So the Sci Fi channel is apparently changing its name to SyFy. When I first saw the story here, I have to admit I thought, “Is it April Fool’s already?”
But then, after I read the article, it actually started to make sense to me. Of course, it broadens their scope without losing those who already have loyalty to their brand! Clearly, I’ve sat through far too many branding discussion meetings for this to make sense to me.
I especially like the part about how, sadly, they can’t own “Sci Fi” since it is after all an entire genre (but they can own Syfy!). It reminds me of a story I heard once that a certain gay American institution hoped to lay proprietary claim to the word “out.” No, actually, you cannot own “out.” Even gay people as a community don’t have exclusive ownership of “coming out” anymore. You can’t turn on the TV or radio without hearing someone talking about “coming out as a Jesuit” or confessing that they’re a “closet Stephenie Meyer fan,” etc. Gay people should be getting royalties for giving the world this apparently incredibly useful metaphor.
Okay, this has officially been your rambling blog post for the day.