Branding

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semiotics_branding_numbers

After having researched more than 300 brands using only numbers. We found the following 7 categorisations could be extrapolated: Characteristics of the product or service, Events, Law, Future Brands, Expressions, Cultural perceptions and Mathematical perceptions.

I. Characteristics of the product

1. Composition

Coca cola zero: beverage with 0 calories.
The 280 McDonald’s: hamburger which weights 280 grams.
Collection 128: collection of books with 128 pages.
42 Below: vodka with 42 % alcohol content.

2. Performance

Excel 10: 10 minutes hair colour
Chrono 13: parcel delivery before 13h00 the following day.
8 à Huit: French supermarket open from 8 AM to 8 PM.
N24: TV channel broadcasting news content 24 hours a day.
Flashgame247: online games available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
16Seven ethical fashion studio: 16/7… number of hours and days worked (16 hours every day) in the garment industry by indentured workers

3. Variety

Baskin-Robbins 31: US ice cream company founded in 1945,”31®” logo used to represent a flavor for every day of the month.

4. Price

295.ca: Canadian Internet service provider with membership from 2 dollars 95.
Tout à 10 francs: French discount store in Lyon, rebaptised in 2002, “Two Euros Only”.

5. Location

Treize: beer brewed in Marseille. In France, Marseille has the department number 13.
42 Below: vodka produced in New Zealand, which is situated on the forty second parallel.
111 Minna Gallery: Art gallery located in 111 Minna Street, San Francisco.
Sette: Italian restaurant
Zeronovantuno Edizioni: 091, Palermo city code number, the hometown of the 3 founder members.
5280: News Magazine made in Denver. Numbers refer to the city’s mile-high elevation.

numbers_branding_semiotics_strategy

6. Target

Deutsche Bank 24: here 24 has the “appeal of youth”.
12-25: this website of the French “Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer” targets young people from 12 to twenty five years old.
60plus.org: “a non-partisan senior’s advocacy group with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach to senior’s issues”.

7. Consumption

After Eight: mint enrobed in dark chocolate, intended to be used after dinner.

8. Evolution

PlayStation 1, PS 2, PS 3, PS 4, PS 5: the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 inform about the chronological evolution of the product, PS5 will be released in 2020.

II. Events

1. Internal event related to the activity of the enterprise

1881: is the year of foundation of Cerruti Company.
Studio 318: “I chose 318 because I started my company on March 18, 1997 so it stands for my inception date. A lot of designers use their names for their businesses but I wanted something that sounded bigger than
that.” (Joan Maloney founder of Studio 318)
1664: is the year that this brewery was founded.
SixtySeven Shoes: Brand registration year
Refinery29: US fashion and style media. Numbers refer to the original 29 featured retailers helping to “refine” the welter of fashion stores.

2. Internal event not related to the activity of the enterprise

314 Studio: “My birthday is March 14th and I always liked the number” (Chihiro Makio, founder of 314 Studio).

3. External event related to the activity of the enterprise

1855.com: is a web site selling wine and champagne referencing the date of the wine classification tables based at the universal exhibition of 1855 (Paris).

4. External event not related to the activity of the enterprise

Seven Air: the 07/07/07 the internal Tunisian airline company “Tuninter” was rebaptised “seven air” relating to the political succession of the president of Tunisia Ben Ali, the 7th of november 1987.

branding_numbers_research

III. Law

51: Pastis Fifty One was created in 1951.
1951 is the year of abrogation of the law forbidding the sell of aniseed drinks during the Second World War.

IV. Future Brands

The year 2000 was seen as a land mark in the evolution of man kind…
Optic 2000: created in 1969
Assu 2000: created in 1975
Laser 2000: created in 1991
With the acceleration of our communication’s capacities, we can already see signs of the year 3000

V. Expressions

Get 31: an alcohol beverage created in 1976. Thirty One refers to the French expression “se mettre sur son 31(“dressed to the nines”).

VI. Cultural Perceptions

King888: « because 888 mean good luck in Asia »… The Olympic Games Beijing 2008 started the 08/08/08

VII. Mathematical Perceptions

branding_strategy_mathematics

1. Degrees

Xbox360, 360.yahoo.com, 180.co.za, 180deg.com, 90degreesoftware.com…

2. Rotation

90°

Huit: French lingerie boutique. The brand Huit was chosen because of the “Eight” figure – put in a horizontal position, it symbolises the shape of a woman’s breasts.

sex_brands_france_number_69.

1969.fr French sexshop.

The rotation makes the numbers take an iconic/sexual value.

.
.

180°

M6 / W9 (Des Chiffres et des Lettres)

numbers_brands_six_nine

Equals

NSM88: National Socialist Movement, Neo Nazi party operating in the US.

88 = HH = Nazi salute (Heil Hitler)

Pi

Studio 314 “is branded on the value of Pi. Being an engineer I was obsessed with the complexities and simplicities of the number”. (Amit Patel, creator of Studio 314)

22Seven: free investing and budgeting app.
22 devided by 7 = Pi

Infinity

1001_menus_numbers_branding

1001 Menus: The startup uses the number 1001 as a metaphor of infinity.

These categories are not fixed; they represent the first classification of brands using numbers. Updated soon.

Author Bio

M C

Editor in Chief Mehdi Chourou