What’s in a name? I’ve heard that said somewhere before. I am not sure where but it has clearly stuck with me. I have come to believe that names are important. Even when names are given accidentally you will usually find a connection with something greater that connect the person or thing with that name.
So what in the what do names have to do with this blog?? Outside of being the topic of discussion we would like to remind you that we changed our name. Well the name of the website that you are viewing this blog on. WHY?? There are quite a few reasons but the most important reason is the customer...you. Our previous name was sentimental and easier for us to use as the name was unique and no one would be using it as a URL. But as we look around at the things that have stood the test of time and had a successful business model like Kodak, Coke, Dell, Nike, etc I have noticed that the names are very simple, easy to remember, easy to find. And that is where the customer...you come in. Our previous name was Luepp (loop) it. (I’ll explain why shortly). Most people couldn’t remember exactly what it was and some couldn’t pronounce it. So we knew it was time to change but we didn’t know to what.
Unlike the previous brands we mentioned we were not inventing something new and therefore didn’t believe we needed to invent a new name. So we started investigating other well known names like Cher, Madonna, Beyonce, etc. Some of them we don’t even know their last names but it is obvious to most of us in the world who they are. We call that successful branding. This is something we would also like to do. But unlike celebrities that are clearly famous when people know exactly who you are talking about with just one word we are not planning on performing or doing interviews where the name (one word or not) will continue to come up connecting us with that name repeatedly and therefore creating a brand or stamp in the minds of those who see us.
Well we are a fashion company right???. So we started looking into names connected with fashion. We found most people use the name that was given to them at birth: Donna Karan, Stella McCartney, Diane Von Furstenberg, etc. This was a great way to always be unique. It is rare that someone else, at least another designer will have the exact same first and last name as you. It is also an excellent form of branding. And a great way to leave a legacy...think Missoni. BUT we are not actually create a new collection (well we are but not in this situation) so we needed to yet again rethink our strategy.
We started looking at online stores. The ones that stand out to the me the most are Shop Bop and Nasty Gal. Then we thought BINGO!!! These names are easy to remember, have done a great job of branding (if you are a shopper you know what each sells and who they are targeting). The key though is they found a clever way to put words together that are already in the English language.
So what we learned is that each area of life has found a system of naming that works very specifically and very well in that area. We liked that. We used that strategy. But why FASHION Looped?? Ok so Luepp It is the name of a previous company that stood for LUv Event Planning & Production (yes I spelled love that way..it was also a nickname I gave myself...and no we are not going to talk about that). Hopefully it is obvious that it was an Event Planning company. It started out great but I was on bed rest for about 3 months straight (pregnancy) and thought I would go back to it one day but I wasn’t passionate enough (good at it though) about it to want to see it through. Since I already owned the entity I just transferred businesses. That’s easy enough to do but then I had to consider how the name would work for an online fashion store. After thinking about what I wanted to online business to do (sell fashion, show how to where fashion and let our clients know about events they could wear their fabulous new things to) it felt like we wanted to keep people in the fashion loop. So that would be the connection. And it was our slogan, our tag line. But as I mentioned before branding and memory are crucial to make any of this work. So we have taken the leap of Faith and changed the name to something easier for the customer...you to remember and easier for the customer...you to find.
We are truly excited about the future and the things we have in store but we REALLY want to know what you think. Let us know on Instagram @FASHION_Looped
We love you and are so grateful for you…
Signing out: Where FASHION Meets a NEW LIFE!!
