The greatest marketer of all time lived over 1,000 years ago

When we think of great marketers, we think of people like John Sculley, who sold sugared water, and Steve Jobs, who sold hunks of plastic. Or perhaps we think of someone like Barack Obama, who sold "change."

But these people can't hold a candle to the greatest marketer of all time, a European who lived over 1,000 years ago.

I speak of Erik the Red.

What did he do?

According to some (but not all) Icelandic sources, Erik the Red was the person who gave Greenland its name, reputedly in an effort to encourage settlement in the cold climate.

And despite the efforts of the locals to have us call the island Kalaallit Nunaat, most of us still refer to the place as Greenland today.

Let's see if Pepsi or Apple can keep a marketing campaign going for a millennium.