March 2006 Archives: Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog

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March 31, 2006

Links Du Jour

Hooters Air Clips its Wings - This may be the dullest product name and brand proposition for an airline in the history of flight. No wonder it is being grounded. There may be a place for irreverent product names that reference women's anatomy. Airline travel is not one of them.
The Search for a Domain Name - Dennis Forbes has a great piece on building the perfect domain name. This is a crucial element of many companies' product naming strategies. Take a look!
Why Branding is Bad for Democracy - Interesting thoughts from a person in the business. I'm not sure it will affect our brand name research, but maybe this is one of those blogs that make you go hmmmmm.
The Art of Driving Your Competition Crazy - Guy Kawasaki has some interesting tips on how to compete by simply pursuing excellence over competitive advantage.
Dave Lorenzo's Branding Microcosms - Interesting take on how to creatively build the perfect brand... and career.

Technorati Tags: Hooters, Airline Industry, Domain Name, PR, Corporate Responsibility, Competition, Competitive Tactics

Brand Naming: InterContinental Gambling on a Budget Brand

InterContinental Hotels Group is hunting for a new budget brand name to add to its collection. Already in control of the mid-priced InterContinental and Holiday Inn brands, IHG's new hotel brand name will be positioned below their Holiday Inn Express offering.

Hilton I think the new hotel brand name will dovetail nicely with the chain's plans on expanding through China and focusing on growth in the Asian gambling center of Macau, where, by the way, Hilton and Starwood are also launching their own hotel chains.

In my opinion this name development project offers a challenge to the person doing the brand name research and brand naming for the new budget hotel brand -should it be a name aimed solely at the Asian market or be with an universal appeal?

We will find out soon enough, probably within the next twelve months.

Technorati Tags: Intercontinental Hotels, Hotel Brand Naming, Holiday Inn, Hilton, Starwood

March 30, 2006

Links Du Jour

Five Million Down the Drain! - Dr. Pepper has nixed a $5 mil repositioning campaign that featured the "mashup" music of assorted rock and roll bands. Looks like the people doing the name research on this one decided against the weird term "mashup" as it applies to Dr Pepper (a "mashup" of 23 flavors) or else the music was just bad.
I'm Not The Only Crazy Dude With A Treadputer - Could it be that a treadmill/desk mashup (there's that word again!) is the way to fight obesity while at work?
Pier 1 Has a New Look - It's more modern, less wicker-ish. Looks like a slick revamp of a trusted brand name.
Boutique Airlines - Another writer has latched on to our fascination with boutique airline product names.
Mom Gets Cold, Kid Yells, Mom Yells, Medicine Advertised - Vicks shows mom getting out of hand in the pharmacy. An irreverent commercial that might add a touch of humor to the staid world of OTC brand names.
Klansman ads promote Brazil radio station - Seems to me that some groups just do not deserve to be referenced in popular ads. Linking your product name to anything like the KKK is unwise. There's a point when being irreverent crosses the line into being offensive.
Some eye-catching outdoor ad gimmicks from that are sure to amuse - This is the March 28th post, look at the entire collection at Advertising/Design Goodness. My favorite is the Scott Towel fountain - I think this gives real life to the product's brand proposition in regard to absorbency.
Poducation - Podcasts are taking over the education sphere, and there are already companies out there that are acting as "podcast consultants". This has to be a new trend in product naming, one is called MPReach and helps teachers and students reach each other with thoughts, ideas, and educational materials via their ubiquitous iPods.
Finally, Bazooka Joe Gets a Break - Remember Bazooka Joe? He was the main character in the little comics you got in Bazooka Bubble gum comics that also gave you the opportunity to order x-ray sunglasses and whoopee cushions. He's being relaunched by Topps to the tune of $4 million. This brand name was a staple of my childhood and I'm glad that he's getting another crack at life. Go, Joe!

