Start Young, Think Big and Stick To It

Yes yes, I know. "Afiq ni syok sendiri lah buat company sendiri. Cam poyo jek."
I will giggle myself itchy whenever I stumble upon syok sendiri companies with ridiculously vain names like D'Salina or D'Riaz. Modern but rooted company names like Pucuk Rebung, Singgahsana and Telaga Emas is cool to a certain extent. But yang paling tak tahan are names like Fantasia Corp, Lina International and Che' Karina: London. New York. Sabak Bernam. I call this case of bad taste 'Mat Jenin Syndrom'.
It should be revealed to these people with nausea inducing taste in company naming that names does not matter at all in business. But branding does. Branding makes company names a household linggo. It's common to hear conversation that revolves around brand names like "Minah, ambilkan Shieldtox atas Yamaha (piano), lepastu spraykan dekat Biskut Hup Seng tu" before Minah and Family (another common catering company name) is admitted to a hospital for food poisoning.
Some names are brand elastic, going as far as galaxy tourism to the very domestic cola beverages like Virgin. Some brands are known for offering consumers cheap and low quality services like AirAsia. Having said this, a brand is a reputation or a persona of products and services.
I'm currently being represented by my own brand because I feel that there is a need to showcase my portfolio under a name other than my own. A brand can be stretched beyond the founder's comprehension and still, credits will still go to the founder. That is how powerful branding can be.
But after a few dozens of industrial design projects, I think it is time to make full use of Madba and let Madba takes its own course. Sure I don't have a proper office, a tudung clad secretary with glorious jugs and an awesome leather rotating chair but this IS the 21st century.
*And also, I'm tired of not having to show off my designs or products (online or not) because I operated without a legal company.

4 comments:

-one- said...

Akum...afiq!!...wats up bro.... gain berat badan badan after raya?...i did...huraghhhhhh...dam....anyhooo...

ahah.. dear afiq is blabbing about branding eh.. interesting-interesting.... seems like the effects of reading book on sir richard/virgin maybe?...hehe.... see... you're beginning to understand 2% of branding.... as i said before ...u might like the advertising industry la.

my humble word of professional advise on this.... lets get praktical... yes you can use Madba... its unique and has 2 syllables (important)... logo wise 2 options... have it as a Typo based logo (like Nokia, Lenovo, Asia Asia...) OR typo but with 1 graphical element ( like sony ericsson, McD..etc).... make sure the logo colors not more than 3... ensure it can look good on black/white print/photocopy.

forget about registering a company or trademarking for now... build your Madba name... get all your peeps/lecturers to know you're Madba... then at least no one will replicate. Asia Asia is a brand... no one cares of its registered holding company name Tune Air Sdn Bhd.

you can still showcase ur work... open a blog, many of my friends in the creative industries use blogs to showcase also... http://www.baliomega.com/ http://muidlatif.blogspot.com/
http://digitalmalaya.com/blog/
http://www.andylim.com/blog/


so back to ur post... why do we have this D'Salina or D'Riaz names... well i personally feel malaysian a good at opening companies but lack the knowledge of branding... blame uni/colleges also. but it will improve lah.

last point our malaysian names are not that unique...so we should not follow the english/japanese names like Kenny Roggers, Mc Donalds, Donald Trump, Suzuki, Honda, Ralph Lauren..etc... unless ur name is very unique.

so give your Madba a go!... gud luck.


PS. the acclaimed Global Brand Forum 2008 is coming to malaysia this Dec.... amongst the speakers are Martin Linstorm and Ivanka Trump... nak masuk is RM4K sorang.. mahal i know... but most of the time the company u work for will pay.

http://www.globalbrandforum.org/my/aboutUs/main.asp

http://www.globalbrandforum.org/my/speakers/speakers.asp

-one- said...

...oops *Air Asia ye..i type wrong typo. bye

adam k. said...

i haven't been following. whats madba?

Anonymous said...

shieldtox, yamaha, biskut hup seng. diluted brand names. you think it's good, think again