Brand Bible

F39 Job:09-26878 Title:RP-Brand Bible

#175 Dtp:204 Page:166

(RAY)

001-320_26878.indd 166 10/7/11 10:20 AM

BRAND BIBLE

(Text)

 numerous transporta-

tion brands oer to ferry us from location A to

location B. If we want to travel by air on a low-

cost carrier, we can choose from JetBlue, South-

west, or Frontier Airlines. Car brands range from

Mercedes-Benz to Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, and

Tesla. Motorcycles run the gamut, too: Harley-

Davidson, BMW, and Ducati promise us exhila-

ration through a particular lens of pop culture

and mechanical engineering. If we want to take a

weekend jaunt from New York to Boston, let’s say,

we can opt for BoltBus, Peter Pan, or Fung Wah.

Each brand, of course, oers its own particular

experience and a unique strategy of appealing to

our individual sensibilities. JetBlue has all those

televisions, a reputation for eciency, unique

snacks, and a warm and fuzzy hospitality. Harley-

Davidson oers entrée into an outsider culture.

BoltBus has WiFi and brand-spanking new buses,

while Fung Wah is unbelievably cheap. Toyota

developed a reputation for environmental innova-

tion until its production debacle of 2010 tarnished

the company. Ford has gone from brink-of-bank-

ruptcy irrelevance to hip, contemporary, and eco-

advocate with its Fusion.

1

the evoLution

of Branding

f o r

transportation



ride me

1 2

Photo credit: Kenneth V. Pilon / Shutterstock.com

Photo credit: Kenneth V. Pilon/Shutterstock.com

F39 Job:09-26878 Title:RP-Brand Bible

#175 Dtp:204 Page:166

(RAY)

001-320_26878.indd 166

10/7/11 10:08 AM

(RAY)

F39 Job:09-26878 Title:RP-Brand Bible

10-C65031 #175 Dtp:204 Page:167

001-297_C65031.indd 167 10/24/11 7:13 PM

167

(Text)

In the early history of the United States, the

options for transportation were nowhere near as

multifarious. Visitors and emigrants made the

transatlantic journey to the country on ships. In

1818, the Black Ball Line established its “brand

dierentiation” from other transatlantic service

when it introduced regular times for departure

from the ports of Liverpool and New York. The

line even had a brand mark—a “black ball” painted

on one of its front sails. The company’s success

led to the ascension of the port of New York above

other ports like Boston and Philadelphia, and it

also inspired the competition and imitators. In

later years—before trademark protection had

been introduced—another shipping line copied the

brand mark.

Ride Me: The Evolution of Branding for Transportation



Once in the United States, travelers relied on

wagon, carriage, canal, riverboat, and horses for

journeys of varying lengths. The Baltimore and

Ohio Railroad, which debuted in 1830, oered

the rst passenger train service with a train that

was initially pulled along tracks by horses. Steam

locomotion debuted later that same year, and the

spread of railroads improved transportation for

goods as well as passengers alike. As the railways

evolved and enterprising inventers saw opportu-

nities for innovation, more distinctions emerged.

George Pullman established the rst recognizable

brand of train car; his Pullman car oered travel-

ers comfortable sleeping berths for long journeys,



A bill of travel from

1829 recorded infor-

mation about travelers



Railroads were the

dominant form of

transportation in the

U.S. from the 1830s

until the 1920s.

Photo credit: Kenneth V. Pilon/Shutterstock.com

F39 Job:09-26878 Title:RP-Brand Bible

#175 Dtp:204 Page:167

(RAY)

001-320_26878.indd 167

10/7/11 10:08 AM