Name, not shame, in the big branding exercise.

The Apprentice is all wrapped up for another year. This TV show gives us so much material to blog about. Apart from how not to do business, it opens our eyes to how brands are built. From focus groups and creating a logo, to designing packaging and directing adverts, creating a brand is the corner stone of many Apprentice tasks. Remember soft drinks week? The winning team came unstuck post-episode, however, when they dreamt up a new energy juice called Big Dawg…without realising a drink with the same name already existed. Have you ever wondered why the candidates on the show never access the internet? A quick Google would have revealed their naming error. Brand fail.

The Google aspect showed its hand again more recently, when news broke of an estate agent choosing to rebrand in the wake of another name crisis. iSiS Residential had drawn influences from the term used to describe the south eastern part of the River Thames and the Egyptian Goddess of family. Unfortunately, the name iSiS has been hijacked by Jihadist terrorists and a Google search does not return favourable results if you are a home mover. Moreover, the agent decided to distance itself from any fanatical behaviour at the same time as expanding. Not a brand fail, just an unfortunate coincidence that it turned into a positive with some national newspaper coverage to boot.

Keen industry followers will also be aware of the 2013 Fine versus Fine & Country High Court case that debated the similarity between the brand names, with Spicerhaart losing the battle and going on to ditch the Fine brand to replace it with Chewton Rose.

Where does that leave today’s estate agents when it comes to branding? If your brand is established and well supported by a marketing team, it’s a case of upholding the brand and keeping your fingers crossed that the next wave of radical fundamentalists don’t take a shine to your name.

The biggest challenge will be for new agents who want to make their mark in an industry full of branding pitfalls. You may know about the stationary specialist Pen Island. When it created its web address, the url took on a totally different meaning in the online search bar (go figure).

To avoid such mistakes, anyone thinking of setting up an estate agency from scratch – or rebranding an existing one – should follow some simple first-step rules.

  • Google your suggested agency name to find out if a business already exists with the same moniker
  • Steer clear of names that are a play on existing brands – you may breach copyright and could be sued. There’s also the issue of being confused with another business.
  • Type any new business name into your browser’s url bar and scrutinise how it appears – you don’t want a Pen Island situation.
  • Agree with a handful of friends unconnected to your business that you can call them and give your web and email address over the ‘phone. This ensures your company name is easy to communicate, highlighting whether it’s hard to jot down or causes spelling mistakes that might prevent web traffic or email bounces.

* Dave Hunt is the business development director of the ARPM Group, who provides national outsourced lettings and property management services

ARPM

Simon Duce is the Founder and Managing Director of ARPM Outsourced Lettings Support - a business designed to help small and start-up letting agents/property managers offer a full suite of property management and tenancy administration services through outsourcing.

You May Also Enjoy

Damaged timber from Dry Rot
Estate Agent Talk

Mould and damp – what you need to know ahead of winter

With the winter months just round the corner, problems with damp and mould can become far more prominent. Autumntime is when many people turn on central heating systems and choose to close windows, preventing fresh air ventilation needed to allow damp air to leave a property. Unfortunately, the combination of warm and damp air can…
Read More
Breaking News

Rental price and average salary tracker – September 2025

London and South East see biggest dips in required rental salary year-on-year London and the South East saw the sharpest dips year-on-year in the average salary needed in order to rent the average home in that area. London saw a 4.2% drop, whilst the South East saw a decline of 2.9%. Yorkshire and Humberside saw…
Read More
buying at auction uk
Breaking News

The cities where buying beats renting – with just a 5% deposit

British first-time buyer mortgage payments are typically 17% cheaper than renting, even with a low 5% deposit The average 5% deposit is £11,412 based on a typical first-time buyer property price of £228,233 Among major cities outside London, the biggest gap between owning and renting is in Glasgow, where buyers could save more than £4,750…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Rightmove’s Weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker

Average rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Average rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 4.51% +0.00% -0.37% 5-year fixed 4.55% +0.01% +0.01%   Lowest rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages   Term Lowest rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 3.77% +0.05% -0.07% 5-year fixed 3.97% +0.10% +0.29%   Average…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Data and commentary from Rightmove on stamp duty reforms

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert said: “We’ve been calling for stamp duty reform for some time now, as it’s a significant barrier for many people moving home. Abolishing it completely would remove one of the biggest barriers to moving, unlocking more moves at all stages of the property ladder. “Our data shows that only 5%…
Read More
Breaking News

Second-time buyers dominate demand for longer term fixed mortgage deals

Second-time buyers are dominating demand for longer term fixed mortgage deals, fresh data from Moneyfacts Analyser can reveal. Of those looking for fixed term deals on moneyfactscompare.co.uk: Almost two-thirds (58%) of second-time buyers who compared mortgage deals using the moneyfactscompare.co.uk website were considering terms of three years or longer in the 30 days to 1…
Read More