Frequently at brand strategy meetings, marketers will eagerly exclaim, "We're going to become the industry standard. We want to be the Kleenex of our category. We need a name like Kleenex!" This is a lofty, bold, and admirable goal, worthy of pursuit, but the critical difference between the desired end result and the tools required to reach it has, in this scenario, been lost -- the marketers are confusing the brand with the name.

How did Kleenex become the industry standard of the facial tissue category? The same way any brand comes to dominate a category -- by being the first big brand recognized in its field, by providing what is perceived to be a quality product and service, by keeping current with the changing requirements of the times, and by promoting consistent and appealing brand messages.

The Kleenex name contributed to the brand's success by providing Kimberly-Clark's marketers with a strong and protectable trademark that captured the product's primary user benefit, cleanliness. But the powerful Kleenex brand was built through years of concerted marketing efforts by Kimberly-Clark.

Those eager marketers, then, probably don't really need a name like Kleenex -- a name beginning with the letter K, ending in X, employing a phonetic spelling of the benefit "clean." What they do need is a name that will enable them to build a brand that can dominate their category. The right name can indeed help them achieve that goal, through clear, compelling, and consistent communication of their own core brand messages.

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