Andy Rice

CEO

Yellowwood Brand Architects

All strong brands have two commercial roles: to facilitate choice, and to influence the sensation of their consumption. But occasionally a few brands move into a broader cultural space. These are the brands whose very names enter colloquial language. From being sustained by communication, they evolve to become part of the communication itself. An indefatigable party animal has become a “Duracell”. Fat cat arrivistes are now the waBenzi. Diminutives weren’t mini until Mini came along. Such linguistic appropriation never occurs where there is doubt what the borrowed brands stand for. Language should be precise, and for brands to enter language, their reputations must be unambiguous. Consider two characters. Tom is very Castle, totally Toyota, Volvo even, while Dick is a Nando’s Virgin, very Apple-like. Not much doubt there that Tom’s the gregarious, reliable and safe one, and Dick’s the irreverent maverick, full of surprises. I can even envisage an Oxford Dictionary of Commercial English, referencing brands in this way. But only true Superbrands will be in it.