How titanium got the best brand of all metals

If we mention that something is made with titanium, most people will say, “Wow.”

Something about titanium symbolises high quality, and everyone knows it. Yet the weird thing is that few people have a passing knowledge of chemistry or metallurgy, and even fewer could tell the difference between a piece of titanium and a piece of vanadium.

Interestingly, aluminium held a similar “wow factor” in the 1800s since it was used in almost every innovation. But at some point, manufacturers realised that titanium was a superior alloy, and aluminium was relegated to a “cheap” alternative. The “wow” brand switched over to titanium.

But why has the “wow factor” stuck with titanium for so long?

We did some digging into this mystery, and it turns out the story of titanium has some wider lessons about the power of intangible assets.

The first reason is that titanium is a strong metal. A metal’s “strength” refers to its resistance to deformation. Titanium alloys have a hexagonal structure, unlike iron atom’s square shape, meaning titanium atoms don’t “slide” around as much when pushed. Titanium is also 45% lighter than steel, yet just as robust. It also has a higher melting point than steel. Both these attributes make titanium ideal for aircraft and ship manufacturing.

But being a great metal doesn’t solve the mystery of its brand power. Tungsten is a “stronger” metal than titanium and has a higher melting point. But most people associate tungsten with lightbulbs, not aircraft or submarines. So, the brand power of titanium isn’t due to its qualities.

What about the name?

The metal was first discovered in 1791 by Cornish clergyman William Gregor while he was studying sand deposits in the Manaccan valley. For that reason, titanium was first called ‘menachanite,’ but Gregor’s name never caught on. Instead, we call it titanium because German chemist Martin Klaproth “rediscovered” it a few years later in 1795. Klaproth named the metal after the Greek mythological gods called the Titans.

Those Greek myths have been central to European history for 3000 years, so the name “titan” does a lot of the heavy lifting for the metal’s brand, if you’ll excuse the pun. Names are important. If tin were renamed “universium,” people would probably consider anything made of tin to be of high quality, too. Symbology is certainly part of titanium’s brand, but not the whole story.

Maybe Hollywood had something to do with it?

Titanium is a darling of Hollywood. For example, both Robocop and the Terminator were made of titanium. Titanium was a gimmick in the Superman stories, and in Forrest Gump, the character Lt. Dan was said to have prosthetic legs made of “titanium alloy.” Even the spaceships that save Earth in Armageddon were strengthened by a “special” titanium alloy.

But it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg question: was titanium used in movies, because it was famous, or was its appearance in movies the reason titanium became famous? Hard to tell.

So, we have discovered that titanium has three key attributes for its brand power: it is high-quality, hugely symbolic and a creation of the media. Taken separately, each of these intangible assets isn’t enough to justify such huge popularity. But one object merges them together into a beautiful synthesis.

The SR-71 Blackbird – the fastest aircraft ever built.

The Blackbird was an unprecedented aircraft that still sets the baseline for modern-era technology. It was faster than a rifle bullet. The Blackbird moved so quickly that its windshield had to be made of quartz to avoid melting at such extreme temperatures. More importantly, its fuselage was almost entirely made of titanium because that was the only metal that was light enough for an aircraft and could withstand such heat.

Because of the Blackbird, titanium became forever associated with high-end military projects and the space industry. And let’s be honest, military jets and rockets are sexy.

The lesson is that one intangible asset is generally not enough to create a world-beating product. Titanium was the happy beneficiary of a constellation of intangible assets. It was high-quality, had a great name and excellent marketing.

Nesting all these intangible assets together transformed element #22 into one of the most popular metals of the modern era.