This may have gone largely unnoticed but it did catch my attention. Brink’s Home Security recently changed their brand name to Broadview Security and is spending $120 million to tell us about it, as discussed here, here, and here.
Broadview? Really? Is that the best the branding team at Landor Associates could come up with? Pardon my terminal preposition.
On Broadview’s web site, the new entity cheerfully announces "We’re now Broadview Security, the next generation of Brink’s Home Security." What does that mean? There is no linkage between Broadview and Brink’s to suggest a "next generation". If they are changing their name due to spinning off the business unit as a separate company, I can almost understand. But, how does that qualify as the next generation? Seems to be a reach.
Another conundrum is their claim the new name "better reflects the wide range of services we offer you for your home and business". Oh, I get it, Broad = wide range of services and View = watchfulness. It took expert consultants and extensive research to arrive at that conclusion?
Brink’s Incorporated, the venerable security company established in 1859, is well known for armored protection of valuables, including those of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The Brink’s brand evokes a "heritage of trust", withstanding the test of time. Except for the Great Brink’s Robbery of 1950, the Brink’s brand is untarnished.
The Brink’s Home Security brand comes from a single, unique and identifiable source. Conversely, Broadview Security lacks value, pedigree or heritage. It is not a brand — it is merely a name.
In a time of cost-consciousness, value is tantamount. One might want bespoke services which the Brink’s brand implies but is completely lacking in Broadview’s undefined and generic moniker, which a quick search on bing™ or Google™ reveals. Notice I didn’t verb the brands?
Which would you prefer, the official looking Protected By Brinks Home Security badge or the restyled Broadview Security shield?
Personally, when I think Brink’s I see a big Rottweiler eyeing you warily. With Broadview I imagine a yappy Chihuahua chasing its tail.
It is Arnold Schwarzenegger versus Arnold Stang. Who would you choose to defend your assets?
I’m surprised they didn’t follow the recent truncation trend to single-letter trademarks and just use "B" — or "BS", if you include the word security. It might have been as meaningful.
Brink’s was the better brand and had more muscle in my view. But if they were required to change their name they could have done better than Broadview.
—Randall Hull, The Br@nd Ranch®