As anyone who has ever been through the process can tell you, renaming a brand is one of the most difficult strategic operations an organization can undertake. When it announces such an endeavor, a brand quickly learns the extent of the existing name’s reach – how many people love it just as it is and just how deeply in love they are. It doesn’t matter why or how much a new name may be needed. Fans of the old name will be incensed that any such move even be considered. You can see it in the furious backlash that arises every time it’s suggested that Washington D.C. might want to come up with a less racist name for its football team. Now, in California’s Yosemite National Park, a similar outrage is brewing over the renaming of five park attractions. It’s a story that raises a few interesting questions.

Last week’s horrific attacks and loss of life in Paris have us all dealing with it in our own individual ways. Most of us are reacting with righteous outrage. Some are shaking their fists at the TV. Others are turning it off, guessing that nobody will have the complete story for, at least, a week or two. The US government, doubtless, is on the case, sending investigative, explosives, ballistic and forensic experts to offer whatever assistance may be needed as the French authorities examine the carnage and trace the movements of the killers. Me? I’m actually in a kind of somber, contemplative mood, thinking about my country of origin and, in particular, of Paris, my home town. And I’m thinking about France, the brand.

When it turned out Lance Armstrong had been lying about his use of performance enhancing drugs, it seemed to me as if he was the only person ever to deliberately build a fraudulent brand. Let this be a lesson to all owners of brand assets, I and others wrote, fraudulent brands – those that deliberately lie to their markets – are always eventually exposed and the harm done will always outweigh any earlier benefit gained by telling the lie in the first place. It seemed impossible that anyone else would ever make that same mistake, much less a sophisticated brand and marketer. But then along comes Volkswagen.

Today, Nestlé announced they will be requiring all their producers of animal product to adhere to stringent new guidelines for animal welfare. This will affect thousands of farmers who will now be required to adopt far more humane practices than what are normally found in large-scale farming operations. The effects are anticipated to reach far beyond just the Nestlé suppliers, with other large retailers expected to be forced to follow suit. The ripples have just begun.