What is Cazbah and How Did We Get Our Start?

What is a “Cazbah”?

We get asked all the time, “Where did you guys come up with the name Cazbah?” It certainly wasn’t something that we just stumbled upon. We put quite a bit of research and thought into our brand, which is what good branding requires.

First, we picked Cazbah because it represents exactly who we are! The Cazbah, (or Kasbah -proper spelling) is generally the center of the North African towns where you go to get everything that you need. It’s where you will find the marketplace. This interesting juxtaposition of being the center of influence and the marketplace is who we are for our small business customers. We help them define their center-of-influence as we bring them to market, by providing them with everything that they need to be successful on the Web.

Second, we wanted a brand that was familiar but not obvious. Cazbah is familiar to different people for different reasons. For the younger generation there is the song by the Clash (vintage ’80s rock actually, albeit still popular), “Rock the Kasbah.” For the more mature crowd there is Ingrid Bergman & Humphrey Bogart in Casa Blanca. “Rick’s Cafe’ Americain,” where most of the action in the film occurs, is located in the Kasbah.

A classic movie line that many people remember is, “Come with me to the Kasbah. We’ll make beautiful music together!” This line actually comes from the film Pepe’ le Moko, a French film from the late ’30s which was remade in Hollywood in the ’40s, about a French gangster (Pepe’) who hides out in the Kasbah. An interesting side note is that Pepe’ LePew  (Chuck Jones cartoon) is based on this movie. Pepe’ (the skunk) takes many of his lines from the film, including the, “Come wis me to da Kasbah…”

Third, you will notice that Cazbah is constructed in a consonant – vowel – consonant – vowel sequence. This wasn’t by accident. The most successful brands follow this form. Brands like: eBay, Google, Amazon, Coca Cola, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, Samsung, DuPont, etc. Note also that most of these are “made-up” words or adaptations of other words or names.

Fourth, we subscribe to the branding methodology that, in creating a brand you must: define a new category, give it a name, and then dominate the category!  Which is precisely what we are doing.

How did Cazbah get its start? 

Despite the uncertainty in the technology sector, it was clear there was a gap in the market with internet marketing for small manufacturers, distributors, or companies in the service industry. The internet was a new concept to these small companies and convincing small businesses who thrived on word-of-mouth marketing to establish a web presence was an uphill battle.

While this may seem like a boundary impossible to break, Charles saw nothing but opportunity. After courageously supporting our great country in the US Air Force, the uncertainty of starting a small Veteran-Owned business did not deter Charles. With just a small, dedicated team and a huge amount of courage, Cazbah has thrived as a small business. We have been able to grow 10 times since the 2001, expand from working with small businesses exclusively in Rochester to 27 states in the US, and employ some of the hardest-working individuals to help our customers reach their goals.

“Cazbah was conceived with the notion that it was the “picks-and-shovels” companies that would flourish and prosper on the Web. Just like during the Gold Rush of 1849, we would provide our SMB customers with the technology, process and people to help them find their veins of gold online.” – Charles B.

Fast forward to over two decades later and we are still promoting the same idea that a web presence is crucial for scaling a small business in the competitive 2024 environment. While we have exponentially grown as a company we will never stop being humble and appreciating all the customers who have made us who we are today.

Check out one of our very firs promotional videos. While it’s fun to look back on this nostalgia – our message has never changed.