One of the biggest stumbling blocks for orphan brand names is the companies that drop them, and then seek to keep them away from new owners by way of lawsuits and intimidation. American business history is rife with hundreds of thousands of brand names that have been dropped, discontinued orMORE HERE
One of the most venerable names in American inventing and entrepreneurship is Powel 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 CircleMORE HERE
Last week, I was in a Wells Fargo branch, looking at a beautifully produced booket and story of the company. It included an explanation of how it ran stagecoaches and ran money to the West, and detailed many of the innovations of the hundreds of banks that made up whatMORE HERE
Got to love the funny little American brand names that serve small product niches. With these brands, the product markets are small, and so is the competition. Little advertising is needed, and is mostly word of mouth. One such niche is the category of brands that solve unique problems; inMORE HERE
So many fragrances get forgotten, ruined or changed, but one that has survived for men is Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior. Sadly, most department stores don’t stock it, and you have to find it at those cheesy generic perfume shops located in sub-leased spots in the mall. It’s a stinkyMORE HERE
For those of us who grew up in the 1970s, a Hyatt House was a sort of hotel paradise. Yes, there were Ramada Inns and Holiday Inns, and these were actually decent places for everyday family trips and such. But in terms of a really smart, slick hotel, a reallyMORE HERE
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 whenMORE HERE
While nostalgia can be a reason to bring an old brand back, strategy is the best reason. And so we hear that Nissan might just bring back the Datsun brand. And it’s not because Generation X remembers that The Bionic Woman, Jaime Sommers, used to drive a 280Z, and stillMORE HERE
VIRGINIA BEACH – One of my first childhood memories is being on the kitchen floor of our garage apartment on 78th Street, looking at a corrugated Brach’s Candy box. It had to be before 1969, when we moved to a real house, and my parents got out of the businessMORE HERE
CHICAGO – An American-born graphic designer is working on a project to explore Cuban brands. It’s a visual exploration of Cuba through the lens of branding, and the designer, Emily Lozano, hopes to document the Cuban brands in order to tell about daily life. Writes Lozano: As an American-born CubanMORE HERE