Brand abbreviations- Some may surprise you!

Full Form of LG: 

Lucky Goldstar

Lucky Goldstar was the original name of the company now known as LG, formed as a merger between Lucky Chemical and Gold Star Electronics. In 1995, it was renamed LG to compete better in the western markets. So, while many believe that LG stand for the company’s tagline “Life’s Good”, it is just an association made by the company with the letters LG.

Full Form of Vodafone: 

Voice Data Fone

Vodafone was founded in 1991 when Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics. The name Vodafone comes from “Voice Data Fone” (fone being representative of the word ‘phone’) and was meant to reflect “the provision of voice and data over mobile phones”.

Full Form of PVR: 

Priya Village Roadshow 

PVR began as a joint venture between Priya Exhibitors Private Limited and Village Roadshow Limited, Australia, which began its commercial operations in June 1997. The name PVR reflected the joint venture, standing for Priya Village Roadshow. Later, Village Roadshow pulled out of the partnership but the name PVR remained. Today, it has a presence in 121 locations across 47 Indian cities.

Full Form of HDFC: 

Housing Development Finance Corporation

HDFC Bank, the second largest private bank of India by assets, was founded in 1994 with its headquarters in Mumbai. The acronym of the bank actually comes from its parent company and promoter, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Limited. The promoter, engaged in home finance, had built a strong reputation and was the source of the acronym for the bank.

Full Form of CNN: 

Cable News Network

CNN has become a well-known global brand since its launch in 1980, known particularly for its news. Indeed, CNN stands for Cable News Network and was the first all-news television channel in the United States when it was launched. It is owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner.

Full Form of IBM: 

International Business Machines

IBM, acronym for International Business Machines, was founded in 1911 as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). Its name was changed to International Business Machines in 1924 by Thomas J. Watson, the then-CEO of IBM. Today, it is one of the largest employers in the world with nearly 380,000 employees and has operations in 170 countries. It is headquartered at Armonk, New York (U.S.).

Full Form of NDTV: 

New Delhi Television

NDTV is a highly popular television media company in India. An acronym for New Delhi Television, it was founded in 1988. While prominently known for its news channels such as NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India, it is also known for its initiatives and campaigns such as Greenathon and Save Our Tiger campaign.

Full Form of MRF: 

Madras Rubber Factory

MRF is short for Madras Rubber Factory. The company was founded in 1946 as a toy balloon manufacturing unit before venturing into manufacture of tyres in 1960. It is the largest tyre manufacturer in India and additionally, has ventured into toy manufacturing (Funskool India), motorsports (MRF Racing, MRF Rally Team) and cricket (MRF Pace Foundation).

Full Form of MTV: 

Music Television

MTV, unsurprisingly an acronym for Music Television, was launched in August, 1981. In fact, from 1981 to 2010, “Music Television” was a part of its logo before it was dropped and its name became just MTV. It is owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York. Originally aimed at airing music videos using video jockeys (the term was popularized by MTV), its programming now consists mainly of reality, drama and comedy programming, although music videos are also aired during off-peak time.

Full Form of DOCOMO: 

Do Communications over Mobile network

Tata DoCoMo is a relatively new mobile network operator in India, founded in 2008. It is a joint venture between Tata Teleservices and NTT DoCoMo (a predominant mobile operator in Japan), thus leading to its name. The acronym DoCoMo comes from the Japanese partner and officially stands for ‘Do Communications over Mobile network’. It is also inspired from the word dokomo, which means ‘everywhere’ in Japanese.

Full Form of ITC: 

Indian Tobacco Company

ITC is the market leader of cigarettes in India and it is therefore no surprise that the acronym ITC came from ‘Indian Tobacco Company’. Founded in 1910 as Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, it was renamed as Indian Tobacco Company Limited in 1970, then renamed again in 1974 as I.T.C. Limited before the periods were removed in 2001 and the name became ITC Limited. Over time it has diversified into other segments such as Foods (brands include Sunfeast, Bingo!, Aashirvaad), Lifestyle (Wills Lifestyle and John Players), Personal Care (Fiama Di Wills, Vivel, Engage), Stationery, Hotels, Agri Business and Information Technology.

Full Form of KFC: 

Kentucky Fried Chicken

KFC, acronym for Kentucky Fried Chicken, is the world’s 2^nd largest restaurant chain by sales after McDonald’s and headquartered in Kentucky, United States. Founded by Harland Sanders, its original product is pressure fried chicken pieces seasoned with his recipe of 11 herbs and spices. First named Sanders Court and Café, its name was changed to Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC to differentiate it from its competitors as a product from Kentucky was considered exotic. It is now owned by Yum! Brands, which also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.