WHAT’S in a name? For some IT companies, it seems, everything.In the past few months web developers and solutions providers have dropped the quirky names, spruced up their business image and focused on being good corporate citizens.
WHAT’S in a name? For some IT companies, it seems, everything.
In the past few months web developers and solutions providers have dropped the quirky names, spruced up their business image and focused on being good corporate citizens.
METHOD has lost the ‘madness’; Amcon Solutions Group has adopted the acronym ASG; Optus Cable and Wireless is soon to lose the ‘cable and wireless’; and Pretzel Logic’s new blue and yellow logo symbolises strength and creativity.
According to Globe Advertising & Design creative consultant Simon Elliot, the dynamic nature of the IT industry means companies are more likely to change their corporate identity.
“Certainly we are seeing changes at the moment because IT is so dynamic,” Mr Elliot said.
“An old player in the IT sector is three to five years old, and if they are still around now it probably means they’ve become a big company, they’ve survived and they need to change how they position themselves.
“A lot of them started up as a one
or two man band and then got big.”
This seems to be the case for new media company Pretzel Logic. Beginning life as a four-person operation in the Perth hills 10 years ago, managing director Steve Pretzel believed now was time for a change.
The new logo is a square with two dots inside and one outside, symbolizing the importance of thinking outside the square. According to Pretzel, the blue in the logo stands for strength and technology while the yellow points to creativity.
Subiaco web developer METHOD dropped the ‘Madness’ from its title in early July when it became the e-development division of parent company SMS Technology and Management. SMS dropped the quirky ‘Sausage Software’ identity, including the chrome Sausage logo, in the shake up.
Marketing Centre strategic marketing consultant Chris Melville believed dropping ‘Madness’ from the title added a greater trust element to the company and improved its sophistication.
“As they become more established the things that used to differentiate them previously may not suit them in the current market,” Ms Melville said.
“ Maybe the market has changed in a way that those who are going to be more successful need to give a greater trust element or sophistication in how they are perceived.”
Mr Elliot agreed, saying the need for IT and website development had been accepted by large corporations as part of their marketing and communications packages.
“These IT players have to be more serious about how they portray themselves,” he said.
“Perhaps it was suitable when they were pitching for, say, dot.com start ups and companies like that a few years ago. But if you’re wanting to do the Toyota website, then Toyota aren’t just after quirky, they’re after good, solid IT developers and perhaps ‘Madness’ in a name could put them off.”
But showing you are a serious new media in the brave new IT world doesn’t necessarily mean boring logos and varying shades of grey.
“I think the key might be in maintaining that edge visually in the logo, rather than incorporating it in the name,” Mr Elliot said.
In the past few months web developers and solutions providers have dropped the quirky names, spruced up their business image and focused on being good corporate citizens.
METHOD has lost the ‘madness’; Amcon Solutions Group has adopted the acronym ASG; Optus Cable and Wireless is soon to lose the ‘cable and wireless’; and Pretzel Logic’s new blue and yellow logo symbolises strength and creativity.
According to Globe Advertising & Design creative consultant Simon Elliot, the dynamic nature of the IT industry means companies are more likely to change their corporate identity.
“Certainly we are seeing changes at the moment because IT is so dynamic,” Mr Elliot said.
“An old player in the IT sector is three to five years old, and if they are still around now it probably means they’ve become a big company, they’ve survived and they need to change how they position themselves.
“A lot of them started up as a one
or two man band and then got big.”
This seems to be the case for new media company Pretzel Logic. Beginning life as a four-person operation in the Perth hills 10 years ago, managing director Steve Pretzel believed now was time for a change.
The new logo is a square with two dots inside and one outside, symbolizing the importance of thinking outside the square. According to Pretzel, the blue in the logo stands for strength and technology while the yellow points to creativity.
Subiaco web developer METHOD dropped the ‘Madness’ from its title in early July when it became the e-development division of parent company SMS Technology and Management. SMS dropped the quirky ‘Sausage Software’ identity, including the chrome Sausage logo, in the shake up.
Marketing Centre strategic marketing consultant Chris Melville believed dropping ‘Madness’ from the title added a greater trust element to the company and improved its sophistication.
“As they become more established the things that used to differentiate them previously may not suit them in the current market,” Ms Melville said.
“ Maybe the market has changed in a way that those who are going to be more successful need to give a greater trust element or sophistication in how they are perceived.”
Mr Elliot agreed, saying the need for IT and website development had been accepted by large corporations as part of their marketing and communications packages.
“These IT players have to be more serious about how they portray themselves,” he said.
“Perhaps it was suitable when they were pitching for, say, dot.com start ups and companies like that a few years ago. But if you’re wanting to do the Toyota website, then Toyota aren’t just after quirky, they’re after good, solid IT developers and perhaps ‘Madness’ in a name could put them off.”
But showing you are a serious new media in the brave new IT world doesn’t necessarily mean boring logos and varying shades of grey.
“I think the key might be in maintaining that edge visually in the logo, rather than incorporating it in the name,” Mr Elliot said.
