It’s All In A Name

If you’re of a certain age, you can remember when Canada’s national banks all had names. Now, they have initials.

Toronto Dominion Bank = TD Canada Trust (a merger kept that last bit - I guess TDCT didn’t sound right)
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce = CIBC
Bank of Montreal = BMO
Royal Bank = RBC
Hong Kong Singapore Bank = HSBC
From India: ICICI = no idea what that stood for in the first place
And of course, ING

Now I realize that this is all the result of board rooms full of marketing geniuses who have decided that initials are snappier and quicker to advertise and easier to remember, and I guess to some degree they’re right. But I’m a name person: When I hear something or someone referred to by an abbreviation or initials, my first response is “What does that stand for?” Once I know, then I might consider abbreviated references. But until then, knowing a name just seems more…respectful.

I guess that’s why I’m not in marketing.

Friday June 20, 2008 | 11:05 AM in Canadiana

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