People tend to use the phrase ‘just Google it’ in case anyone stuck to find something or to translate a language they didn’t understand and say ‘let’s Skype’ while referring to do some video calls. As an Indonesian, you probably tend to say ‘drink Aqua’ at ease other than saying ‘drink mineral water’ when thirsty. It’s been said casually and people will directly understand what you mean. It is became common as it made easier to just say all the name than saying the actual words.
The first brand being verbified as part of marketing strategy is Simoniz, the car wax. The brand has successfully put their name into a phrase and sounds appealing than its competitor. Back in the 1920s or ’30s the company’s tagline was “Motorist wise, Simoniz” written in posters. The ads from that period would exhort car owners to “Simoniz Now!”
When a brand becomes a verb it translates directly to what the brand does. Brands as verbs speak more about how people feel about any brands. The slang name for this process is “verbing.” The official term, according to etymologists, is “anthimeria,” a Greek word for against, opposite and part. It means a functional shifts onto the use of a word. A powerful brand can do this because they aligned their products so strong that people start to use the name to referring the actual product themselves. These trademarked products have become sources of extreme, branded power in our society so much that we come to a silent agreement that the brand name is what the actual product name is called. There are no greater achievements of a brand than getting a ‘verbification’
In positive thoughts, getting verbification is exciting as your brand successfully create a brand awareness in your own customer. To get to this position is not easy at all. First of all, your product need to be the pioneer. It is needed to get that initial hook that will act as a unique anchor in years ahead. The brand name and product need to be a problem-solver that is currently unsolved. They must tap into a market that contains a lot of currently unbranded products. Two, you need to make your name stands in the way itself. Brands can’t be so powerful that they take away the “hero” vision of their products to the public. In the world full or new product, it must be hard to turn ideas into a completely new product that sticks. That’s why all marketers need to be unique and has its own way to represents the product.
Despite it excitement to make you brand into ‘verbification’, we also need to think about the risks. Genericization is the term when the public associates the brand name with the generic class of product itself against the intentions of the trademark’s holder. Kleenex became a victim of its own success. It was re-branded as a handkerchief substitute, and the sales number surely skyrocketed. Though the product was so popular, “Kleenex” became interchangeable with tissues in general. This also happened to Thermos, Aspirin, Yo-Yo and ChapStick, their brand names that have become so generic for a type of product it can result in companies losing their trademark. The shift is to what brands do – both how they behave and what they do should be useful in people’s lives and equal as its value.
Getting your brand ‘verbification’ is not easy and not merely full of benefits. It is need a strategic thinking and careful planning. As a branding agency, Kreatiklan’s team will help you get what your company wants through a conscientious research. Consider yourself to get a right brand identity by contacting us info@kreatiklan.com or simply hit (+62) 87-780-561-569
