There’s power in a company’s name

Editor, Security Systems News Name recognition seems to be what it’s all about these days. Take a look at a number of stories that appear in our pages this month and you’ll see what I mean. For a long time we’ve all known that having a great name, a household name so to speak, is invaluable. But just now the security industry is joining that bandwagon and that wagon appears to be traveling in the right direction. Honeywell and General Electric are among the two most well-known names in the security industry and their name recognition among the consumer market is going to be put to good use. For Honeywell, it comes in the form of attaching the Honeywell name to Ademco products and allowing dealers to attach the logo to marketing materials. Though it took a long time to happen, it’s a start, and hopefully other Honeywell brands will follow suit. GE, on the other hand, is allowing security dealers to put what company officials affectionately call “the meatball,” the GE logo in a circle, on promotional materials. A series of advertising campaigns feature the GE name, with room for the dealer to attach his logo. Now that’s a winning combination when it comes to grabbing the consumer’s attention and bringing more recognition to the local security dealer. There’s a saying that says ‘rising tides raise all ships.’ Well Honeywell’s and GE’s names are prime examples of that. Industry analysts expect their presence in the security market and the touting of their name to lift the industry as a whole. But don’t just leave the name recognition game to the already well-known or larger companies. Other companies are also getting into the act, with plans to build brand awareness. Though Securitas is a household name in Europe, its recognition here in the states is lacking. That could soon change with a workforce of 120,000 security officers now wearing the Securitas patch. The guard and systems integration firm initiated their dramatic decision in July, moving away from American brands Pinkerton and Burns to adopt a single name. And for the company now known as Speco Technologies, whittling five names down to one is going to make it easier for its customers to associate its various product offerings, from communication systems and video cameras to bull horns and in-wall speaker systems, with a single company. There’s power in a company’s name. Think about it. Our industry has some of the most well-known companies now in the market. There’s Bosch, Tyco, GE, Honeywell and many others now jockeying for that name recognition and what they bring to the table is going to be good for all.