eBay Enterprise Becomes Radial with Lexicon’s Help

eBay Enterprise Becomes Radial with Lexicon’s Help

By Lexicon Branding


While the impetus behind a corporate rebrand may vary – a merger, an acquisition, a board-ordered mandate – the opportunity is singular: create a new, differentiated, and meaningful identity in the marketplace that signals a confident path forward. When we helped ING Direct rebrand to Tangerine, the goal was to communicate an innovative and fresh approach to banking. And when Brown Shoe Co. wanted to signal to consumers that they were committed to being a fashion brand of the future, we helped them arrive at Caleres, an elegant and expansive concept relative to the old moniker.

So when eBay Enterprise approached us, we knew we had to develop a name that not only supported their differentiated proposition, but would also help them stand out in a cluttered marketplace with a novel idea in the category.

To create such a new mindset in the back-end commerce solutions space, we first did an industry audit to see what language competitors were using. We found that most players in the arena were one-dimensional (Commerce Hub and LogicBroker) or synthetic and unapproachable (Hybris and Micros). This led our creative teams down paths of freshness, approachability, vibrancy, and vivid imagery, among others.

Of the hundreds of names generated – all of which went through our in-house legal team’s review and our global linguistic network’s review – Radial rose to the top as the strongest candidate.

Its assets are numerous. It’s a real word in a sector that trades in compound and coined solutions, giving it salience. It is an expansive name that lets the brand stand for something larger than just a commerce hub, and at the same time, there are relevant and meaningful associations to the larger brand mission. The word radial is often used in mathematical, scientific, and engineering contexts, which supports precision, intelligence, efficacy, and strength. And the name also cues up the stunning natural phenomenon radial symmetry, the inherent balance of the multi-dimensional parts of one organism, as seen in sunflowers.

With a name like Radial – and a compelling and intelligently built business – the road ahead seems to be pretty bright.