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"Rebrand vs "Redesign"


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These are all cogent explanations of the emerging usage. I trust that I have made my point clear, as well.  I am perfectly aware that I am articulating a minority view around here.

 

Two additional comments:

 

3 hours ago, WavePunter said:

Firstly, I've absolutely NEVER called it "philadelphia brand cream cheese", nor have I ever heard it.. Always just "philadelphia cream cheese" (you know, like the package actually says).. So, I'm not sure what made that such a great example, but it fell short..

 

All of the television ads since I was a kid have said "Philadelphia brand Cream Cheese", always with the word "brand" in there.  I remember thinking how strange that sounded when I first heard it as a little kid.  I asked my mother about it, and she explained that the product didn't necessarily come from Philadelphia, but that that was just the brand name.  

 

It was from that example that I first conceived of brand names, and realised that companies sometimes invent separate brands for specific products.  For instance, Kraft just put its company name on Kraft Singles and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, but used the brand name "Philadelphia" for its cream cheese.  So, even if I didn't always say the full "Philadelphia brand Cream Cheese", that formation was always in my mind on account of those television ads.

 

This was not the only ad that used the word "brand" rather intrusively. I was also struck by the change in the jingle for Band-Aids from "I am stuck on Band-Aids / 'Cause Band-Aid's stuck on me" to "I am stuck on Band-Aid brand / 'Cause Band-Aid's stuck on me".  That newer version was so clunky, and it broke the rhythm, so that you couldn't miss the word "brand".  I suppose that this was in response to the term "Band-Aid" starting to be used generically.

 

But, while I myself never actually said "Band-Aid brand" (probably because the general bake of the item (adhesive strips?) was not mentioned afterward in the ads), I always heard in my head the formulation "Philadelphia brand Cream Cheese". And I often (though, admittedly, not always) said it that way, back when I worked in a supermarket, and in the years thereafter.

 

 

3 hours ago, WavePunter said:

..."brand" does not mean "name" in current or former vernacular.

 

Maybe not anymore in current vernacular, but definitely so in former vernacular.  In previous decades, the understanding of the term "brand" which I am defending was the dominant one -- indeed, the only one.  If a brand changed its packaging, it was still thought of as the same brand.

 

But this newer usage is here now; and perhaps I should accept that its displacement of the older understanding is inevitable, despite my previously expressed resistance to that characterisation.  It is definitely winning -- which is why I prefaced my initial comment with an acknowledgement of futility.

 

So, I can only offer my regret that this formerly well-defined term has been turned into a nebulous concept.  While I don't particularly like this change, I note that it is just one further example of the universe's annoying tendency not to arrange itself according to my preferences.

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Icebox used to be in the vernacular.  Throw that one around and see what looks you get.

 

As for you being in the minority, it may be a singular minority for agreement with your entire argument. 

It's where I sit.

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ahh the old "if the dictionary's definition is different from mine then that's because language is fluid" argument. 

 

I'm not certain brand and name were ever synonymous or that the definition of "rebrand" was ever that strict. Brand is everything associated with a company or product. The name is the name.

 

I think my farmer example got overlooked. If a livestock farmer changes the brand he uses for his cattle then he's rebranded. His name stays the same. 

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59 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

I think my farmer example got overlooked. If a livestock farmer changes the brand he uses for his cattle then he's rebranded. His name stays the same. 

 

I have this suspicion you may have inadvertently given out the original purpose of "brand" and "rebrand".  Livestock branding makes sense as an origin of the word that then got picked up as they became farmer, then company, then corporate identifiers.


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36 minutes ago, Pharos04 said:

 

I have this suspicion you may have inadvertently given out the original purpose of "brand" and "rebrand".  Livestock branding makes sense as an origin of the word that then got picked up as they became farmer, then company, then corporate identifiers.

Exactly right. The "brand" is how the cattle are identified. The sports logo is a very good example of this. My personal view is that if the logo/uniforms change significantly, it's a rebrand. If not, it's a redesign.

 

I'll use Toronto as an example.

 

Redesign:

leo-komarov-nhl-preseason-philadelphia-f 9873274-nhl-buffalo-sabres-at-toronto-ma

 

Rebrand:

bautista.jpeg

 

jose-bautista-mlb-toronto-blue-jays-balt

 

Because the Raptors were a predominantly red team prior to their logo/uniform change, I consider them to be a redesign. If they had gone straight from the purples to the current red/black, I would consider it a rebrand.

 

 

 

 

On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said:

It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire.

On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said:

Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy.

POTD 5/24/12POTD 2/26/17

 

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