Siffy to Offer Free Wiffy in NYC: “WyFy from SyFy”
By Aaron Hall
My least favorite re-brand of the year (SciFi –> SyFy) is scheduled to go live with their massive blunder on July 7th. And, it seems that the folks at Siffy (my not-so-adoring nickname for SyFy) are well aware that their name sucks and people hate it. So, they’re trying to get all the geeks out there in Manhattan to love them for different reasons. Siffy will be offering free WyFy in Times Square and Union Square.
Yes, you read that right. They will be offering free WyFy, dubbed “WyFy from SyFy.” Here’s what I imagine the conversation between Landor and the SciFi exec must have looked like:
SciFi exec: Dude, Landor man, you guys effed us over royally. People hate this new name. Fix it. We’ve spent too much money on this launch to turn back now. I don’t care what you do, just fix it!!
Landor: We understand and we’re on top of it. And, boy howdy, do we ever have the answer for you. We’re going to give you a free new name and a free slogan to help promote the new SyFy name.
SciFi exec: (Arms crossed) Free, you say? Alright, let’s hear it…
Landor: After spending weeks conducting focus groups at comic book conventions, analyzing the results, and jotting down dozens of new name and slogan ideas on the back of some napkins, we came up with an amazing new name to pair with SyFy. Think about it: What rhymes with SyFy?
SciFi exec: (Shakes head) I don’t even want to guess…
Landor: The answer is WiFi! WiFi, SciFi. Get it? And so, check this out. You guys should offer free WiFi in select locations. Because, you know, the geeks who watch your channel are on the internet. And they’d love to get some free WiFi. And, it stands to reason, they’d then love you in return.
SciFi exec: Okay, we’re listening. We can see this has some potential…
Landor: So check this out. The new name we spent weeks coming up with is… Drumroll please (strums thumbs on desk) WyFy! And the slogan for this campaign will be WyFy from SyFy.
(SciFi exec laughs, thinking it’s a joke. Notices the look of complete seriousness on Landor’s face. SciFi exec stops laughing. A blank look of dumbfounded disbelief spreads across SciFi exec’s face.)
SciFi exec: Oh, you’re serious? Right. I suppose I did say “I don’t care what you do… just to fix it.” Okay, so… what do we have to lose, right?! Sure, do whatever. (Stands up and walks out of room shaking head)
Landor: Another grand slam. We’re so awesome! (Turns and high-fives other Landor team members)
Tags: awful names, awful renaming, renaming blunder, Syfy, terrible name, terrible name change, WyFy from SyFy
June 24th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Couldn’t agree more on the crapiness of “SyFy”: http://www.semanticargument.com/?p=175. I like that you’ve tagged this post both “awful names” and “terrible name” just to make sure you’ve covered all the bases. My favorite part of the SyFy debacle is Landor’s attempt to disown the whole thing (http://www.landor.com/index.cfm?do=thinking.blog&post_id=18904&bhcp=1&bhhash=1#top). Hey, maybe it was the client’s “fault,” but it seems a bit unprofessional to point that out.
At one point I’d predicted that they’d pull the whole thing before 7/7, but it’s seeming less and less likely. Do you really think they’ve spent too much on it to turn back now? Running a business based on emotions like buyer’s regret never made much sense to me.
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Turns out that Landor Associates *didn’t* come up with “Syfy” — the internal marketing department did. Landor tried to get them to go with a different name, but the decision had already been made. (Which Dave Howe has pretty much already admitted to.)
As Rob noted above, the exec director even took the unusual step of distancing Landor from the controversy.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:38 am
[...] we here at Catchword have pointed out numerous times (here, here, here, here, and here) we can’t stand the new SyFy brand name. However, we are willing to give credit [...]
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
The change of name reminds me of the morphing of Fuddruckers brand name in Idiocracy. Just more evidence that Idiocracy is a true story sent to us from the future. Syphilis is probably one or two iterations away.