What is the power of the name of your brand? Do your customers recognize what you are offering them from that name? Do they place a value on that name? They should, because in marketing, words have power.

In the 19th century, it was widely known that an extract from the spirea plant, known as salicin, had medicinal qualities. It was a home remedy for several aches and pains. It reduced inflammation, decreased fevers and relieved pain. Some chemists began to use it in a compound known as acetylsalicylic acid. The stuff tasted horrible, but it worked. Along came a German company: Bayer. They began to produce acetylsalicylic acid in measured doses and sold it to pharmacists and doctors. With controlled doses, especially mixed with a flavoring, the concoction was tolerable – and it worked! Bayer was onto something, but they needed a name for this product that was easier to remember than acetylsalicylic acid – a name that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Some clever marketer came up with a new name for this miracle drug. It was actually a combination of three words. They took the "A” from acetylsalicylic, the "spir” from the spirea plant, and the suffix "in” from salicin and created Aspirin. Bayer trademarked the name and Bayer Aspirin became one of the best-selling brands of over-the-counter drugs of all time. What is better, because Bayer trademarked the name worldwide, they were the only company that could legally use the name, Aspirin.

That all changed 17 years later, when someone forgot to renew the trademark registration. Then Bayer had its North American assets seized due to WWI. Suddenly, Bayer lost its hold on the name and all of their competitors were able to use Aspirin in their marketing without any legal repercussions. But the brand: Bayer Aspirin was still a powerhouse in pharmaceutical circles. People still referred to aspirin as "Bayer Aspirin” regardless of the manufacturer. So the rights to that brand name was sold to another company for $5.3 million, which continued to produce aspirin pills under the Bayer Aspirin brand.

What are the words you are using in your marketing? Your brand names should do two things for your business. First, they should be associated with the product or service you are selling to solve the consumers’ problems or make them feel good. Second, they should be easy to remember and iconic when you hear them. That being said, they don’t have to make sense, they just need to be associated with the product or service that fixes things. Bridgestone is a brand of tires. Apple is the name of personal tech devices. Subway is a brand of fast-food stores. A bridge made of stones has nothing to do with tires. The fruit - an apple - has nothing to do with computers, phones or anything else that is high tech. Subways are underground trains, not sandwiches.

How do brand names gain worth? It is the job of marketing to promote the best aspects of your products and services under the brand name. Those that work well in solving problems and making people feel good gain value when people remember them and buy them again and again. That is where we can go back to Bayer Aspirin. It seems that consumers really didn’t care who was producing the pills, as long as they worked. When the Bayer Aspirin brand name was purchased by Sterling Winthrop in 1919, no one really cared. That same brand was sold again in 1994 to the original Bayer Company. All the while, consumers kept buying Bayer Aspirin because they could rely on the brand. And that is where the real value of a brand comes from – consumer confidence and brand loyalty.

How attached are your customers to your brand? Make sure you are marketing the best qualities of your brand to meet their needs and your brand will gain value.