Just because it requires some level of creativity doesn’t mean it’s purely an art form.

I gave the examples of international brands because we’re used using them as classic examples.

You can find just as many good brand names here as well.

From Dawn and Jang, Olivetto and Okra, GEO and Aaj, Jawaid and Sabri, Fresco and Dilpasand, Jafferjee and Al-Karam, Hobnob and Gourmet, Tapal and Mitchells, to Hamdard and Rooh Afza all are great brands having short, unique and memorable names.

Also note that almost all of these names have no relevance to the core business and yet just throw this name at anyone and he’ll instantly recognize what you’re talking about.

Now try to think of a big generic brand name from the local scene and run it through a few people. Most of the people will have a tough time either remembering what’s good or bad about it.

Note that all of these names like their international counterparts have just three syllables.

Any lengthier and you run the risk of making it not only less memorable, difficult to use in conversations, but unable to use it in creative new ways.

Just try imagining using the name Food Connection Pakistan or even FC Pakistan in your everyday conversation. See how cumbersome it is?

Unless you reduce it to FCP, but then it’s a mere abbreviation like million others open to misinterpretation. There was a time when names like IBM, GE, and NEC worked. Not anymore.

Can you use FC Pakistan as a verb? No. You use the phrase, “I googled restaurant guide and got these results…”.

Now try doing the same with FC Pakistan, “ I FC Pakistaned for Mexican restaurants in Karachi”….. Doesn’t feel right, nah? Sounds idiotic.

Can you make variants of this that spawn an entire ancillary industry like Twitter? Think Twibble, Twellow, Twitpic, Tweetdeck. Again it’s a big no.

And the biggest bummer: FC Pakistan can never be used interchangeably for a category. Did you know Jeep is a brand, not category? Same goes for Surf and Scotch tape. And yet today we use these brand names as a category. Such is the power of great brand names.

No, FC Pakistan cannot do any of this because of a mere glitch in naming the brand. In fact nor can Karachi Snob or Restaurants Uncut for that matter. All these three leading brands are restricted by their own unimaginative pursuit of short-term gains.

They’ll never be able to own the category in the mind of the consumer in the long run. They’re created with the intention of making money for 5 maybe 10 years. That’s it.

Hope now you understand why a unique, short and memorable brand name is critical to the ultimate success of a brand.

Although, one thing I would like to disagree with here is the part where you wrote about the Brand Strategies of Local concerns like Food Connection Pakistan and Karachi snob. Considering the amount of internet penetration in the country and the level of adaptation to this new evolving digital age. We are still very much lagging behind, compared to the base countries that launched Squidoo, Twitter, etc. For a Pakistani market, easy and TOM recall is still closely associated with the relevancy of the name. Although, a lingo holds potential to become a good brand name and may even be a Top-Of-Mind for a niche audience but for an Online Venture targeting masses ( and I am talking about particularly in Pakistan ) these names (like Karachi Snob, FCPakistan) are an absolute must. Had they been targeting/catering the International region, your point would have been very much true, but then again there are website with names such as Facebook .

Cheers.
JJ

Whereas, my experience with the Toyota staff has been great. Courteous, well-mannered groomed people, who know the art of selling.

While discussing the design characteristics (pentagonal rear lamps) of Honda City, please bear in mind that these cars are not designed keeping the conservative tastes of Pakistani customers in mind, rather they are designed for a worldwide market. Pakistani market is too tiny to merit investment in specific designs tailored to this market.

City can hope to capture a better market by lowering its price only. Historically City has always cost less than Corolla, but the newest model of City costs more, thus the decline in sales.

Makro is owned by SHV of Netherlands. They had operations all over the world, however, in 1998 the Makro stores in Europe were sold to Metro AG of Germany. Metro AG continues to run the European stores acquired from Makro without changing their name alongwith the Metro branded stores, however the logo of acquired Makro stores has been changed to yellow on blue background.

Makro stores in countries outside Europe are still run by SHV, having a red logo, and is a competitor of Makro stores, as both chains do not have a common parent. Same is the case in Pakistan.

First of all about the Hawaiian set and your disappointment around it, Ufone is running a business and not an NGO. They are giving the handset on discounted price as part of customer acquisition tactic and in lieu of the discounted price of the handset you are expected to use it for Ufone connections only, but perhaps you missed that out.

Now, about your excruciating experience related to getting your connection activated. Well, I am confused what upsets you more that they want to make sure that your personal information is intact so that your connection might not become a victim identity theft? Or the fact that the lady at their service center was focusing on her job more than on being all charismatic and charming.

About your suggestion of using Nokia and the likes that are way above the price range of common consumer in Pakistan. Well these handset bundle offers are targeted to increase the teledensity and reach targeting the masses hence the handset choice is as per their affordability. Again, there are always more views to things then one’s own.

Last but not the least, it would have helped the readers to put things into perspective you had shared your “Customer service” experience with Telenor, Mobil ink which apparently are quite high on your pedestal. I have used all of these cellular service providers and the only one I see at least making an effort is Ufone. Again that’s just my opinion.

Listening is half of the healing, and I should remind myself regularly. We must make patients wait less. will try to do better. At present we are trying to establish ISO routines for quality control. But nothing beats a sympathetic doctor.

Thanks a lot, and apologies to the two patients we disappointed. I wish I could say that to all others in life, but such opportunities are scarce indeed.

Sincerely,

Dr Arif Alvi