What CNN get's wrong about Corporate Naming
Since IBM NewCo announced their new name — Kyndryl — there has been a handful of articles and commentary published about it. Mostly critical and none more visible than this piece by Chris Isidore from CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/12/business/kyndryl-ibm-corporate-names/index.html
There have been a range of reactions to this unconventional name, but the critics are missing important points as they opine on whether it is “good” or not. But before I jump into this, let me share that I have some experience here, having led exercise with the spin-off of Xerox Services in 2017. We named that NewCo Conduent — and at the time received our own share of criticism for its quirkiness and ambiguous pronounce-ability. (Consider as well that our parent company was arguably the most well-known historical example of corporate naming eccentricity).
So to net this down - here are five things the naming critics are missing in their initial, critical commentary.
Kyndryl’s global scale creates a challenge to develop and register an “ownable” name on fast timing. The web domain is a company’s address in our digital world. It is not just a web-address, it anchors the technology systems in which a company conducts business. Kyndryl has clients and legal entities all over the world, so finding a name that it could own outright across its extensive footprint is no easy feat. Going with a “coined name” presents the fewest legal hurdles and creates an opportunity for originality. An “obvious” name might be easy on the ears but is in all certainty already ‘taken’ in web domain-ownership terms, requiring a hefty ransom to part with it. Given the many languages in which Kyndyl does business, the name must be approachable and devoid of some unintended translated meaning. All of these factors point the senior team to an approach of developing something completely new.
2. Originality is not familiar — that is kinda the point. Differentiation is fundamental to marketing. A coined name like Kyndryl will foster conversation and curiosity. Given the amount of attention it has already received, that’s a plus for the Kynrdyl team.
3. Kyndril has created a container for story-telling. With the inevitable head-cock comes the opportunity to have a conversation about the future ambitions of the largest tech services company in the world. Sales people can have a new conversation with clients. Managers can have a new conversation with employees. Spin-offs are fraught with unknowns. Developing a name with story-telling potential, Kyndryl creates a moment to describe the company that it hopes to be and the culture it hopes to create.
4. Everything rolls off the tongue with time. When we launched Conduent in 2017, we faced similar criticism and a few months of mispronunciations. Some employees were inclined to pronounce it Con-DOO-ent versus the intended CON-du-ent. With more usage and communication, everyone was pronouncing the name appropriately. The same will happen with Kyndril. Over time, we’ll get used to it and not even think about it. The same way that we don’t think about the fact that one of the most valuable companies in the world is named after a big river in South America. Which brings me to the final point of this blog:
5. A company is ultimately viewed on its performance — not its name. If Kyndryl performs to exceed client and shareholder expectations, then Kyndryl’s name will evolve to become the badge of that success. The same way we don’t give much thought to Alphabet or Uber for that matter. If Kyndryl struggles, then its risky naming decision will be viewed by analysts as one of several questionable decisions — but certainly not one that factored materially in its commercial or market