Somewhat ridiculous: Syfy

It's been un-geekified

Landor has renamed the Sci Fi Channel. The new name? “Syfy.” I assume it’s homophonic with “SciFi.” Reasons for the name change, according to a TV Week article and a few blog posts, include:

1. A desire to create a “more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand.” – Dave Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel
2. Disassociate the channel with “geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that.” – TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network
3. Make the name more “ownable,” since there are “hundreds of sci-fi Web sites and sci-fi publications.” – Dave Howe
4. To stay connected to the channel’s “heritage and the track record of success.” – Dave Howe

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It’s unfortunate when a descriptive name overstays its welcome. Companies pursue new product or service lines in an attempt to grow, technologies change, and descriptive names become irrelevant. There are plenty of examples: American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M), and Southwest Airlines, which no longer operates only in the Southwest. When you don’t want to stand for that one thing anymore, your options are pretty much limited to changing the name or abbreviating the name (and rendering it meaningless, a la IBM–International Business Machines).

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