. In some cases they’re the result of hysteria from headlines and imagery manipulated by those with their own agenda.
There will always be such instances which, though neither right nor fair, are a reality. From where I sit, you have three options if it impacts your organization:
Extol the benefits of working with you and hoping the problem blows over;
Change your name and invest in re-branding yourself;
Move on to another opportunity.
I am already working on arguments of why my client has the best solution to his customer’s challenges. Yet we both recognize there are foolish people who will refuse to work with him because of the community’s coincidental sharing of a global pandemic’s name.
Recognizing you sometimes can’t work with everyone, I expect we’ll make the announcement, cross our fingers, and move on.
Still, I’m tempted to approach Corona’s mayor about changing their name before the big reveal.
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
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