Re: What's in a name?

This topic always gets me in trouble with the thin-skinned IBMers in NY but hey,
I'm already dirty...
Most companies when then acquire another company, refer to the products they
want to retain as  "COMPANY PRODUCT".
For example: Adobe acquired Macromedia and is rebranding "Macromedia Flash" as
"Adobe Flash".

If a company acquires another company's products and wants to keep the company
as an independent entity for various reason, they tend to do this:
"Rational Software"
"An IBM Company"

Then they maintain their independence. 

I don't pretend to understand why "Parent-Company Acquired-Company
parent-Company-Product" is IBM's style. But naming products has never been
something IBM has been good at, according to Lou Gerstner.

I mean, you typically have three entities to play with, with products:
1) Brand
2) Packaging
3) Product
For example:

Microsoft Office
Microsoft Word

The first is Brand/Packaging
The second is Brand/Product (or "offering" as some like to call it).

That way whenever "brand" appears on some other product or packaging, customers
and prospects know what to expect because they've either used the brand before
or they've seen the advertising/marketing for Brand/Product.
Anytime you add "intermediate" things into a product identity it can contribute
to diminishing that product's identity. 

I know of no other company that changes product identities every time they
reorganize their internal corporate structure. Customers don't care who reports
to who (oh sure a few groupies care, and the business press reports on it for
the financial markets, but that's not customers). 

Certainly IBM is more like GM in structure than it is like Microsoft or Adobe.
But GM hasn't changed its divisions brand identity for nearly a century. They
may have attempted to introduce new brands and retire old ones, but I  can't
really remember if they actually ever succeeded in doing so.

I know that Gillette recently rebranded "Right Guard" as "Axe" because "Right
Guard" wasn't perceived as "cool" to this new generation of consumers. And that
worked. The problem is, the 16 to 30 year old market has buying decision power
for "Axe" at $2/can. But they don't have buying power for corporate systems.

If you want to marginalize the Windows/Intel platform due to low margins then
call that division something like:
"IBM Micro System Division"
iSeries would be "IBM Midrange Systems Division"
Mainframe would "IBM Enterprise Systems Division"

And then refer to this _only_ as:
IBM Micro
IBM Midrange
IBM Enterprise

If they want to be a software company too, then use:
IBM WebSphere

When referring to a product, don't tie it to the platform.
"IBM WebSphere Studio"
Then under "system requirements" list the platforms on which it runs.
Under "features" list the platforms for which it can be used to develop.
You can also add the "... for iSeries" or "... for Windows" to the product
identity as a subline/mice-type to allow the customer to more quickly identify
the products platform.

Obviously I'm no expert on marketing and I don't know what is behind some of the
naming situations. It just seems odd that we as loyal customers have to struggle
to determine what a product brand identity is, with some regularity. 

-Bob Cozzi
www.i5PodCast.com
Ask your manager to watch i5 TV


-----Original Message-----
From: wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Weber, Richard
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 7:22 AM
To: 'Websphere Development Studio Client for iSeries'
Subject: Re: [WDSCI-L] What's in a name?

Your question made me think: Isn't it about time for IBM to change the name
again? ;-)

Rick Weber  |  TOYS 'Я' US International 

-----Original Message-----
From: DennisRootes@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:DennisRootes@xxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 4:17 PM
To: wdsci-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [WDSCI-L] What's in a name?

I've been reading all the posts on V 7.0 of WDSCi and that made me start 
to think.  I use  Rational Web Developer, but whether I start the Web 
Developer or WDSCi 6.0, or Rational Software Development Platform - they 
all seem to look and act exactly alike even though they are three separate 
entries under IBM Rational in my start menu.  So what's the diff?  And 
does 7.0 have one name or all three?  Is it still called Rational?

Thanks,

Dennis