Brand Growth Potential
Did you know your company’s brand name can critically influence your business future? If you are wondering why some firms shoot up like a rocket while others just limp along from year to year, read on. The answer may surprise you.
The Fruiting League’s approach to brand names analysis is a multi-dimensional evaluation system which will give you a Brand Growth Potential (BGP) rating. If you are starting up a business, or considering an acquisition, launching something new or simply want to assess and drive greater value from your brand(s), this will interest you.
The Brand Growth Potential system uses three dimensions:
1: Platform potential
What is the first impression of your brand and brand messaging?
2: Competence potential
How are your customers experiencing your products or services? How well are you aligning your internal strengths and talents?
3: Impact potential
How likely are you able to reposition your competitors or redefine your market; what should success look like?
Here are some examples of well-known brands along with their overall Brand Growth Potential ratings.
A rocket fueled brand name – Air BnB
They took off like a rocket. Within a decade it raised over $6 billion in funding and disrupted the hotel industry, culminating in its IPO in 2020. Its valuation had skyrocketed from $20 million to $47 billion. This household business name has a BGP rating of 8/10. The brand name at Dimension 1, Platform potential, holds a very magnetic, warm and inviting energy, very appropriate and optimum for the hospitality sector.
A company with this score will never run out of steam or lack funding because they will always deliver the financial results as they empower both stakeholders and customers. AirBnB has those supportive, empowering energies to go all the way. That doesn’t mean they won’t face obstacles, such as regional regulations, that may slow their growth. But investors can be sure an 8 point BGP rating is a brand worth backing.
A brand name that can’t sail – Quibi
By contrast, look at the spectacular startup streaming platform Quibi, endorsed by Hollywood celebrities and backed by the combined financial muscle of Goldman Sachs, NBC Universal and JPMorgan Chase, it talked big about revolutionising how people consume entertainment. It raised a staggering $1.75 billion before launch and shut down in just 6 months. Their BGP rating is just 3. Our analysis shows the brand failed on Dimension 1, Platform potential– basic appeal. This brand name was destined to throw up obstacles and generate internal exhaustion from the get-go. Only by stealth and sure determination could this startup have come through.
But if it had been named Quilbi, just as abstract as Quibi, the negative energies would have flipped to provide a trusting supportive aura, something that’s pivotal for any company looking for a rapid take-off. Quilbi, different by just one letter, carries a BGP rating of 8. Coupled with the fearless ambition the company demonstrated, it could even have unseated Netflix as the dominant player in entertainment streaming.
A clashing brand name – AOL Time Warner inc.
Let’s consider the most expensive merger in history, AOL Time Warner Inc. Put together to capitalise on their dominance by distributing the media company’s content across two companies networks at a cost of $165 billion, it collapsed within 2 years during the tech bubble. The BGP rating is 6.
At Dimension 1 (platform) analysis this new entity was inviting, attractive and very inspiring, a marriage that really ought to have been prosperous. At Dimension 2 (competence), we see the innovative and pioneering frequency is very strong, but the passion for innovation is unfortunately one of confusion and distraction and in fighting; we think only a genius like Steve Jobs with outstanding personal creative confidence could possibly steer and harness this buoyant but anarchic energy. Without creative genius and discipline at the helm, as an old English saying goes: ‘the centre cannot hold…mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.’
A me-too brand name – Zune
Another classic disaster of a new product is Zune a bgp rating 4, first of all it sounded me-too and reactionary to the success of ipod, it is unappealing at every level, the logo, the colours, the object, so its very weak as a first impression but locked in the name is an internal exhaustion energy, this will greatly affect the morale of the team and repel talent and developer support. They gave up after 2 rounds of release, especially when critics were mostly very unkind.
If only the brand name is Zug, a word that works synergistically with sound related business, Zug is the German word for train, you could do quite an edgy campaign with the likes of Kraftwerk. The word Zug in this industry context would have a favourable BGP rating of 9, it would be magnet for top talent and may have become something that critics would stop calling it a bad copy.
Hindsight or foresight?
You may say it’s easy to be right about successes and failures after the event. We have also evaluated Brand Growth Potential on all companies that went into administration in 2022 -2023, with 100% accuracy.
With this new analysis system we have decided to set up Fruiting League, a first of its kind brand growth potential rating agency to help companies choose the right name, or evaluate their current brand and brand portfolios, to unlock untap potential for growth. To understand the basic mechanism of our approach read the article The art of brand naming for success where we explore the phonemic resonance in brand names.
What’s your brand growth potential in your brand name?
If you are interested in receiving a free initial BGP analysis of your company, email us and we can discuss the actions you can take to get ahead of your company’s future. Success is not just down to the calibre of your leadership team, or operational efficiency, or marketing prowess, we believe your brand name has a vital role to play and can make a real difference.
