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A Rose By Any Other Name Would Not Smell As Sweet

Clearly Shakespeare didn’t understand branding. What he failed to understand is that the name ‘rose’ has brand equity. In many ways it’s the cumulative branded image of a rose that is conjured up when the word is mentioned, not the real characteristics of the actual flower. If the word ‘rose’ were changed to ‘warda’ (courtesy of Wikipedia , its actual name in Avestan, an old Iranian language), and ‘roses’ were no longer available for purchase, how long would it take for millions of consumers to adapt and order a dozen wardas? Not only would it take a long time to build momentum, but the transition would never be complete, and demand would shift to other flowers. Nor would the experience of receiving wardas be quite as romantic, at least until someone had spent millions of dollars on marketing campaigns, and even then, the experience of receiving flowers likely wouldn’t be the same. (Unfortunately, Shakespeare became wrong on another front. These days most roses scarcely have any scent at all.)

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Posted by Roger Greene | Permalink
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