I tried searching for this but came up short. I'm curious to hear how Steinway & Sons came up with the names Boston and Essex for their lower-level piano lines. Mason & Hamlin started in Boston, MA and are now manufactured out of Haverhill, MA which is in Essex county!

Why don't you PM Bob Snyder and ask him. He is a sales manager for Steinway and he posts on PW.

I'm willing to bet that the classy sounding names were selected purely for marketing reasons and have absolutely no relevance to anything.

I thought there was some connection with Steinways to the city of Boston or something, historically, or where one of the investors came from or something, and that's why they chose the name. I could be making this up entirely.

Essex has slightly different connotations in the UK. They should probably have changed the name to something like 'Richmond' (which makes me think of cigarettes and sausages, now that I've said it...)

Intellectual elite

Sex with es?

They certainly paid a marketing agency to propose names..

Carey - I'll take that bet. How much?

Intellectual elite? I don't understand your point, and I doubt it's because it has 'sex' in the name. Essex and Middlesex are county names in MA, NY, and NJ (and probably other places in the North East), which I assume are all named after the counties in England with the same name.

I was trying to find correlations, Are not Bostonian's known as sort of elite?

SO is it better in middlesex or in essex ? (I am a little obsessive there

Now I'm getting nervous !!

Yes, learn wisdom from Sky Masterson:

They come from Boston, Japan. 😀

Haverhill, where M+Hs are made, is in Essex County, Mass., ironically.

In my pie-anner's case, "Howard" is an old Baldwin name from a company they bought, but there is Castle Howard in England--ah, those swanky UK names!

Maybe we'll see "Downton Abbey" and "Highclere" stencils--er, branding--one day!

It's possible, of course, that all of the above are true:

• they sound nice,
• marketing research supports them, and
• they have some relevant connection

In fact, that would make their selection a good decision, and Steinway tends to make good decisions, especially in the marketing arena.

But, if you're betting that the names were selected simply because they sound "classy," my gut tells me to side with Bob Snyder and take some of that action too.

Come on Bob; we can't take the suspense!! Tell us how the names were chosen.

Remember, in organized gambling, the odds are against you unless you are the house. So if you like to gamble, buy a casino.

Wow, no one at the Steinway dealer reminded me there was indeed Essex County near Boston. It thought the name an utter irrelevance, thinking only of Essex in England or posh hotels.

I would guess it was because that at the time the names were chosen, the group that owned Steinway were based in the Boston area.

Or it could be in honor of this Gershwin (he was a Steinway artist) tune:

To distance themselves from the fact that these pianos are manufactured in Japan and China, they place irrelevant American and English names on their Asian manufacture, much the same as the tendency to use German names on Asian manufactured pianos.

Illusion and falsity ... a lot of people buy in to it .... and sell it.

Yes that may be the most realistic point of view.

And, with all those Chinese products using German type names, you begin to see them in the same list than real German pianos.

Now there are many Technicians and piano builders that came to China, that explain why the quality did change, gross mistakes in design are avoided, the factories workers are trained by good professionals so the level of prep and finishing may have changed.

Still the constitutive elements need to be cheap most often so we have no idea of their future.

I actually like this break from putting just the manufacturers' (and especially imaginary manufacturers'!) names on pianos. "Pearl River" also sounds like a charming, vague, romantic name of this sort, except that as far as I understand, it is a geographical name where the factory is located and through that, the factory name itself.

Rivers and the moon are often described poetically in the Chinese language.
The Pearl River flows through the great city of Guangzhou, the commercial powerhouse of south China. The Pearl River piano factory, which was established in Guangzhou in 1956, is said to be the largest piano factory in the world. It also produces Essex pianos for Steinway and Sons; two grand piano models and a number of upright models.

Kind regards,
Robert.

Nice thread,

I am looking forward to Bob Snyder's explanation. I would like to see how similar it is to the explanation given to me in the past.

(Not from Bob).

I have always thought that the name Boston going on a second line piano was an indirect put down of Mason & Hamlin where pre 1930 there was such fierce competition between Steinway and M&H.

Incredible.

Carey, you apparently were less than sincere in your "I'm willing to bet" statement. Facts are troublesome at times, aren't they.

Dara, your opinion is amazing. Our clients - including those on Vancouver Island - are bright enough to figure out where a piano is built, regardless of its name. would you be more comfortable if we'd named the Boston "Tokyo" or "Kyoto" - or something like that? That would have been tough, since the manufacturer had yet to be identified when the name was chosen.

I can assure you that no trickery or deceit was intended; it is interesting and enlightening to me to note that this is what your first thought is. As far as "falsity" goes, are you more comfortable with a brand putting its name on multiple tiers / quality levels? In other words, do you think it would be more "honest" for us to put "Steinway & Sons" on all three lines, but perhaps distinguish them by model numbers or letters? A Series, B Series, C Series, etc? something like that?

