Thursday, April 12th 2018
FutureMark Corporation Sees Its Name Changed to... Parent Company's "UL"
Futuremark, makers of probably the most recognizable benchmarks out there, have announced they are getting a company rebrand. The announcement has come via a blog post on their site, citing a "new home" for the company. UL, a company that has existed for more than a hundred years and that specializes in testing, inspection, auditing, and certification services and solutions, purchased FutureMark back in 2014, and is now looking to streamline the company's branding to their own.
The move will see FutureMark rebrand itself to "UL Benchmarks" as soon as April 23rd. Everything but the branding - and the hosting websites should remain the same. FutureMark's benchmarks databases will be relocated to benchmarks.UL.com. The company has reaffirmed its commitment in that everything will remain the same, save for the new coat of paint; the mission and intention behind UL Benchmarks will be the same as with FutureMark. I'd say there's something of a missing opportunity here, though; Underwrites Laboratories (the meaning of "UL") seems much better suited for a benchmarking company, whilst also keeping thematical relevance with the parent company's name. But oh well.
Source:
FutureMark
The move will see FutureMark rebrand itself to "UL Benchmarks" as soon as April 23rd. Everything but the branding - and the hosting websites should remain the same. FutureMark's benchmarks databases will be relocated to benchmarks.UL.com. The company has reaffirmed its commitment in that everything will remain the same, save for the new coat of paint; the mission and intention behind UL Benchmarks will be the same as with FutureMark. I'd say there's something of a missing opportunity here, though; Underwrites Laboratories (the meaning of "UL") seems much better suited for a benchmarking company, whilst also keeping thematical relevance with the parent company's name. But oh well.
14 Comments on FutureMark Corporation Sees Its Name Changed to... Parent Company's "UL"
Oh well.
Reasons? FutureMark means "benchmarks for the future". And you don't change brandings when you have great reputation on them. It's why Coca Cola has hardly changed it's visual design and has kept the same name for ages. You see a bottle with red and white label with dark drink inside and you'll know it's Coca Cola without actually reading anything. Rolex crown? Same. Ferrari's prancing horse? Same. Mercedes 3 prong star? Same. Apple's bitten apple logo? Same. You don't change things that work, are established, are unique and even have a meaning.
It doesn't matter what the parent company is, you keep the name. That's an equivalent of renaming "Bugatti" or "Audi" brand to Volkswagen just because VW bought them. You don't do that. We all know that VW is their parent company, but the original name remained, because it's well known and reputable.
For the ULZ