Volvo
A car maker known for safety.
Where Volvo comes up1 episode or test
Volvo has plain branding, yet it owns the word safety because its decisions match its purpose, such as giving away the three-point safety harness instead of patenting it. The only source here is one podcast, with no figures. The lesson for app builders: put purpose, personality and sample copy in the style guide, since actions build a brand more than a logo or palette.
- Logo and colors are boring
- Didn't make Volvo mean safety
- Gave away three-point harness free
- Chose not to patent it
Actions made Volvo mean safety
From Arielle Jackson
What was said about Volvo
Volvo owns the word safety through its actions, not its branding. Volvo's logo and colors are boring, yet it came to mean safety through decisions like giving away the three-point safety harness for free instead of patenting it. Arielle Jackson says the logo, fonts and colors are not what made Volvo mean safety.
Her advice is to build the style guide around purpose, not only visuals. Include why you exist, five personality attributes and about ten lines of possible ad copy. Share it in new-employee onboarding, with agencies, copywriters and co-marketing partners, and revisit it for new products. She calls the fuller version a creative brief, which also holds visual and written examples you like and dislike.
Volvo shows a mediocre name can grow into a strong brand. Jackson groups Volvo with Disney, Nike and Apple: names that look unremarkable as cells in a spreadsheet and gained meaning over time. A great name helps word of mouth, but a bad name will not kill a good company.
She says to avoid names that are dated or indistinct, but not to stall a launch chasing the perfect one. Phil Knight reportedly said 'that's okay, I'll sleep on it' when first given the Nike name. Quote: "a good name is just going to help you but i don't think a bad name is going to kill a good company"
The art of building legendary brands | Arielle Jackson (Google, Square, First Round Capital)
Its logo and palette are boring, yet it owns the word safety by acting on its purpose, such as giving away the three-point safety harness instead of patenting it.
Volvo owns the word safety through its actions, not its branding. Volvo's logo and colors are boring, yet it came to mean safety through decisions like giving away the three-point safety harness for free instead of patenting it. Arielle Jackson says the logo, fonts and colors are not what made Volvo mean safety.
Her advice is to build the style guide around purpose, not only visuals. Include why you exist, five personality attributes and about ten lines of possible ad copy. Share it in new-employee onboarding, with agencies, copywriters and co-marketing partners, and revisit it for new products. She calls the fuller version a creative brief, which also holds visual and written examples you like and dislike.
Volvo shows a mediocre name can grow into a strong brand. Jackson groups Volvo with Disney, Nike and Apple: names that look unremarkable as cells in a spreadsheet and gained meaning over time. A great name helps word of mouth, but a bad name will not kill a good company.
She says to avoid names that are dated or indistinct, but not to stall a launch chasing the perfect one. Phil Knight reportedly said 'that's okay, I'll sleep on it' when first given the Nike name. Quote: "a good name is just going to help you but i don't think a bad name is going to kill a good company"
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