A few years ago, I did branding work for The Cohasset Education Foundation, a local fundraising organization that provided financial support to my town's public schools. The name is pretty self-explanatory concerning place, purpose, and business entity. However, human nature kicked in, and soon the name around town became 'CEF.'

Referencing acronymnfinder.com, there are several other CEFs including:

• Canadian Expeditionary Force

• Chicken Embryo Fibroblasts

• Canadian Equestrian Federation

• Consolidated Exchange Feed

• Construction Employers Federation

Why is it that we feel the need to shorten word grouping to either initials, acronyms, or shortened nicknames?

SPACE?

I can understand where newspapers have space constraints regarding line length and column depth. I recall that as a youngster when my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates played the Baltimore Orioles, my hometown daily referred to the matchup as 'Bucs vs. Birds,' with Bucs as a shortened version of Buccaneers, a synonym for Pirates. This transition is a bit of a reach, but in this case, 'Pies vs. Birds' doesn't work quite as well.

LIMITED LETTERS?

Thinking concerning a traditional movie theater marquee consider the number finite number of letters and punctuation that the person on the ladder has available. The new movie is: "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies" (Dennis Steckler, 1964) suddenly becomes "Strange Creatures."

(There are only so many 'Es' in the letterbox.)

REDUNDANCY?

When writing project proposals, I am guilty of replacing 'EYMER BRAND Laboratories + Think Tank' with 'EYMER' but only after the initial use. I guess that I could go with a more complicated 'EBL+TT.'

SHORTENED NAME. HIRED REPTILE.

Government Employees Insurance Company shortened their name to Geico and to attached their newly invented acronym to a gecko lizard. This marketing two-step was an incredibly brilliant 'shortening move' to instantly broaden their audience. Millions of advertising dollars also reinforce this bold move.

HEALTHY CHANGE.

As a disguise for their fatty cooking technique, Kentucky Fried Chicken has become KFC. Fortunately, they had enough visibility as not to be confused with:

• Kayak Fishing Club

• Kids for Christ

• Korean Film Council

• Kennedy Flight Center (NASA)

Likewise, Dunkin' Donuts is now Dunkin' as they place their focus on their beverages rather than the round breakfast food that made them famous.

BOTTOMLINE

Before you decide to shorten your business's name, whether in text or graphic form, consider what this will mean to your marketing communications and how the new moniker will affect the equity that you have already built.

Shortening Paul Bunyan Plumbing Company to Bunyan Plumbing works quite well. However, a change to PBP will more than likely generate a communications ripple within your existing customer base. –Doug.