Why Your Brand Name Is Important: The Häagen-Dazs Case Study...
Your name is a customers first interaction with your brand, Häagen- Dazs founders understood this and named their ice cream brand accordingly...
Happy New Week,
Naturally, with a name like Häagen-Dazs, you would assume that it’s maybe a German brand but it wasn’t even founded in Europe. An important part of branding is your name. Your name is often the first element of your brand that customers will encounter. Therefore, it is vital that your brand name is distinctive, authentic, memorable, and enduring so it resonates with your target audience.
Häagen-Dazs was founded in the Bronx in 1959 by husband and wife Reuben and Rose Mattus. Reuben’s uncle had been selling homemade Italian lemon-ices on the streets of Brooklyn since Reuben was 10. He eventually expanded into a family-run business called Senator Frozen Products, a horse-drawn cart selling ice pops and chocolate-covered ice cream bars in the Bronx.
Three decades later, Reuben and Rose decided to create an ice cream that will outshine all other ice creams out there. They wanted their company’s name to evoke an aura of old-world craftsmanship. “If you’re the same like everybody else, you’re lost, the number one thing was to get was a foreign-sounding name.” In an interview, Reuben explained the reason they settled on a Danish-sounding name was that “he wanted to acknowledge Denmark for its kindness toward the Jews during World War II”.
“Häagen-Dazs doesn’t mean anything, but it would attract attention, especially with the umlaut.” Reuben
The couple was entering a highly saturated ice cream market, so rather than competing, he wanted them to create a market for themselves. They decided to create a super-premium ice cream that would offer more flavor for more money. Where other manufacturers were focused on cheapness and efficiency, they would go upscale. It was a huge risk, but Reuben was confident that people would pay more for a better-tasting treat.
Reuben knew that the taste alone will not directly equate to success. His brand needed to represent luxury and a level of exclusivity that would perceive the brand as more than a small, striving company from the Bronx. By positioning itself as a luxury brand, that puts a lot of care into its products, never using artificially flavoured ingredients and sourcing the best ingredients. Häagen-Dazs originally sold for 75 cents a pint, which is quite steep from the standard 52 cents other brands sold for. Häagen-Dazs could command that price because consumers happily pay more when they perceive they are getting value they can’t find anywhere else.
A great brand name differentiates you from your competition. For example, Rolex, as mentioned in one of my previous newsletters, is a brand name that also doesn’t have any meaning but it naturally sounds luxurious. Apple is another great example, it has a strong brand identity but no link to apples. Steve Jobs came up with that name after spending time on apple orchards and thought the simple name was “fun, spirited and not intimidating.” So to emphasise, your name doesn’t directly have to reflect what service or product you’re offering.
Don’t underestimate the importance of your brand name. Your name, logo, and branding articulate your message to your customers. Your name is how you mentally link your company to certain experiences, feelings, and ideas before your customers even have a chance to test out your product. Your name is part of making the first impression so make sure you take your time finding a high-quality name that is memorable and helps your customers to identify and remember your brand.