Rudedog, Night Writer et al, do you think its time for a corporate name change?
A few months ago there was some discussion of Compaq changing its name. The name change was in the context of Compaq taking over Digital such that Compaq was no longer actually Compaq. The more I think of it, especially given the interchange between some of us here lately, a corporate name change might be the best way to go. Compaq Computer Corporation=boxmaker; Dell Computer Corporation=boxmaker. Hummm... Compaq is a brand of boxes BUT Compaq Computer Corporation does not just make boxes anymore.
Any ideas for a new name or anyone hear any whisper rumors about a name change? I am not talking about changing the name 'Compaq'on the boxes but on the name of the corporation of which its box division manufactures boxes under the Compaq name--like the Energizer Battery division of Ralston Purina.
A corporate name change would go a long way to changing the mind-set of people (including CPQ employed writers) who think "Box maker." Even here on the threads there would be less comparisons between CPQ and DELL because it is difficult to compare a _segment_ of one corporation with an entire corporation. Right now people do compare DELL to CPQ here and, I have noticed, many people will hold shares of one but not the other corporation, probably because people tend to invest their money with the corporation in a particular segment they think is going to be/is 'the winner.' I do not see people doing a "Compaq is better than IBM" or "Dell is better than IBM" because _everyone_ knows IBM does not just make boxes. Its box division came along w-a-y after IBM came into existence, unlike Compaq or Dell, who, from their beginnings, made boxes. Both Dell and Compaq have a problem, Compaq now and who knows, maybe Dell in the future, of disassociating its corporate name from its initial product--boxes.
I, for one, would hope for something non-trendy, something that sounds solid, possibly a bit classy/boring. I am not good at coming up with names, but how about something like ITC (Information Technology Corporation)? Then, when one gets to AltaVista's home page it would inform people that it is part of ITC rather than Compaq Computer, as it does now. Boxes would be manufactured with the brand name 'Compaq' which somewhere in the documentation as well as on the carton it comes in would be a statement that Compaq is a registered trademark of ITC.
This might even get more people interested in buying shares of CPQ (or whatever it gets renamed). I and I am sure others have looked into companies for possible stock purchase by finding out the 'mother' company. If I like the Compaq computer I buy and I see that Compaqs are made by some company called ITC, I am going to _assume_ ITC, whose name has nothing to do with Compaq, is involved in more than making boxes-and I'm going to want to find out what else it does. Same for AltaVista. I like AltaVista, which I see is part of some company called ITC. What else does ITC make/do? Right now people _know_ what Compaq does when they see 'Compaq' under AltaVista: Compaq makes boxes and for some reason they have AltaVista; who knows why and who cares--CPQ is a box maker.
Speaking of AltaVista, it sure has not made an impact on the stock price of Compaq. I read something yesterday that compared Yahoo, AltaVista, Lycos, etc. and AltaVista had the greatest percentage increase of first time user hits the past month. It was also given the higest rating for speed of finding things [wish I had saved the article]. Look at the price/share of Yahoo! Now try to figure what impact AltaVista has on the share price of Compaq. To me, it looks like the answer is, "None."
Maybe ITC isn't the best idea for a new name. Something that does _not_ start with an 'I' would be better [I:IBM as I:lets not jinx CPQ].
Lynn |
