“The essence of a company or product should be reflected in its name”

KARGO Kommunikation GmbH is an advertising and branding agency based on Wasserwerkgasse, right next to the River Aare in Bern. They’ve registered ‘KARGO’ as a word/figurative mark for their services in the Swiss trade mark database. 

Christoph Balsiger: It was important to us to have a short, concise and memorable name that stood out from run-of-the-mill, interchangeable communications or agency names. So no ‘... and partners’ and none of the puns that are typical in the industry. We wanted a term that was easy to pronounce and that sounded good in all the national languages, especially in Bernese German. Another key factor was that the name had to be typographically suitable for visual implementation.

The name KARGO is derived from the word ‘cargo’, which refers to freight, transport and movement. We see ideas and messages as the cargo that we transport across any terrain (channel) from our customers to the appropriate target group. This analogy fits very well with our self-image as an uncomplicated and pragmatic communications agency. And when we talk about our team, we like to call ourselves ‘Kargonauts’ – a reference to the Argonauts legend in Greek mythology. The heroes sailed through numerous adventures on their ship Argo. But that’s more of a fun insider fact.

The name has proven to be very viable in practice. It’s easy to pronounce, stays with you and rarely prompts questions. OK, over the last 10 years, we’ve also received a few enquiries about shipping containers from interested parties.

The cargo containers that give the brand its name are labelled or spray-painted using stencil lettering. We drew our inspiration from that. Ultimately, however, it wasn’t us that designed the logo, but rather a friendly graphic design studio in Bern that’s well known outside the city too. Like a restaurant owner who doesn’t drink his after-work beer in his own restaurant, it was clear to us as a branding agency that we should place our logo in impartial hands.

The logo works very well and has stood the test of time. Printed, in three-dimensional applications and also animated for digital applications. It can be used flexibly; it’s minimalist and yet striking in appearance. Today, we would design the symbol in exactly the same way. As an agency that always advises its clients to maintain continuity in their communications, we’re pleased that our logo will probably remain unchanged for a long time to come, while other agencies continually rebrand.

It makes everything a bit more official. And as a branding agency, we preach the value of trade marks. And things of value need to be protected. We reaped the benefits recently when a company in a related industry was founded with the same name, which it registered as a trade mark. We filed an opposition to the registration of this trade mark with the IPI and were subsequently able to reach an amicable agreement with the company. As a result, the IPI considered the case to be settled.

We don’t systematically monitor our trade mark. We just don’t have the resources to do so. The trade mark in question came to our attention because the company is also based in the Bern area, which is of course small – especially within our industry. We first became aware of it when someone contacted us thinking they were contacting the ‘other KARGO’.

We did it ourselves with the IPI and, as far as we can remember, we had no difficulties. When we create a new brand (name, logo, company name, etc.) for a customer, we also advise them to register it as a trade mark. However, we refer them directly to the IPI or to law firms that are experienced in this field and that we know and trust.

There are countless approaches. And what’s important also depends heavily on the customer, the company, the product, the language and cultural region, history and many other factors. The common denominator is that less is usually more. It’s often the short, appealing names that make brands endure. It’s always important to identify the essence of a company, product or service and reflect that in its name. A good example of this is undoubtedly NIKE. Using the name of the Greek goddess of victory as a brand name for a sports shoe is very fitting.

That’s a professional secret. A famous German graphic designer once said, “A logo is good if you can scratch it in the sand with your big toe.” However, we could certainly think of a few well-known logos to which this motto doesn’t apply and which are still recognised worldwide anyway.

Yes, definitely. The naming process is time-consuming and thus also expensive, so it would be incredibly frustrating to find out after all that effort that your favourite name and the corresponding .ch domain are already taken. This means that thorough research is essential.

The brand name and logo are a company’s most important business cards. Take your time or consult professionals!

Christoph Balsiger, thank you very much for talking to us!