Bonobos get branded (sort of)
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve discerned my fondness for the great apes (read Sexy beasts: The Bonobos and Celebrating the Year of the Gorilla :: 2009). Here’s an odd little blip mentioning Bonobos.
Excerpt from a Wall Street Journal small business article on brand naming:
2. Make your brand name memorable. “If it sounds like something else, it’s not going to be strong in the marketplace,” Ms. Adelson says. The founders of Bonobos Inc., an online-only men’s apparel retailer in New York, wanted a name that was whimsical yet reflected that their clothing was clearly for guys, not gals. So they named the company after a great ape, an endangered species that’s pronounced bo-NOH-bos, not BON-oh-bos. While some customers end up mispronouncing the name or asking quizzically about what kind of animal it is, it’s an opportunity that Andy Dunn, chief executive and co-founder, relishes. While saying the name correctly, he mentions that the company also has donated $15,000 in the past year to a bonobos sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This gives anyone an “excuse to talk about who you are beyond your product,” Mr. Dunn says.
Why name a men’s apparel retailer “Bonobos Inc.?” I don’t understand the logic. In reality, female Bonobos rule and have higher social status within their culture than males do. Is it the Bonobos’ promiscuity that screamed “manly?”
If nothing else, the company raises awareness about Bonobos and donates to a sanctuary. Maybe you guys can explain the rest to me.
