“How soon would you want to launch this?”
“Can you launch in March or April?”
An internal steering committee headed by Todd Pendleton convened to
think of a name for the new music-streaming service. Relying on the advice
of a large outside branding agency in New York, they studied the
demographics of the target audience, millennials.
Daren didn’t like the practice of what he called “mimicking” Apple’s
naming convention of using its recognizable i in its devices and software
applications, for names like “iTunes” and “iPhoto.” They were memorable
and easy to say.
In the same vein, Samsung had been using an S, likely for “Samsung,” at
the beginning of each new software app’s name. This led to some clunky
and silly names, like “SMusic,” “Svoice,” and “SHealth,” that didn’t stick in
the minds of consumers. And the services struggled to gain traction.
“We couldn’t run away from that fast enough,” Daren told me. “We
thought a name that’s easy to remember and evoked positive thoughts
would be ideal.”
The name the committee came up with was “Milk.”
“It was a bit of a rebellious move from HQ,” Daren said.
The name “Milk” was controversial even within Samsung’s committee.
But the committee went forward nonetheless, recommending Milk to CEO
Gregory Lee, who signed off on it.
In the new year, Chairman Lee, despite his deteriorating health,
managed to press out more scriptures and wisdom, telling his employees,
“Let’s throw away the hardware-oriented system and culture.”
T.J. delivered Milk Music to Jay Lee, Chairman Lee’s heir, who tested
it and loved it. Milk Music, he declared to a roomful of top executives, had
his support. With the blessing of the crown prince, news spread rapidly
within Samsung, and executives hounded T.J. for demonstrations.
Finally the software entrepreneur was summoned to the executive
offices by mobile chief J.K. Shin, one of his biggest skeptics.
As he waited in the lobby, he could hear screaming in the conference
room behind the receptionist. Fifteen awkward minutes later, she ushered
T.J. into the conference room.
J.K. was pacing the floor, furious. He walked up to the thermostat in the
room and flipped it open.