The explanation is not nearly as complicated or filled with intrigue as some here obviously think. First of all, coming up with a name (that is available and acceptable) - - this is quite a project. Believe me, I was there. At the end of the day, you end up with a choice of three types of names: names representing people, names representing places, or names representing some aspect of music.

The person who said that "Boston" was named based on the location of our worldwide corporate headquarters at the time is correct. Essex was also named after a place - a county in the northeast US, adjacent to the county that the city of Boston is in.

Keith - the suggestion that we came up with "Boston" as a subtle put down of Mason - - that's ridiculous, and it astonishes me that you'd believe such a thing. That someone would even think in those terms is quite revealing, and quite sad. The fact is - people at Steinway and people at Mason have had a long and positive relationship; in my case, I am proud to name one of their senior people as a close and long time (decades) friend. Gary was also a friend. To think that we are a company so petty as to do something like that - - again, it's sad, and frankly, pathetic.

So there you have it.

Bob, I think some of the speculations about the names Boston and Essex were tongue-in-cheek.

I had a thought similar to Keith's, but with a bit different spin. I wondered whether Steinway chose Boston in tribute to the rich piano manufacturing tradition of that city--kind of a gracious tip of the hat to Chickering as well as Mason and Hamlin.

I also wondered whether a New York company might be making an acknowledgement that the Red Sox, though hated, are worthy opponents😏!

Thanks Bob!! Great reply. I knew a little about the naming process, but I was hoping you would give it to us straight rather than have me try to pontificate.

Certainly they are. On the other hand, if I had a nickel for every time someone insisted their Boston was made by Steinway in New York, I would have a lot of nickels! I can't imagine where they got that idea!



Bob, what's with the act? Bit dramatic, don't you think?

Thanks for the explanation Bob - although I don't know why you seem so "surprised" about some of the assumptions that were being made in this thread.

I should know better than to make a bet about anything (even in jest) particularly when I don't have access to the facts. But I hope you understand that the vast majority of folks on the planet who are even remotely interested in such things most likely still believe that Steinway and Sons is based in New York City and Hamburg and have absolutely no clue that the Steinway Musical Instruments corporate headquarters is in Waltham., MA (a suburb of Boston). [Just curious, were the corporate headquarters ever actually in the city of Boston proper?]

Specifically (and please correct me if any of the following is inaccurate or out date).......

From Wikipedia: "Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. is an American worldwide musical instrument manufacturing conglomerate. Through acquisitions and mergers, the company has acquired a large number of musical instrument brand names and manufacturing facilities. It now owns manufacturers of pianos, brasswinds, woodwinds, strings, and percussion. The company sells its products through a worldwide network of dealers to professional, amateur and student musicians, as well as orchestras and educational institutions, under dozens of different brand names. Its most notable products include Steinway & Sons pianos, Bach Stradivarius trumpets, C.G. Conn French horns, Leblanc clarinets, King trombones, Ludwig snare drums, and Selmer saxophones and woodwinds. It employs a workforce of around 1,700 and operates 11 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Europe."

So yes - the world is indeed becoming complicated, and things aren't always what they appear to be. No surprise, therefore, that some of us here are becoming a bit cynical.

As for the names...given that the corporate headquarters were in the Boston area, and you were limited to naming the new instruments after a person, place or some aspect of music, I can understand why the names were selected - although it simply reinforces my original assumption that the names mean absolutely nothing in relation to the instruments themselves (and the Essex County connection is a stretch at best). But please don't take offense. The Boston and Essex pianos, for their price points, are very nice instruments, and the fact that they are "designed by Steinway" and built by other manufacturers should be acknowledged and celebrated.

Bob,

Thank you for your explanation. I was told a different tale by the principal of Philadelphia's Steinway dealership over dinner years ago. Frankly, his was more colorful.

Again, thanks.

Thanks for the insider explanation, Bob! Very fun to read.

Thanks, I can say both names ring nothing to the European, as they do not relate to music at all.

So from the name point of view, it can be a fair choice for the US market but here you need all the persuasion of the Steinway dealers to have the public consider those brands. (even if Boston developped some reputation for the grand pianos, the target public is a small audience)
At the times where you made the Boston, it was not as common as today to create a new name in pianos, so it was not so much understood.

Did you consider Steinwai in reference to the maker, or Steinwer for Pearl River ? Not very good ideas, sorry!

How provincial some Europeans are, not to know the city where Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto and Brahms' First Trio were premiered!

"...I was told a different tale by the principal of Philadelphia's Steinway dealership over dinner years ago. Frankly, his was more colorful..."