Technorati Tags: Dr. Pepper, Mashup, Treadputer, Pier 1, Boutique Airlines, OTC Brand Names, Scott Towel, Poducation, Podcast Consultant, MPReach, Bazooka Joe, Topps

Product Naming: Wine Names Bring Out the Animal In Us

In my previous product naming post, I commented on the new product naming strategies the wine industry has embraced, including their move away from staid old estate names towards funkier names like "Fat Bastard" and "Marilyn Merlot".

The brand naming trend in wine has continued to move downscale, centering around animal names and references, with wines like "Monkey Bay" and "Smoking Loon" outselling new non-animal brand names by almost 3 to 1.

I think customers just want wines that look cute on the table, and names like "Yellow Tail" seem to appeal to the drinker at the lower end of the wine scale (between $8-$12 per bottle).

In fact, when it comes to wines, downscale packaging with a funky label seems to work - plastic corks, even boxed wines are being snapped up by customers looking for an appealing quaff. My favorite animal name still is Goats-Do-Roam, from South Africa (referencing the Côtes du Rhône region).

Check out these wine glasses for another laugh. If you'd like to keep up on the latest wine information, I highly recommend the Vinography blog. But first, read about Manly Merlot and Other Oxymorons from fellow Minnesotan Doug Williams' blog.

Technorati Tags: Marilyn Merlot, Wine Naming, Yellow Tail, Smoking Loon, Goats Do Roam, Côtes du Rhône

March 29, 2006

Links Du Jour

Elegant In-bathroom Advertising - Smart way to sell high-end jewelry
Don't Confuse Response With Return - ROAI: When will consumer response become consumer return?
Google Local GeoAds in Beta - Further strengthening the Google brand name's association with precision targeting
Blockbuster: The End - Is the former giant's brand dead?

Technorati Tags: Bathroom Advertising, ROAI, Google Local, GeoAds, Blockbuster

Product Naming: Lego My Eggo!

Lego Eggo I just saw an FSI ad for Kellogg’s new Eggo breakfast offering resulting from a promotional partnership of Eggo® and Lego®.

Not only does it make sense to create kids breakfast food in the playful form of a Lego, but the combination of the two product names, Eggo and Lego create a perfect rhyme resulting in a memorable and sonorous brand name.

Rhyme, after all, is a sweet emotive experience. Perfect rhymes are an American birthright. Baby Boomers like me were literally raised on rhyme. We lived in a world populated with Dr. Seuss and Mother Goose; Ring Dings and Burger Kings; Dairy Queen and Lean Cuisine.

IZOD So, when creating product names that may eventually find a promotional partner, the rhyme factor is a legitimate consideration.

iPod Unfortunately, there are some product names that will never rhyme with anything: W, Tommy Hilfiger and Orville Redenbacker, for example, have infinitely poor prospects for promotional poetry.

On the other hand, many well-known brands, although they have yet to exploit it, possess the power of perfect rhyme that is waiting to be unleashed. Here’s just a smattering of potential product name partnerships ready to rhyme in prime time. Can you think of more?

Barbie and Arby
Wonder Bread and The Grateful Dead
iPod and Izod
Glade and Raid
Microsoft and Ann Taylor Loft
Apple and Snapple
Sara Lee and Applebee
Botox and Clorox
Prozac and Cadillac

Note from the product naming police: Remember, you can have many Eggos, but Eggo Lego is never Eggo Legos.

For more about this new product, Andrew Becraft's blog has an interesting post you should check out. So does Nick Vagnoni, in his March 6th Slashfood blog post.

Technorati Tags: Eggo, Lego, Rhyme, Promotional Partnership

March 27, 2006

In Search of a Brand Name

What's missing from a country that produces "...three quarters of the world's notebook computers, two-thirds of its personal digital assistants and nearly 70 percent of its liquid crystal display monitors..."?

According to the Taiwanese government, its recognizable brand names. Taiwan feels China "breathing down their neck" as that country continues to manufacture more and more high-tech products.

BenQ Probably the best-known technology brands coming out of Taiwan are Acer, BenQ (which is the successor company name to Acer), and AsusTeK Computer. I probably don't have to state that these aren't household names yet. Nor are they particularly user-friendly to the Western world.

