How to Manage Googling of Your Brand

Yesterday I asked one of my friends, “Do you know how far is Catalina Island from Long Beach?” He replied, “Try googling.”  Google, a verb? Yes, it is a name of a company that has transformed into a verb. What should brand managers know about brands becoming verbs, and what should they do about it?

When Nouns become Verbs

Let’s analyze under what circumstances do nouns transform into verbs. Here are some examples of nouns being used as verbs:

 “Try googling ‘how to become a millionnaire’.”

“Could you text me your address?”

“Cayne enroned Bear Sterns.”

“Members of the opposition party decide to boycott the elections.”

For a noun to become a verb, first, it must be associated with an action. For instance, Google goes with internet search, ‘text’ with the action of sending a text message on a mobile phone, Enron with the downfall of a giant company because of dubious operating methods of the management. Boycott’s is an interesting story. Charles Boycott was a landowner. The government and the farm workers of his town decided not to have any business with him, as a result of which he went broke. Over a period of time, the action of not having a business became synonymous with “boycotting.” 

Second, the action must be either ubiquitous (as in googling, text messaging), or unique and (un)popular (as in enroned, boycott).

What’s a Brand

Brand is defined as a “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” A brand could be abstract as in a concept brand (example: Apple, the name of the company), or it could be specific as in a commodity brand (example: Apple iPhone). Brand gets recognition when consumers develop a feeling, or a sense of association with the brand. A commodity brand is easier to imagine, and hence the association grows faster. The association reaches a new height when the commodity has an action and becomes ubiquitous. In other words, when the brand becomes a verb.

Some argue that brand becoming a verb is the best thing that can happen to a brand, because it puts a barrier to entry for its competitors. For example, now that Google is being used as a verb, it makes it difficult for new entrants to make a mark in the area of internet search. However, this phenomenon could be good or bad, depending on how the brand managers and marketers manage the brand. Here are some cases:

Case 1: Name of a company becomes a verb

Things go wrong when brand managers mix up concept and commodity brands. The name of the company should be left alone, and not be associated its single popular commodity. This will not only make the company look like a “one trip pony,” but also prevent it from expanding into other businesses. For example, people are so accustomed to fedexing overnight packages, they cannot comprehend the idea of browsing internet at a FedEx Express store. They still refer to the latter action as “going to Kinko’s.”

Google and Xerox are other such examples. Once, while I was in India, I tried to convince a shopkeeper that Xerox made computers too. He thought I was crazy, and laughed at me saying, “Why the hell would you go to a computer to xerox your documents?” Despite Android OS, Chrome, Gmail, Picasa, Google+, people still consider googling as running an internet search. No wonder, search business is still the main bread and butter for Google.

Case 2. Name of a commodity becomes a verb

Skype is another brand that’s often used as a verb. It is now owned by Microsoft, and carries a great amount of goodwill for being a verb. Skype, though a name of a company, is now down to a commodity. Had Skype decided to expand into other businesses, it would have been extremely tough, because when people talk about skyping out, they know exactly one thing what it means.

Case 3. A brand separates name and action

The action performed on Twitter is a “tweet.” Twitter users today tweet about tweeting on twitter. Tomorrow Twitter may expand into a new business where its users rant about its new service. Unless Twitter enrons or netflixes itself, it is very unlikely that it will end up as a verb in the urban dictionary.

If you are given a task of managing a brand, even if yours is a small company with just one product, work towards creating a distinction between your company’s brand and the commodity’s. If your product performs an action, make it ubiquitous and transform its name into a verb.