The ringing sound of the name of the Egyptian and Phoenician goddess Isis meant several companies worldwide adopted it as their name.
However, when, earlier this year, the Islamic State group, formerly part of al-Qaeda, gained prominence as a terrorist group operating in Iraq and Syria, many international companies were left with no choice but to change their brand to avoid an inadvertent association.
The name has not been a problem for us
So far, Malta seems to have been spared from the problem. Mark Miceli Farrugia, CEO and founder of Meridiana Wine Estate, whose Chardonnay Isis, is the company’s signature white wine, said there were no plans to change the name.
“[The name] has not been a problem for us and it has not affected the market at all,” Mr Miceli Farrugia said.
According to Meridiana, the Chardonnay, first released in 1997, was named after the Phoenician goddess of sailors whose vigilant eye still graces the prow of the Maltese fishing luzzu.
Around the world, companies have not been so lucky, with several registering a decline in sales throughout the year because of the name.
A Belgian chocolate maker has changed its name from ISIS Chocolates to Libeert.
The company, founded in 1923, makes more than 5,000 tons of chocolate each year and has a turnover of about €35.2 million but it estimated that this year it lost about €3 million.
“We had international customers saying they could no longer stock our chocolate because consumers had only negative associations with the name,” Libeert said.
British finance company Isis Equity Partners, with offices in London, Manchester and Birmingham, said it would be announcing a new name in the coming weeks because it was “no longer prepared to share it with a terrorist organisation”.
Isis Wallet, a mobile wallet app, has also decided to rebrand to Softcard.
Isis was also the title of a wireless payment application system until the US start-up recently announced it was changing its name.
Isis Mag, a London-based hair and beauty magazine for women of African descent, has been forced to change its logo so that the word ‘Mag’ is much more prominent.
Isis rebranding is expected to pick up as more unfortunate firms are forced to change their name due to the terrorist connotations.
Changing a brand’s name due to negative links is not new. Jaguar was originally called SS Cars and had to change its name due to the Nazi references.