Covid 19, Pandemic, Wuhan, China, Naming and Strategy of Distancing

Why is that most of the products that we commonly use are not sold by their technical or chemical names such as salt, detergent powder and baking soda as sodium chloride, sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate? Why do marketers do a lot of thinking and strategizing in giving them brand names like Tata Salt, Tide and Arm & Hammer?

‘Name’ is one of the most important elements in the branding process. The name assigned to a product depends on broader architecture that a firm intends to adopt after mapping consumers, competition and own assets. Fundamentally, brand name is intended to link a product with its source or its marketer in order to differentiate it from other competitors. This link between an individual product or brand with its source/ firm can vary in terms of its directness.

The brand name Tata Salt very directly takes us to the repertoire of trust that the house of Tata enjoys in India. Though Tide does not make its connection with P&G explicit but it is known. Hence it plugs into the reputation of its maker indirectly. However, Arm & Hammer as a name enjoys the weakest link with Church & Dwight. It stands on its own.

What happens if a deadly virus originates from your soil and goes on to become a pandemic infecting millions and killings thousands? What would you do if you create an evil product? What if your corporation is linked with Bhopal gas leak? What if your shipping container spills millions of gallons of crude into Alaska? What if your company is responsible for audit misconduct in Enron? What if your brand endorser is charged with infidelity?

Clearly the strategy in such cases is ‘divorce and distance’ from such an evil product, act or deed. Or else there is a huge risk of reputation setback. When it is called Covid 19, this virus gets hooked up with a technical category of Corona viruses which have emerged in  Coronavirus (SARS-CoV, 2002, H1N1 , 2009,and MERS-CoV, 2012). This categorization draws us into debate and discussion of virology and epidemiology.

But if this virus is referred to as Wuhan or China virus, clearly the attention shifts to a geopolitical entity and its style of functioning, transparency and morality. The debate is likely to take a business, political and ideological turn. This is undesirable and likely to have affect/shape how China is seen by people and nations across the globe.  The name, Covid 19 distances China from the pandemic. How Covid 19 replaced the Wuhan or China virus in currency of language is for everyone to see whether it has been by way of natural selection of better expression or the outcome of a well designed branding strategy.