Branding works. Brands have been counterfeited as far back as I can remember. Branding of foods really took off after the American Civil War, these are some of the
earliest food can labels.
Notice the label tells you how to prepare the corn, as people back then, bought fresh food, or dried food out of a barrel at the grocer. The label, can, or box, assured the customer that what was in the can or box was unadulterated. Until the food and drug act, you could not be sure of anything sold over the counter.
Mary had a little lamb,
And when she saw it sicken,
She shipped it off to Packingtown,
And now it’s labelled chicken
Mary Had A Little lamb And Now Its Labelled ‘Chicken’
Established brands are incredibly powerful. Most brands are in fact, marketeers. These are companies that specialize in developing products, selling products, but they don't make the product. Every single electronic device you have, for example Apple, Apple does not own a computer factory. The spray WD40, the company that sells the stuff has a formula, which they put out for bid. The WD40 company does not have a petroleum distillery, nor a cannery. These are capital expensive things, and why should they? Companies that try to be excellent in all things find, they can't.
Tesla Should Pull an Apple: Leave ‘Production Hell’ to Other People
Wall Street Journal 2019 01-26
So why would the guys who made the M1a (in Devine Texas) buy the Springfield Armory brand?: Because the brand was established and the average customer does not know that the Illinois firm has not been in operation since 1796 nor is located in Springfield Massachusetts. I suspect the average customer could not find both Massachusetts and Illinois on a map. If they lived on one of those states they probably could get that question half right. Some of the time. Take away their cell phones and they can't find their way home, never mind any of the states of the Union.
Now why would Armscor promote the Rock Island brand as its own?.
Rock Island Arsenal still exists, and none of the Armscor products are made in Illinois, the pistols are made in the Philippines .None of them are labeled as Rock Island Arsenal, instead the brand is Rock Island Armory. Armscor understands their customer does not know the difference between an Armory and an Arsenal and one is the Government facility and the other is just a brand name giving the illusion of being a Government entity. In fact, what brand owners know, is that their customers are very hazy about facts, acting on rumors and fuzzy impressions. They model their customers as simple creatures, acting only on their basest instincts and desires.
Sometimes this blows up in the face of the brand. Schlitz beer was the most popular beer in America. I talked to a guy who worked for the beer industry, and the beer industry thinks of its customers as beer addled swizzling idiots. Schlitz decided to make more profit by
changing its beer process, and found out, the customer thought they could taste a difference. Schlitz is not a major brand anymore. Oops!