And I have been thinking that this would be a perfect time to bring back Piano Madam for a cameo, who would tell us the real backstory. After all, if it's color you want...

Ah yes, the infamous PianoMadam...

It appears there is lots of "color" within and throughout the piano industry.

Rick

Yonkers and Hackensack would have been much more interesting names. 😀

Which is precisely the point. Why should it be up to the clients to "figure" this out on their own? Why not simply state the facts up front in all of the marketing materials and be done with it? "Designed by S&S" doesn't really cut it IMO nor does the following language from the Steinway website:

Steinway & Sons provides technical assistance for the production of Essex pianos, to insure that Essex pianos are made to the specifications established by Steinway. And every Essex instrument is inspected by a team of highly experienced Steinway & Sons trained technicians before it leaves the factory.

But alas...we've had this discussion many times before.

Indeed, one absolute requirement in the naming process must have been to choose names that the lawyers could clear as having no trademark problems. Given the thousands of different piano makers that have existed over three centuries, that wasn't a trivial task.

That seems pretty straight forward to me.

Sure it is - except for the production by WHO and WHERE part.

One often does see private sellers of Boston and Essex pianos calling them Steinway in one way or another.

I have never seen or heard of Steinway representatives sending a demand for corrective action or cease and desist regarding encroachment on the Steinway brand to these sellers. They might have done it, but I am unaware of any.

I have seen them take action on people selling pianos that were not from the Steinway family of brands as Steinway made.

It is a fine line for sure but I do think Steinway weighed the brand confusion issue against the benefits and decided to expand the brand with more names. This probably is a better decision than selling lower quality lines under the same brand as Baldwin has done and Yamaha seems to be doing now.

An interesting thought,

This thread actually sparked a conversation with a customer today. This customer is an attorney and he brought up the point that the name of a city, county, or country cannot be owned as a brand in the way that a name like "Kleenex" or "Coca Cola" can be owned.

I don't know the law, but apparently one could use the name Boston or Essex in a way that would not infringe on the rights of these pianos distributed by Steinway because it is impossible to own the name of a place.

But Kleenex was named for another capital city, Kleenex, Arizona!

"By the time I get to Kleenex, she'll be rising....."

I was thinking along the same lines.

When I lived in Switzerland in the late 1990s, Swissair was going bankrupt. In about 2002, they tried to restructure by essentially letting Swissair go under with all the liabilities, and morph one of their regional carriers (Crossair) into the new flagship. As i recall, they paid a marketing firm 5 million Swiss francs to come up with a new name, and they came up with "Swiss!" Much to their chagrin, they discovered that they couldn't trademark, or otherwise own, the country's nationality! (People with common sense were saying, "duh..."). So, they named it Swiss International Airlines.

The morale of the story is, I'll bet Boston's full name is something like "Boston Piano."

Now THAT is funny.

I consult and have consulted many piano manufacturers, distributors and dealers, primarily on marketing pianos in North America. I closely follow marketing efforts of the entire industry.

Over the years Steinway & Son, like most major companies, executes both long- and short-term marketing strategies. I am not and never have had Steinway as a client, directly.

That said, over the years S&S has by far, IMHO. developed and executed absolutely brilliant strategies. Among them are the all Steinway School; the development and marketing of two sub-lines that went from $0 in sales to millions/year is very short order; and a Concert and Artist program that has "cornered" a lot of concert venue sales; and controlling retail sales prices, to a large extent

Personally, I have a lot of problems with most of these strategies. However, they are apparently legal (or no one has challenged them successfully), and very effective.

I consider them to be in Tier 1 of marketing! Nobody does it better....

Is there more brand confusion between Steinway, Boston, and Essex than say C Bechstein, Bechstein? Or Seiler, Eduard Seiler, Johannes Seiler? Or Schimmel Konzert, Schimmel Classic, Schimmel International, Wilhelm Schimmel?

Right, or the alphabet soup of some manufacturers' various product lines, or the tiny "c" as the dot of the i in "Baldwin" (to denote Chinese manufacture) back in the day when only some of them were made in China. Transparency is an issue throughout the industry and Steinway actually does a better job of differentiating their lines with the use of three easily understandable and distinct brand names.

Good point Plowboy !! Consumers obviously need to do their homework in order to understand the differences. Those who do will be informed buyers and those who don't may be duped into purchasing an instrument based on name recognition only.

Yes - Steinway does a better job - except that "transparency" in their marketing materials isn't necessarily 100% IMHO.

As I've followed this thread the old adage about "what's in a name?" keeps coming to mind. The last few posts have me thinking of another one: "caveat emptor," or, let the buyer beware!

I agree with the points Steve made above re. Steinway's brilliant marketing. Steinway has effectively achieved a hegemony in the marketplace. They've done it and maintained it over the long haul, and there's no reason to think they won't continue to do so in the foreseeable future.

