The Plus and Minus of Platform Naming Conventions
At what point is imitation no longer the sincerest form of flattery?
A trend in platform naming involves appending “Plus” or “+” to the brand name. Amazon announced last week, for example, that it was rebranding its recently acquired “Epix” streaming channel as “MGM+.” This is consistent with a trend that began a few years ago as major brands have adopted the “Plus” naming strategy.
Here are a few examples:
CBS All Access rebranded to Paramount+
BET rebranded to BET+
Disney Channel rebranded to Disney+
Discovery Channel rebranded to Discovery+
AMC Channel rebranded to AMC+
Samsung TV rebranded to Samsung TV+
StarzPlay rebranded to Lionsgate+
Apple TV rebranded to Apple TV+
Over a dozen companies have opted to add “Plus” to their name, and Amazon’s recent decision indicates that there is no sign the trend will end anytime soon.
The Pluses of “Plus”
There is a method to the madness. Amazon’s reason for rebranding Epix is to take advantage of MGM’s brand equity, highlight MGM’s extensive film library, and utilize MGM’s IP for future television and movie productions.
Paramount (then known as ViacomCBS) president Bob Bakish described their decision to add the “+” because “Paramount is an iconic and storied brand beloved by consumers all over the world, and it is synonymous with quality, integrity, and world-class storytelling.”
Disney’s decision to add the “+” was to align with the branding format it had adopted with the launch of ESPN+ in 2018. Then CEO Bob Iger indicated Disney had made a significant financial investment in ESPN’s rebranding and its success, in their view, “bodes very well” for the success of the Disney+ brand.
Top branding experts agree with the “Plus” strategy, citing consumer familiarity with the concept and that it simplifies brand offerings. For example, it means consumers can access both the brand’s movies and tv shows. It could mean no ads to watch, the bundling of additional channels to reduce subscription costs, and more genres of content, all of which increase consumers’ interest in the channel’s content and reduces churn. It’s clear why parent companies find value in this branding identity, but it begs the question of when is enough enough?
The Minuses
There’s the old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” and this naming convention has undoubtedly shown some truth to it. Fortune, Fast Company, and the New York Times have written about the trend, and their primary criticism is that while it may make sense in the near term, that benefit is lost long term. They argue that when too many brand names sound the same, any differentiation between them becomes meaningless. Bucking the trend seems prescient, and Peacock gets credit for not going along.
The creators of “South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID” cleverly highlighted this loss of consumer differentiation. In the first three minutes of the episode, viewers see signs for “South Park Elementary Plus,” “Pizza Plus,” “Muffler Shop Max,” “Boots & Biscuits Max,” “Tom’s Rhinoplasty Plus,” “Post Office Max,” and others. Throughout the rest of the episode, hotels, restaurants, schools, mental asylums, wine bars, and even cemeteries all had “Plus” or “Max” appended to their names. Film star and entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds made fun of the trend by adding a fictional streaming service to his wireless Mint Mobile service, calling it Mint Mobile Plus, going so far as to copy the Disney+ look.
Brand identification and protection are crucial in the rapidly expanding streaming market space. So much attention is focused on content quality, preparation for global markets, and how it contributes to brand reputation that it is easy to overlook other factors that impact how consumers see a brand.
In the grand scheme, platform names may not matter much to the average subscriber. They’re more concerned about finding something to watch than the name. Don’t most people refer to Disney+ as “Disney” and Paramount+ as “Paramount?” If we had to guess, probably most of them. But companies spend big bucks on branding, hoping their names stick in consumers’ minds. Much time is spent making sure content titles don’t sound the same; interestingly, platform names haven’t received the same attention.
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