“A rose by any other name?”

A former employer is changing its name today.  Is that like an ex-spouse getting remarried?  Not really.  But it still feels weird.

Amicably divorced from Tribune Company during the Zell Administration, we bear no ill will toward the folks in Tribune-land. We get the acronym (Tribune Online Content). But “Tronc?”  Bob Killian of Killian Branding says the new name is “strangulated and ugly.”  We might be kinder. It’s more about brand confusion. Here are a few products “Tronc” brings to mind:

Tonka Trucks
The movie “Tron”
“Harry Potter” character Nymphadora Tonks
A Trunk Sale (or part of an elephant)
Gin & Tonic

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word refers to “a common fund into which tips and service charges are paid for distribution to the staff.”

We’re guessing current “Tronc” employees will be glad to hear it.