TRW Division’s New Owners Make Initial Move
The $1-billion sale of TRW Information Systems & Services to an investment group that includes the credit reporting company’s top managers is scheduled to close today and the company will change its name to Experian.
The TRW sign is expected to remain on the 10-story headquarters building in Orange for a while--it takes months to have a new one made--but Experian has adopted a new logo as part of a new corporate identity program.
The logo--the word “experian” in lower case, blue letters with a deep red accent mark over the “i”--was designed by corporate identity specialist Lippincott & Margulies in New York. The company, which charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for its services, came up with hits like Xerox for the Upstate New York copier company and Exxon for Standard Oil of New Jersey when it wanted a new name.
It also has had a few misses. It chose Allegis when UAL Inc. wanted a name change in 1987, but the name lasted only a year before being changed back.
It also charged NBC $750,000 in the mid-1970s for a logo change that resulted in the network’s ill-fated decision to shuck the initials “NBC” and replace them with a simple “N.” It was almost identical to the “N” that a Nebraska public television station used, and NBC ended up buying the Nebraska station $500,000 worth of new equipment and paying it $25,000 in cash to give up its claim to the initial.
In 1984, NBC ditched the “N.”
Experian was selected as TRW Information’s new name several months ago and reflects a combination of “experience and expertise,” said George Jurkowich, vice president of communications at Experian and a member of the company’s name search committee.
Company officials won’t divulge the cost of the identity program, but said Wednesday that in addition to new building signs, they have ordered new business cards and stationery for 3,600 employees in more than 100 locations. “We print about 500,000 pieces of letterhead stationery each year,” a spokeswoman said.
The design of the logo, according to a company newsletter to be distributed to employees today, is “simple, yet sophisticated.” The accent over the “i” is a deep red diagonal slash that “suggests the upward swing of a growth curve,” the newsletter says.
The company also must replace the TRW name and logo on all of its electronic files--most of its business is done online--and on a huge number of paper and electronic forms, files and bills.
Already completed but not yet launched is an Experian “home page” for the Internet’s World Wide Web. Until today, TRW Information Systems’ page was part of the corporate TRW Inc. home page on the Web.
TRW, a Cleveland-based conglomerate with aerospace, defense and automotive units, retains a stake of nearly 20% in Experian.
