"Legend" became Lenovo, "太太药业" (tài tài yào ye) became "健康元" (jiàn kāng yuán): brand renaming has become a recent trend. Why did these brands choose to change the names they worked so hard to market?Were these choices brilliant strategic coups or fatal marketing miscalculations? Labbrand Research Team seeks the answer in this issue of the Newsletter.

Few in the industry have forgotten the infamous Legend/Lenovo renaming case. In April 2003, Chinese consumer electronics company Legend (联想) announced that it would change its name to Lenovo. In just the previous year, Legend ranked No.4 on the list of "Most Valuable Chinese Brands" and was estimated to value 20 billion RMB. The abrupt change meant not only the loss of the brand’s value to the company, but also additional investment to market the new brand. Industry professionals and the public were baffled: was there something wrong with the original name?

Looking at the word, "legend" is easy to articulate and has a sound relatable to its Chinese name: "联想"(legend→lián xiǎng). The name also denotes something that is traditional and monumental, while its Chinese counterpart "联想"(lián xiǎng) can be translated as "association" or "inspirations". All of these words create positive evocations for the consumer; from a linguistic standpoint, this name met the standard of a good name. But as Legend prepared for international expansion, the linguistic advantages of its name quickly became its legal disadvantage. "Legend" is a common word in the English vernacular which can be used in multiple contexts (from map keys to mythical stories). No doubt it had already been registered in different countries by different companies, which would surely lead to infringement problems. In order to purchase the names of the existing brands with the same name, the company would have to invest a great deal of time in legal undertakings and face unreasonable price demands in the commercial world. In the end, "Legend" decided to change its English brand name to "Lenovo".
In the global marketing arena, international brand registration has become a major concern for brand builders. Major companies tend to use existing English words as part or all of their international names, words which are likely to have already been registered by other companies. No company would want its carefully built brand to share names with another company, so while the "Legend" name-change to "Lenovo" was costly, it was a necessary preparation for the local brand to launch its global marketing.
Let’s now look at a second case: China’s local brand "太太药业" (tài tài yào ye), a pharmaceutical company which changed names even as the brand remained local. This Shenzhen-based company initially built its enterprise on feminine health care—everything from oral supplements to topical applications. "太太" (tài tài) means wife, and is the title of respect suffixed to the name of a married woman; "药业" means pharmaceuticals. This very literal name was effective in identifying the brand’s products and reaching its target consumers. Due to its successful marketing, the name became synonymous with women’s healthcare. However, as the company began to expand its line of products, the name became a deterrent to other consumer demographics. Even with several gender-neutral products, the company was unable to market to men under its former brand name. Nor was it able to reach younger female consumers. Inevitably, the company decided to change its name. Its new name "健康元" (jiàn kāng yuán) was chosen to cover a wide range of healthcare products. "健康"(jiàn kāng) means health and wellness;"元" (yuán) translates to "first".

The "太太药业" case illustrates the naming problem which arises when companies expand or change their product lines. Labbrand found that many startups neglect to consider brand content development during the initial marketing stage, and the names chosen during that time fail to grow with the company. While the former brand name has the invaluable following of a loyal consumer base, the brand image being communicated no longer reflects the company's position.

In an ideal world, you pick a great name that is emotional and memorable, you build your brand with it, and you never have to change it. But companies grow and change, the market grows and changes. So perhaps the question is no longer whether to change, but why, when and how to do it.