I must admit I was a little distraught as I phoned my doctor’s =
office. "Is it true," I wanted to know, "that the medication=
you prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?"
"Yes, I’m af=
raid so," the doctor told me.
&nbs=
p;
There was a moment of silence before I replied=
, "I’m wondering, then, just how serious is my condition because this =
prescription is marked ‘NO REFILLS’."
~~QUIZ ANSWERS~~
1. This self-professed=
“health-nut” computer guru followed not just a vegan diet, but=
a fruitarian diet. He wanted a “fun, spirited and non-intimidating&#=
8221; name for the job at hand.
APPLE (Jobs =
also wanted name listed alphabetically before ATARI, his previous employer)=
2. Ad=
olf Dassler and, later, younger brother Rudolf, wanted Germany’s Olym=
pic runners to win gold in 1928. The rivalry of the brothers in later=
years split the company and doubled the business.
ADIDAS (combined nickname Adi with last name Das. Rudi split a=
nd founded PUMA)
3. Stanford computer scientists Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner =
founded the company in 1984, looking for a name and icon that promoted stre=
ngth and progress while honoring their hometown.
CISCO (short for San Francisco with Golden Gate Bridge as icon)
4. Founder A=
ugust Horch wanted his brand to be named after himself. Even though “=
horch” in German meant “listen”, no one did. He went back=
to the classics for a name.
AUDI (Latin for=
“listen” for his brand of cars)
5. In the early days of the web, we=
bsite listings were alphabetized, so Jeff was eyeing words that started wit=
h “A. B, or C” for the largest bookstore on earth. He was dream=
ing big.
AMAZON (he visualized the company f=
lowing like the world’s largest river)
6. This scrappy discount health and=
beauty outlet in Lowell, Massachusetts, began in the 1960’s with emp=
hasis on reducing prices for the shoppers without reducing quality in the i=
nventory.
CVS (Consumer Value Stores who lat=
er expanded to pharmacy and its current 300,000 employees)
7. The Raffel brothers=
could not settle on a company name based on a combination of their initial=
s or even syllables of their first or even middle names. They finally agree=
d on one name.
ARBY’S (two initials fo=
r “R”affel “B”rothers)
8. Burt and Irv were brothers-in-l=
aw, each with successful snack shops. But they realized that national =
expansion would only work if they dropped their separate identities and com=
bined assets.
BASKIN-ROBBINS (their last nam=
es)
9.=
The condition in a Japanese board game when a player’s stones are in=
danger of being taken by their opponent seemed a fitting name for a brand =
that centered on games.
ATARI
10. Japanese entrepr=
eneur Shojiro Ishibashi realized he could sell more worldwide if he transla=
ted his name into English, making his brand sound more historic, solid, and=
trustworthy.
BRIDGESTONE (Ishi-bashi means =
stone/rock bridge)
11. Industry pioneer =
Ralph Roberts originally founded the American Cable Systems (ACS) in 1963.&=
nbsp; But he wanted a name that would project a broader technological scope=
=2E
COMCAST (Communication Broadcast)
12. Xe=
rox employees Warnock and Geschke worked on a personal project after hours =
in a little garage in Los Altos next to this creek.
ADOBE Creek
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus Knows Me, T=
his I Love!"
=