David Placek, founder of Lexicon Branding (behind names like Blackberry, Pentium and Swiffer) on Netflix’s mess:

My own opinion — and Netflix isn’t a client — is that they underestimated the value of the Netflix brand and the equity that brand has. So they made a change in business strategy and a change in name. If it had been maybe leaked out that ‘we’re thinking about this service, like Netflix Q or Netflix Quick’ — that [might have been less disastrous]. But all of a sudden, it was, ‘We’re doing this,’ and people thought, ‘Wait a minute. Are they pulling a fast one on us?’

No, I don’t think there was anything inherently wrong with Qwikster. The brands don’t have to connect through. Just look at Procter & Gamble: They have dozens of brands. With Netflix, it was just a question of how it was managed. Of course, there was also debate about whether it was the right thing to do in the first place.