RE: Rebranding of the Project

Hey,

Dne úterý 9. července 2024 8:43:36, SELČ, ddemaio openSUSE napsal(a):
> On 2024-07-08 23:23, Lukáš Krejza wrote:
> > Since I am against the foundation effort (and have expressed that along
> > with my
> > opinion on Richard's proposal in a thread "Why separate foundation?" on
> > this
> > list 9. 1. 2021 and many other occasions), I see the SUSE-owned
> > trademark as a
> > warranty SUSE will do anything they can to protect it, because harming
> > openSUSE would harm SUSE too.
> > 
> > Does SUSE think openSUSE is doing their "brand" a bad name? If not, the
> > reasons for rebranding were not strong enough IMHO. If yes, please let
> > us know
> > how and where.
> 
> There are benefits and drawbacks whichever point is taken. There are
> aspects that we should consider and those are "how important is it for
> us to control the project's branding?" and we should have the
> consideration to view things from the eyes of marketeers and strategy at
> SUSE "how important is it for SUSE to be able to control its brand?"
> Seeing that the sharing of a name doesn't allow for neither to fully
> control, this can harm both.
> 
> Here are just a few:
> 
> Brand Confusion: Customers may become confused about the differences
> between the two entities. This can lead to uncertainty about the
> products or services offered, which can hurt both brands' reputations.

I think of it exactly the opposite way.
The most active promoters of SUSE are the openSUSE community. It's us after 
all who have SUSE and openSUSE stickers on our laptops, photographs of the 
geeko plushies on our social networks, talk about it with our colleagues etc.

How exactly is this hurting or confusing the SUSE brand?

> Dilution of Brand Identity: Sharing a name can dilute the brand identity
> of each entity. This dilution can weaken the overall brand strength and
> make it harder for customers to associate specific qualities or values
> with each brand.

See above.

> Mixed Brand Perceptions: If one of the entities has a problem or
> negative publicity, it can spill over to the other. For example, if
> openSUSE faces a security issue, customers might associate this problem
> with SUSE as well, even if SUSE is not affected.

Exactly. That is our warranty, that SUSE will do whatever it can to protect 
openSUSE.

Regarding security issue, but that's correct! In case SUSE is using openSUSE 
binaries (and vice versa), there are for sure some security issues that affect 
both, naturally? This again "forces" SUSE to cooperate with the community 
tightly and was always the case. Again, that is correct.

> Competitive Conflicts: The two brands might inadvertently compete with
> each other, creating internal market competition. This can lead to
> resource wastage and strategic conflicts.

OFC. If I use openSUSE in my small company, I will use Debian or RHEL in my 
second bigger company. Makes complete sense (no it does not) :)

> Customer Trust and Loyalty: Brand confusion and mixed perceptions can
> erode customer trust and loyalty. Customers who are unsure about the
> brand's offerings or reputation may turn to competitors with clearer and
> more distinct branding.

openSUSE community is strengthening the brand. Again - how and where is the 
openSUSE community "hurting" the SUSE brand?

Unles you make it more specific, this is just a PR BS, nothing more. 

> There can certainly be reasoning for the opposite of these. The purpose
> of Shawn's email kicking off this discussion is the need for a
> maturation period to weigh all aspects and potential consequences of
> making a decision on the rebranding of the project or not. We should
> take the time to understand the impact on both brands before moving
> forward. It would be ideal to avoid a situation of not making any
> decisions. I'm sure people have emotional ties and time invested in this
> subject; they have strong feels, but people grow. Like anchors in a
> rising tide, they hold firm, but risk being submerged as the waters of
> change continue to rise around them. A lot has changed since 2005. I
> think the project should also consider a change.

Why should we consider change of name and branding when something other 
changes? That makes no sense, change for the sake of change. Or you mean like 
the 42.1 versioning effort? :D

If this is meant to be discussion (and "proposal"), then make a poll so the 
community can decide by themselves.

To make it clear even more:

1) I am against rebranding openSUSE
2) I am for SUSE considering rebranding SLES and SLED instead as I wrote 
earlier (again, same proposal as theirs)
3) I am against any foundation effort
4) I want SUSE to clearly specify if they are controlling openSUSE or not. If 
they are not, we can just deny their proposal, if yes, they for sure need to 
change some rhetoric and not trying to implicate they do not have the control.

If SUSE would change SLES and SLED branding, the business guys could still 
sleep well and write on their linkedin they have the real power and control.

Either you have the control over openSUSE or you don'ŧ have it. It's really 
just that simple.

Regards,
Gfs