To the Editor:
I read the article on Nov. 9 headlined “From TRCC to VRCC.” Huh? Really?
First, let’s be thankful that Vale has made a major donation to Thompson’s recreation centre. But recognizing a major donor by labelling a facility with a corporate name that ends up with confusing initials is a disappointment and serves no one well.
My company has been in the marketing and branding expertise for over 40 years. In the field of Naming 101, there are reasons why you do not want to name a new business with your personal name, nor do you want to use just initials. They are anonymous, confusing, institutional and carry no brand message. Of course, if you are a non-profit entity in the marketplace or public facility, you can call it whatever you want regardless how bad the name is.
Many non-profit organizations, government agencies or services always start with long descriptive names that are formulated initially by administrators who have little understanding of the power or need for good marketing and strong brand management. A multi-worded name (three to five words) will always be too long to say, too long to write, and even to remember. It invariably ends up being reduced to initials.
You may get away with two or three initials, if you are IBM (International Business Machines), RCA (Radio Corporation of America), 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing), and have been around for 100-plus years and spent tens of millions of dollars on marketing and promotion. It did work for INCO (International Nickel Company of Canada Ltd), where the acronym became a simple word that was easy to say and remember and was very distinctive.
When INCO became CVRD Inco, staff and the public still referred to the company as simply Inco. When a world-class design agency rebranded CVRD Inco to simply Vale (one word, two syllables), the transition was quick and almost seamless.
Over the years in Thompson, do you remember or know what organizations these represent? BRHA, TRAA, NCDC, NAPHWI, CEDF, BCHRC, TLSM, NRHA, TNRC, TCDC, GRTCA, TCF, BDC, TRCC. And now VRCC?
I am not criticizing the good work or service these entities provide, but to say that anonymous initials confuse youngsters, immigrants, visitors, non-English-speaking people and newcomers. Why would you want to do that?
Would you say to your six-year-old child “Let’s have fun today and go skating at VRCC?” Would you child understand you better if you just said, “Let’s have fun today and go skating at the rink?” Because that is what will happen, and all the brand value for Vale will be lost.
There are small green traffic signs, which hardly anyone sees, that are bolted to lamp poles on Thompson Drive at entrance to University College of the North Drive (see photo). It says TRCC/ ARENA with an arrow pointing to the entrance. It must have been installed by city employees to provide direction. Yet, someone felt that TRCC was not clear enough and added the word arena. Point made!
Surely, to recognize Vale for their financial contribution, having a simple, unique name that is recognizable and memorable to any age group would be beneficial. Instead of Vale Regional Community Centre (four words, 11 syllables), it could be as simple as Vale Centre (two words, four syllables) or Valeplex (“Val-lay-plex” – one word, three syllables) or ... ?
Thompson needs to strive for marketing excellence here and in other areas instead of accepting mediocrity. A new name for Thompson’s primary recreation facility that gathers public audiences, caters to families enjoying events and where proud parents go to watch their children perform, deserves to be better named than being heard in public and in the media as VRCC, where people will forever respond with “Huh?”
Volker Beckmann
Thompson
