Blame the power of marketing like Heinz with ketchup and Kleenex with tissue, Thomas's has always seemed less a brand name than a synonym.
NTT, with bags of cash, a great brand name and a virtual monopoly on local calls, offering customers a one-stop shop.
"Ideally, we like to find a company with a strong core business, a good brand name, a new or at least revitalized management team and a solid balance sheet, " writes Putnam.
He is willing to pay for intangibles, like a consumer brand name or a newspaper monopoly, provided those assets throw off "owner's profits"--cash that can be extracted from a business after necessary capital outlays are paid for.
And that's a problem--the temptation to hook up a hot name with most any product under the sun, while profitable in the short run, only leads to a dilution of the athlete's brand name after a while, experts say.
Since 2006, the company operated as two segments: a luxury retail jewelry and watch division under the iconic Harry Winston brand name and a diamond mining business.
This is especially true in politics, where a brand name can be a powerful force.
"Profits and exposure of the brand name as a promoter of good Italian products, " says Trapani.
The company with the brand name or a clever marketing idea isn't necessarily the one with the factory.
Audi's great diesel vehicles--the A3 TDI and Q7 TDI--didn't make the cut for our list (the luxury brand name carries a hefty price premium, though Mercedes-Benz was able to break through that ceiling).
To do that, Capellas says Compaq will slap its well-known brand name on a wide range of products: from portable organizers to the Himalaya servers that power AOL's e-mail system to products still in development that will blur the lines between computers and electronic appliances like cell phones and stereos.
Like Band-Aid and Velcro, GED is a brand name often confused as a generic.
When they tried to use the phone, they discovered that the battery had died, and were given either a brand-name replacement or a cheaper generic cell phone battery.
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Having a name brand is "a huge help when we're selling because people have heard of us, " said David Von Spreckelsen, president of Toll's New York City Living division.
Companies like Kayak, which have a recognized brand name, might have a substantial majority of their users visiting their sites directly rather than being routed through a search engine.
Consumers love buying brand-name stocks and Facebook is a brand to 845 million consumers.
"Put a brand name on it, create a true national wholesale chain, " Stambouli mused.
Here's a brief science lesson: Botox is a brand name for botulinum toxin type a.
Edwards, the previous CEO, was widely regarded as a master marketeer, but in building a brand name for Iomega he burned a lot of cash.
But a Consumer Reports analysis found that the FDA was as likely to warn about manufacturing issues at a brand-name drug factory as a generic one, Dr. Santa says.
Such pay-for-delay deals arise when generic companies file a challenge at the Food and Drug Administration to the patents that give brand-name drugs a 20-year monopoly.
Like Kleenex, Coke and Tylenol, the word Winnebago doesn't just name a brand, it defines a whole category.
Simply put, a brand-name drugmaker agrees to pay a settlement to a generic rival in exchange for ending patent litigation and launching a copycat medicine at a future date.
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Buying a name-brand product with a coupon usually is more expensive than a generic product without a coupon.
Does having a brand-name law firm matter in incorporating a start-up?
And, you know thinking about it as a brand new supply and demand situation makes clear what they should have done: created a new brand name with less alcohol.
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The decision is one of the few instances in which a court has found that a brand-name drugmaker can be sued even though a consumer had taken only a generic.
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However, Pfizer points out that 61 decisions in 23 states have ruled against claims that tried to hold a brand-name drugmaker responsible for injuries allegedly caused by a generic version of Reglan.
FORBES: Pfizer Wants Court To Rehear Generic Labeling Case And Avoid Tort Hell
But even the government's firmest critics agree that the magnitude of the project and the involvement of a brand name such as Disney's will boost local confidence - a vital first step if people are to start spending again and the economy is to be reflated.
One explanation is that Apple products have become a brand-name accessory, the technological equivalent of another Japanese favorite: a Louis Vuitton bag.
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