Bendix is one of the great technology and defense brands of the 20th century, though most adults will also remember it for the attention the company during the merger mania of the early 1980s. However, the company was known by the general public as an innovator, as it licensed its name to a partly owned [...]

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LONDON – The recent Diamond Jubilee has given the venerable recording brand Decca a figurative Royal Warrant and imprimateur through the Andrew Lloyd Webber single “Sing” by Gary Barlow and the Commonwealth Band featuring Military Wives. In the last two decades, record brands have been largely ignored by recording companies. Oh, they say the brand [...]

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One of the most venerable names in American inventing and entrepreneurship is Powell Crosley (1886-1961), an innovator who is credited with the first economy car, the first fax machine and the first lighted baseball field. Pictured here is the Crosley car, seen at an auto show on St. Armand’s Circle in Sarasota. Crosley was one [...]

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In the heyday of the turntable, there were many great brand names. The turntable was the next step from the Hi-Fi (made by folks like Zenith and Philco Ford), and a turntable and receiver perfectly matched the era of the LP, when audio quality began to be an issue when you listened to music on [...]

See larger image Audio Technica AT-LP60 Fully Automatic Belt Driven Turntable (Electronics) List Price: $99.95 USD New From: $89.00 In Stock Used from: $44.99 In Stock Release date July 28, 2009.

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The television remote is a generic thing, but at one time, it was exclusively connected to one brand, Zenith, now part of Korea’s LG. Zenith had Space Command, attributed to Robert Adler (1913-2007) and introduced in 1956. Later, the remote became ubiquitous for all TVs, but the Space Command for years was the leader. There [...]

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There are only a few legacy electronics companies that still operate under their own brand; great names like Sperry, Burroughs, Hallicrafters and such have been merged into other companies or disappeared. Thankfully, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is still around, though the company appears to be drifting. One great name that has survived is Texas Instruments (NYSE: [...]

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In the afternoon, on walks in Sarasota, I often see remnants of the old GTE, or General Telephone and Electronics. The name and logo appears on manhole covers, telephone pole signs and on junction boxes on houses. It keeps advertising GTE, and will keep doing so for the next 100 or so years. There is [...]

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Two name changes-or more correctly, modifications-have received attention in the media and branding worlds recently. Pizza Hut has announced that its boxes and select locations will carry the name “The Hut,” and RadioShack plans to unveil new creative for “The Shack,” its shorter, catchier moniker. These name shortenings are proof of what professional namers already [...]

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SAVANNAH – Entries are just out in the Savannah College of Art & Design’s Phoenix Project. (See a full list of entries here.) At right, the entry for RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) by the student team of Rodrigo Mitma and Josh Finkelstein. Brand Problem: Big-Box and online electronic stores are superior in sales. Research shows that [...]

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We caught a fascinating piece on Radio Shack (NYSE: RSH) in the most recent edition of Adweek. Radio Shack has put out an RFP for their advertising account. One bit of Andrew McMains’ story caught our eye: Online shopping, per the RFP, has not only made consumers more price sensitive, but has commoditized the customer [...]

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