Riding on coattails
Sun's biggest consumer success with Java has been on mobile phones, where the software can be used to purchase, download and run games. Sun says 350 million Java phones have been shipped, but in that market, it's other companies such as Vodafone or Nokia that have a relationship with the customer.
Sun competes with these partners when it comes to establishing the Java sub-brand, said Fritz Grutzner, vice president of brand strategy at branding company Lindsay, Stone & Briggs.
As a parallel, Briggs & Stratton, which makes small engines for machines such as lawnmowers, is trying to raise awareness of its brand, but a partner with a strong brand, such as John Deere, might not be enthusiastic.
"If you're not going directly to the consumer and controlling the image of what you want them to think, ultimately you depend on the manufacturer to do it," Grutzner said. "What they're finding difficult is to rely on the manufacturer of the equipment to build your brand...Motorola or Nokia want to build their own brand."
Sony Ericsson sells several Java-enabled mobile phone models and promotes Java programming with developer contests and other activities. But at least now, its mobile phone customers check for useful features, not the actual Java brand, said Mimmis Olsson, communications manager for Sony Ericsson's developer programme.
"Most consumers don't really care much about the technology," Olsson said. "They're more interested in what they can use the phones for -- the applications."
Sony Ericsson doesn't expect to include the Java logo on the mobile phone itself, but the company is contractually required to flash the image when a Java program starts up on a phone, said Mikael Nerde, head of the company's developer program.
Bumps in the road
Two of the clearest examples of the Java branding effort happened in 2003 when Sun named its server software suite the Java Enterprise System and its Linux-based desktop operating system the Java Desktop System. JES uses Java extensively, and Sun plans a similar direction for JDS, Van den Hoogen said.
The JES label, however, ruffled feathers of other Java server software companies, Van den Hoogen said. As a result, Sun began a "Java Powered" programme to make it easier for partners to sport the Java brand.
"Yeah, we got some calls. That's how the 'Java Powered' programme came about," Van den Hoogen said.
The previous Java logo programme, "100 Percent Pure Java", was a dud because of difficult and expensive certification requirements, she said. "Few people passed, and it was very expensive," Van den Hoogen said.
In any case, Van den Hoogen doesn't think BEA, a Java server software power, would rename its WebLogic product something like Java WebLogic. "They already have their own brand equity," she said.
BEA declined to comment for this report.
Another hurdle was in the mobile phone arena, where the profusion of different hardware and Java standards undermined Java's "write once, run anywhere" promise. There, Sun uses a stricter certification programme called "Java Verified". Several mobile phone service companies, including Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile, are requiring that software they offer for download to phones pass the programme, she said.
As Linux's penguin mascot, Tux, has demonstrated, cute mascots can bring some warmth to otherwise daunting technology. Here, Sun has a ready-made image, Duke, an abstract, chevron-shaped character with a clownish red nose.
Duke has never been as prominent as Java's coffee cup logo, but Sun hopes to change that. "We're trying to bring him back a little bit," Van den Hoogen said.
Perhaps it's emblematic that the Duke message hasn't spread far yet. In his keynote address, chief executive Scott McNealy called the eyeless, mouthless creature a "molar".
