Corporate Identity
May 17, 2007
What's in a name? A lot, according to conventional wisdom among corporate CEOs. Nearly a decade ago, the highly touted "marriage of equals" between German high-end carmaker Daimler-Benz and US standard-bearer Chrysler nearly ran aground amid disagreement over which of the two partners would get top billing in the corporate identity.
Daimler won out (thus the company was called DaimlerChrysler, not ChryslerDaimler). But in doing so, it sacrificed Benz, a part of its identity that goes back to the creation of the firm. Now, some folks are arguing that giving up its heritage -- Carl Benz was the inventor of the first automobile, after all -- was a mistake.
With the newly spun-off German arm of DaimlerChrysler seeking a revamped corporate identity, a war of words has broken out in the state of Baden-Württemberg. People from the region of Baden -- where Carl Benz was born -- are upset that those in Stuttgart (in Württemberg, and the town where Daimler AG is headquartered) have gotten all the glory, and are keeping it.
Town agitates to revive "Benz"
"In Stuttgart … they shouldn't forget that it wasn't Gottlieb Daimler, but Carl Benz who invented the automobile," a worker at the DaimlerChrysler factory in Mannheim told dpa news service.
Meanwhile, administrators in the town of Mannheim (located in the Baden region of Baden-Württemberg) are doing their best to encourage Daimler AG leader Dieter Zetsche to reclaim the Benz name, the Associated Press has reported.
"Through the planned separation from Chrysler, there is a chance to bring the old Daimler-Benz name back to life," said a declaration from the local council of Mannheim.
And Daimler AG headquarters also reported a number of calls of people who wanted to get the Benz name back, AP said.
Concerns over corporate confusion
Marina Raptis, a spokeswoman for Daimler AG, told AP any name change would need to be addressed at an extraordinary general meeting in the autumn. Suggestions would need to be examined with several factors in mind, including property rights and legal and strategic issues, she said.
She noted that the Daimler name is well known and serves as an over-arching identity. Names like Mercedes-Benz AG or Daimler-Benz AG could mix corporate and product identities, which could harm the company's position on the product market, Raptis argued.
"Our suggested and preferred name, Daimler AG, attaches us to tradition, but shows a clear direction forward," Raptis said.
The suggested name is not meant to be a slight to Benz, she said. "The history and tradition of our company, as well as the brand Mercedes Benz will always be tied to Carl Benz. ... Without Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler, our company would not exist," she said.
No one denies that Benz's invention hit the pavement before that of his competitor Daimler. That fact has left some people especially eager to see the name Benz back in the company logo.
Baden-based politician Karl Lamers argued that the name Benz is the "starting point for today's international auto concern." And the mayor of the city of Karlsruhe, Heinz Fenrich, reminded Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche that Benz "got the world on wheels."
Mrs. Benz's famous ride
The hybrid name Daimler-Benz itself came about as a result of an even earlier corporate history of merger and survival.
In 1883, Benz founded the "Benz & Co. Rhineland Gas Motor Factory" in the town of Mannheim. He patented a single-stroke, four-cylinder engine in January 1886. In July of that year, he hooked it to a three-wheel carriage and sent it on its inaugural drive.
In a groundbreaking publicity stunt, Benz's wife Bertha rode the open-top "Benz-Patent Motor Car" to her hometown of Pforzheim. The ride -- during which Mrs. Benz used a hatpin to unplug a clogged gas tube -- has become legend.
But business for Benz was not especially good, and in 1926, when worldwide depression threatened the company, it joined up with the Daimler Motor Co. in Stuttgart. At the time of that merger, it was agreed that Benz would be in the company name.