Substance vs style: what’s in a name?

Branding of a product is essential when it comes to getting maximum impact through advertising, but just how dynamic does it need to be?

Too many times in the past products in the scooter industry have failed to deliver, but lured customers through the brand name alone.

Ever since aftermarket scooter products became available they’ve been subject to some sort of branding, usually in the form of an elaborate name to make them stand out. Often the more dynamic a product sounded the more attention it got… regardless of what it actually did! Don’t get me wrong, if a product was no good it got found out, but more than likely, long after it sold well just from name alone!

So, how important is it to get the name right? A good example is the AF Rayspeed kits; both the TS1200 and RB225 sounded good before anyone even saw them. Their quality and performance proved to be good, but would they have sold so well if they were just called ‘aluminium performance cylinder’? The kits produced by Tino Sacchi were named after race tracks in Italy and the names just oozed exotica. The ‘Imola 186’ – perfect. But what if it had been named ‘Oulton Park Kit’? Or if the ‘Super Monza’ had perhaps been called the ‘Great Knockhill’. Somehow, I don’t think they would have sold so well.

Branding isn’t just associated with performance products, even mundane items like seats, such as Super Corsa or the ever popular Snetterton, are subject to the same treatment. Manufacturers themselves led the way on branding. Piaggio’s Vespa range sounded pretty dull until the GS came along. Even more than 60 years later the GS name is still loved. More notable was what the Lambretta Concessionaires did back in the 1960s, by successfully rebranding three Innocenti models. The new names of Pacemaker, GT200 and Grand Prix all gave maximum impact. There’s no doubt the name change in the UK, to Grand Prix instead of the rather dull DL, was a masterstroke. At a time when scooter sales were struggling the new name, combined with performance, worked as a winning formula to help boost sales.

There have been cases where the name, luckily, hasn’t mattered quite so much. When Piaggio introduced its best sports model ever, the T5, it sounded rather mundane. This was an example of where the product was actually so good that the name wasn’t important. For a manufacturer, while the name is important, at the end of the day it’s the mass-marketing of a product which finally gets it noticed. This is the advantage they have over a smaller company or entrepreneur who doesn’t have the big budgets. For them the name is ultra important in ensuring maximum impact is achieved.

In the scooter scene though, regardless of what a company or individual is selling, an appealing name seems to be expected or even demanded. This is more prevalent when it comes to performance products. Looking back to the 1980s the term ‘stage tuning’ defined how a product could get noticed. Tuners soon exploited this with the most popular being stages four, five or the fabled stage six. Stage six meant you were getting the most powerful engine possible, even if it didn’t live up to expectations. If you could tell fellow scooterists you had a stage six engine in your Lambretta it gave you kudos that nothing else could. Of course, trends change and the introduction kits such as the TS1 signalled a shift in how products would be branded in future. With more companies vying for a share in the scooter scene, getting the name right is vitally important – making sure their product is noticed in what is such a crowded market place.

But as a consumer, it’s imperative to be certain a product does what it says, regardless of how impressive it sounds. Too many times in the past products in the scooter industry have failed to deliver, having lured customers through the brand name alone. Thankfully, those days are largely behind us, and with many ‘tried n tested’ reviews now available, the products seem to be getting better each year… even the ones without big budgets or snazzy names! An example of this was the recent Quattrini 210 kit, not exactly an exciting name, but rather than just get a test kit and say ‘this is what we think’… in the first part of the review Scootering went straight to source and dealt with kit developer Max Quattrini to get full tech specs straight from the horse’s mouth.

Next a dual road test from riders with polar opposite requirements took place, as well as an interview with the engine builder Martin Cook. Hopefully, this sort of testing should result in a reduction in the number of garages full of unwanted purchases which have failed to live up to expectations, not to mention their snazzy names!