Step right up to learn what to do! We share because we care! Okay, what we really want is for you to learn what NOT to do by hearing this case study of a truly muddled brand strategy leading to a spectacularly unhelpful brand name.
How To Completely Screw Up a Brand Name
This video originally appeared in LinkedIn
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TRANSCRIPT:
Okay. Just in case you wanted to know how to completely screw up a brand name, I’ve got a case study for you. So I was looking through the paper the other day, and… I know! A print paper! It was an unusual event. It was a Sunday. …and I came across this ad that was so horrific that I had to take a picture of it so I could share it with you guys.
So the brand name is Zerorez. all one word. R-E-Z. What does that mean? Exactly! So then their tagline is “A smarter lasting clean.” And then underneath that it says, “At Zerorez we use our patented technology which we call Z Water. It’s an electrolyzed oxidative water that effectively cleans your carpet, and other hard and soft surfaces without the use of soaps or harsh chemicals.” So these guys have a lousy name, and some brand strategy problems as well. I still didn’t entirely understand what they were, so I went to their website, and it’s a carpet and surface cleaning company. It’s like a franchise. They have them in lots of different cities.
And Zerorez, I guess means that they leave zero residues. But that’s a problem without a solution or a solution without a problem. That’s what I meant to say. I don’t think anyone is worried about residue in their carpet. Then they talk about a lasting clean. Right? In their little tagline. I don’t feel like people are worried about that the clean doesn’t last because of anything that the cleanser does. I think it’s mostly their children, and their pets that make the clean not last, but maybe if there’s no soap residue, dirt doesn’t stick to it. They’re not making that connection.
And then it seems like there’s an environmental thing there because it’s actually just some sort of magic water. It’s not soaps, no perfumes. That’s probably the best place I think to connect to a consumer benefit that anyone cares about, and they barely touch it. So that’s how to ruin a brand name, and to have a pretty murky brand as well. I think that this, they have a huge number of five star reviews. I think that this is actually like a pretty great service, but they have not figured out how to talk about it at any level of their communication.
So that’s what I think. Has anybody used them? Does anybody have some insight on what is good about them? I would love to hear about it. Thanks. Bye!
