O.co? Branding the wrong name for Overstock.com

The brand “O” for most folks is just a letter in the alphabet. But when it comes to television and media it’s also Oprah. Her magazine is clearly branded her as “O” and the media and American public see that. But let’s look further at the letter O for a name. It also can refer to Osama or Obama. It has almost any meaning you want to assign to it.

So why would a company as successful and unique as Overstock.com want to drop it’s self explanatory name for a virtually generic “O.co.” I sure some consultants must have emphasized the simplicity and the universality of the name but the big issue is how do you put meaning behind it?  This is the number one brand issue. How do you put meaning behind a simple, easy to remember name?

When someone says “Apple,” almost 90 percent of the people almost anywhere in the world think iPhone, Mac, computers. This did not happen overnight. It took 30 years and consistent branding and over a wide range of brilliant products to build this brand identity. So, what’s the point in starting over?

Rule number one in building brands is, evolve value and keep building on what you have. Most companies that have dumped an old name for a new one to try to “reinvent” themselves have run head on into customer confusion. A memorable example from the 1980’s is Bell Labs becoming Lucent Technologies. The new Lucent name had no consumer meaning or value. And many consumers did not even know it was an American brand.

So, if you change Overstock to O.co you had better get Oprah as your spokesperson.