Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

10The no-name trap

“I’m going to L.A.,” the corporate executive will say. “And then I have to make a trip to New York.” Why is Los Angeles often called L.A., but New York is seldom called N.Y.?

“I worked for GE for a couple of years and then went to Western Union.” Why is General Electric often called GE, but Western Union is seldom called WU?

General Motors is often GM, American Motors is often AM, but Ford Motor is almost never FM.

Phonetic shorthand

The principle at work here is phonetic shorthand.

Ra-di-o Cor-po-ra-tion of A-mer-i-ca is 12 syllables long. No wonder most people use R-C-A, three syllables long.

Gen-er-al E-lec-tric is six syllables long, so most people use G-E, two syllables.

Gen-er-al Mo-tors is often GM. A-mer-i-can Mo-tors ...