Last fall, some of our sources hinted at an upcoming rebranding effort for Live Search, code named “Rome”. That renaming effort, seemingly thwarted by all the buzz around Yahoo!, never took place (or at least hasn’t so far). Yet talk continues to swirl around rebranding Live Search, even including some strong hints by Microsoft Online Services President Kevin Johnson, both at Advance08, and again yesterday at SMX Advanced.
Does Live Search need rebranding? First of all, what is a brand? Of course a brand is much more than a catchy new name. A brand is a conversation, the new thinking goes. More than just a name and a logo, a brand carries emotional attachment. In a Wikipedia entry on “Brand”, the authors quote Howard Shultz, CEO of Starbucks coffee:
"A great brand raises the bar -- it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters."
In a post on Nielsen NetRatings Small Business Professional Center blog, Matt Alderton quotes author Barbara Findley Schenk on brands:
branding is part cosmetic—a name, a logo, and a slogan on your business cards—but more than that, it's a promise that your customers believe in. "If you can't make and keep a promise," she says, "then all the marketing and advertising materials in the world won't work."