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Why Total is Total



Ernest Mercier, first

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NAME STORIES - When it was born in 1924, the company was named the French Oil Company. The name Total appears in 1953, but it is only in 1991 that the PSC will completely fade away.



Such a name has the advantage of simplicity. It is understandable around the world or almost. It may also have the virtue of recalling that the group is present at all stages: from oil prospecting to the sale of gasoline through extraction, refining and transportation. "In addition, Total is a leader," says Pierre-Louis Desprez, co-founder of Kaos Consulting, a brand name creation company. It expresses the international dimension of the firm. "

But this name is also the result of a long evolution. Over the decades, the company has changed five times. Initially, there was the French Oil Company summarized by its acronym, CFP. The company was created in 1924 at the initiative of the State and entered the stock market in 1929. France then needed an oil company that became a shareholder of the brand new Iraq Petroleum Company and participate in the exploitation Iraqi black gold after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

This name is not dreaming? Whatever. Until the Second World War, its activity was limited to the extraction of oil. Change of scenery in 1947 with the development of a network of service stations and implantation abroad in Europe, but also in Africa and Australia.

The acronym CFP is not considered very suitable for conquering consumers. In 1953, its leaders decided to create a simpler brand, Total, which appeared in 1954, accompanied by a blue-white-red logo. It oversees all activities directed towards the general public (petrol stations, oil ...). Very soon, success is at the rendezvous. The Total brand gains global visibility.
Le Figaro