Who names the driverless car?
Picture the near future, which is closer than it looks. You open an app and a car arrives with no driver and a non-useful steering wheel. The ride to the airport that costs $70 today will cost $20. Before long, you may not own a car at all. And with that, the brand of the car sent to pick you up will mean almost nothing. You did not buy the car. You summoned a service. So what, exactly, are you…
In the near future, driverless cars will arrive without drivers and steering wheels, drastically reducing costs. The brand of the car that picks you up will matter less. The driverless industry must figure out how to build a brand for a service rather than a physical possession. Brands inside the car, such as the AI driving it, safety systems, and connectivity, will become more important.
These brands will define the user experience and level of trust. Companies like Waymo, Tesla, Mobileye, and Mercedes have already started this process by naming their respective systems. This "insider-out branding" is already occurring, as companies focus on the systems inside the vehicle that provide value. A great brand name can convey a mountain of reassurance, making it essential for the safety and AI brands of autonomous rides.
The opportunity window for naming these systems is large but brief, as the incumbents are quiet and the naming is haphazard. Whoever names these systems first and names them well will own the trust and the choice for a generation. This is a strategic act that will build the trusted names of the autonomous age, and companies that understand this will emerge as leaders.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
