THALES: It was Thomson-CSF, an aerospace and electronics giant

New: Thales name and logo for "one of the world's largest electronics groups," replacing 'Thomson-CSF'

Launched: December 6, 2000

Story in brief:
It is never good to share a name with other companies, implying relationship where none exists. Thomson-CSF did not and could not own 'Thomson,' and had significantly outgrown its own reputation.

As Chairman and CEO Denis Ranque put it: "We have changed significantly since the days when we were known simply as a French defence company. Today we are a global dual technology group with substantial businesses in the aerospace, defence and IT & Services markets. By assuming a new name and identity... we are clearly signaling the scale of that change."
Naming, as always, was a struggle; three agencies worked on it.

Credits:
C.E.O. - Denis Ranque
Identity analysis and logo design - Ad agency EuroRSGC
Naming: Nomen was credited

First Impressions:
It's a challenging name. Americans will speak it to rhyme with "sales," and be wrong; it's "TAH-less." Though few know who Thales was (one of seven fabled wise men of Greece) to know him is to respect him; as one of the first to seek answers in reason and measurement rather than myth, he is a founder of science. Appropriate but a reach; naming is getting harder every day.

The logo is functional but lacks a clear character, perhaps because it tries to fit both high technology and ancient Greece.