The word mafia itself created the brand name that enabled the organization.

Evidence

In conclusion, the very word mafia was generated externally from a fictional source loosely inspired by the real thing. Hess (1973) and Duggan (1989) agree on this point, a fact that, in their view, renders the whole phenomenon suspect, as if fictional symbols could only produce or be associated with fantasies. But in at least two senses the word can be said to have created the phenomenon: first, and most obviously, it supplied outsiders with a label to identify an ill-defined conglomerate, thereby making it possible to speak and think of it as a whole (and also, of course, making it possible to think of it wrongly as a mythical whole). More important, the word created a brand name, thereby making it possible to ally oneself to an entity with a threatening and resonant reputation. Leopoldo Franchetti was the first to appreciate the creative importance of the word: “Thus the term mafia found a class of violent criminals ready and waiting for a name to define them, and, given their special character and importance in Sicilian society, they had the right to a different name from that defining vulgar criminals in other countries” ( 1974: 93). — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 355

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels Milgrom et al.’s point that institutions and labels solve information problems — a label makes otherwise diffuse predators identifiable and so contractible. Also connects to the reader’s brand/reputation framing in the Godfather mapping.
• SEED: Article angle: the naming paradox — fictional symbols producing real social institutions — how brands (mafia, camorra, ‘terrorism’) retroactively consolidate the phenomenon they name.
• CANDY: A word from a play literally gave a real violent organization its brand name — Mafia as the ultimate product of fan fiction.