When buzz was circulating last week that Sprint and Nextel were
going to merge, one e-mailer suggested a new name for the company
— Sextel.
Certainly it's clever, and we all know sex sells, but such a
moniker probably isn't appropriate for the circumstances.
Various branding and corporate naming experts have weighed in
on what they think the appropriate strategy should be for the
two companies going forward, with an almost unanimous opinion
that the two shouldn't try to marry their two names.
Michael Barr, president of NameLab Inc. in San Francisco, said
Sprint Nextel or some similar combination really is the only strategy
for the short term.
"I would imagine that they're dealing with a situation that
is rapidly changing and evolving, and there is a lot of talk of
what kind of company they want to be going forward," Barr
said. "If you think about the identity strategy ... it needs
to be derived from the business strategy."
Take the FedEx-Kinkos combo, Barr said. "I don't think over
the longer period it's the way to go — you choose one or
the other," Barr said. "As you become more pervasive,
the easier it is to sell your services."
Barr said, as have other branding experts, the Sprint name should
survive.
"But the Sprint identity is not without its challenges,
including quality concerns," Barr said. "But if they
do ultimately decide they're a broad-based business, Sprint is
probably the way to go." Branding blunders