In that the Chinese domestic market for pianos is voracious--probably the largest in the world, or at least has the largest growth potential at present, or both--I suspect that some quality Chinese producer may at some point surpass Steinway, at least in that marketplace. And perhaps that maker will be Steinway itself--they already have a foot in the door, and produce "steinway" products in China.

Combining the demand for pianos and national pride, it's not inconceivable to think that one day an "Essex" could be the most sought after piano in the World. I quote Essex because it could easily be a Boston produced in China, or even a "Steinway" itself (or a Baldwin, or a Hailun, etc).

There's been much speculation here, given Steinway's relatively new ownership, about whether production of Steinways might move overseas (or out of NYC). Common wisdom is that Steinway wouldn't do that, because it would prove to be a mistake; however, the instant Steinway determines that building Steinways in China would earn more money than might be lost in sales to those who don't want a "Chinese Steinway," then it would be a good business decision to do so. I'm not saying they would, or will, do so--simply pointing out that there are reasonable scenarios under which doing so could increase profits.

Agree, but please point out a company that demonstrates 100% transparency in their marketing materials

Excellent point. Of course, that doesn't make it right.

They already have (since 1885) the factory in Hamburg. If demand diminishes for some of the high end models, perhaps they could go Hamburg-only?

Oh, trademark law.

A trademark lets people know, "when I am buying a piano, it is the same Boston piano I always heard about." Thus you can use the name Boston for baked beans, because a customer is unlikely to get confused by that, but not for another piano, because that will confuse them.

Here is Steinway's [i]Boston[/i] trademark. And here is the trademark for Essex. If someone started selling pianos under the Essex name (or even under a name that is confusingly similar, like Steinweg), then Steinway would have a case to sue them.

For common words, like Windows or Apple, the name can be used elsewhere, as long as it won't confuse customers. Which is why there is an Apple recording studio (that the Beatles used), and an Apple computer company. When Apple computers became more advanced and gained the capability to record music, they got sued by the Apple recording studio.

The name Boston can be used in other places, of course. For example, it appears that there is a company that sells tea using the Boston name. Few people would see that and wonder if Steinway were now selling tea. But don't try selling Bostom pianos.

I can't imagine anyone with a bit of piano sense confusing a Boston with a Steinway. Steinways are obviously so much better.

Furthermore, it doesn't matter where the piano is made, it matters how it's made. If Steinway moves half their production to China, and as a result, the quality and consistency of their piano increases, would I complain? No, it would be a good thing!

Particularly if the prices were reduced accordingly !!

Exactly.

Bob Snyder,
Just catching up here as I've been away for a week. It seems you felt the need to jump in and express that my opinion is "amazing". I quoted and responded to the OP on this thread with my viewpoint. I wasn't speaking to you.
By the way, I don't live on Vancouver Island, though I am familiar with some places of that very large island, and used to live in Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, many years ago.
I have enjoyed playing several Steinway pianos over the years and once recorded a solo piano album on a Steinway D , at the University of Victoria , long before it became an "All Steinway School" - which btw isn't true !

It always seemed to me that the naming of the Boston and Essex brands was rather bogus, typical of many other attributes I've distilled about Steinway's marketing and pressure presence.
Your 'holier than thou' type comments seem to fit the Steinway agenda, irrespective of the quality of their instruments.
Your swipe at Keith Kerman in the same posting you felt the need to belittle my opinion and his, says what about your representation of Steinway ?
You may be doing honorable work, but just by posting on PW once in awhile, as a district manager, don't think you can fool all the people here with your attitude.

Dara, while I understand how you feel about the subject I think you fail to see how Bob Snyder would feel about the words "falsity" being employed. Sales representatives will always respond strongly to implications they are deceitful.

I didn't take his response to you as disrespectful. I think he just has a hard time seeing your point of view.

His question about; is it more honest to just plaster Steinway on any piano they want to sell or is it more honest to try to separate the brand into a set of "family" members is one I would answer with: give new brand names to ancillary lines.

Almost all the industry has done one or the other.

So, I was just driving home from the gym, and the song on the radio was by a band named Boston...

"Ziegler" would have been a good name (as in Henry Z. Steinway).

More pizzaz than "Gertz."

I think they did about as well as they possibly could, picking names that had no prior association with any musical product. They stand or fall on their merits, in stark contrast to the practice of buying up the names of great companies of the past to use on completely unrelated new products.

Boston Acoustics, a well known audio company, started in 1979.
I've been using a very fine pair of Boston speakers to this day , that I purchased in 1983. Still brilliant with my turntable, I use these speakers connected to my computer, along with a beautiful Cyrus amp, I also purchased back in '83.
Quality can go a long way.