Acer is probably the best known as the world's fourth largest laptop maker and has a good presence in big box retailers such as Best Buy, CompUSA, and Circuit City.

The BenQ name is derived from the company vison of Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to life. I think this is a decent tagline or slogan, but a rather meaningless brand name.

I'm not sure what to think about the Asustek brand name, commonly referred to as ASUS. The company indicates that ASUS is from Pegasus, the winged horse of mythology and TeK is the phonetic spelling of tech, for technology.

I don't think it's the easiest brand name to pronounce, however, China's Lenovo sounded strange to me at first but the multi-million dollar media effort is quickly making the name as common as ThinkPad.

In the brand name arena, I think the Taiwanese should aspire to be as good at brand naming as they are at manufacturing high tech products.

For more news on this subject, read this morning's Seattle Times article, Taiwan Towers As An Innovator.

Technorati Tags: Taiwan, China, High-tech, Acer, ASUS, AsusTeK, BenQ, Lenovo

Wanna Name a Typhoon?

You can rename the Longwang (means dragon king) typhoon of 2005.

For your ideas on brand names to rename this typhoon, just go to cma.gov.cn, or tianqi.cn.

You can also vote on the typhoon name candidates as well. The World Meteorological Organization Typhoon Committee will announce the new typhoon name choice in November of this year.

Technorati Tags: Longwang, Typhoon

Posted by William Lozito at 10:18 AM

Posted to Brand Naming | Naming
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Links Du Jour

5 Things to Consider When Designing a Logo - Good logos help make a good first impression.
Here Comes AjaxPC - A new web-based word processor called ajaxWrite is out and it's not bad...but will the name resonate with non-technical types?
The Sixth Letter of the Alphabet - When should we use the f-word in upscale journalism and marketing? Hard to say…

Technorati Tags: Logo Design, AjaxPC, ajaxWrite, F-word

Brand Naming: Megamalls Rebranded as Gigamalls

Name I read about a buzzword of the future that represents some interesting product naming opportunities: Gigamalls.

According to a recent article in Arab News, Gigamalls are going to be family-friendly themed "hypermarkets" with a truly international flair. Shoppers will glide between floors using automatic, ramped "travelators" that are magnetized to keep metal shopping baskets in place. These are already being designed in Arabian countries, where the mall has been brought to a virtual art form.

The gigamall will be chiefly characterized by its great size and numerous floors, a departure overseas where mall dwellers prefer one to two floors for their shopping. Some serious brand name research will have to be done to find names that link the concept of the mall with the concept of the sky or the feeling of height.

I think one thing is for certain, though. Mall developers might consider talking to a brand naming company, because I can't see kids of the future saying they're going to go hang out at the "gigamall" or shootin' the breeze at the "gig". Maybe Google should get in on the naming trend and build its own "Gmall" to complement its Gmail service.

Technorati Tags: Gigamalls, Megamall

Posted by William Lozito at 8:32 AM

Posted to Brand Name Research | Product Naming | Retail
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March 24, 2006

Links Du Jour

SweDish - Is IKEA's Brand Bigger Than Sweden?
Spend the Right Money on the Right Customers - All customers are not created equal. The community bank spends 70% on customers who cost the bank money!

Technorati Tags: IKEA, Sweden, Money, Bank

Product Naming: Motorcycle Names May Unlock the Male Mind

Passion I read a very interesting article posted on Total Motorcycle Forum, explaining how motorcycle brand names in India are capturing the elusive male mood.

Some of the brand names developed by HERO Honda Motors, India, include Splendour (the world’s top selling motorcycle), Achiever, Pleasure, Passion, Karizma, and Glamour. HERO Honda itself is a company name that captures the idea of men aspiring to be heros.

It seems to me that motorcycles are no longer just an inexpensive way to get around - they are aspirational brands and style products, reflecting as much about you as your clothes, or so claim the people at Suzuki, who offer the brand names Heat and Zeus.

In the U.S., Honda sells a tremendous assortment of motorcycles, including the Elite, Ruckus, Scrambler, Rebel and Fatcat. Let's not forget Harley Davidson’s Sportster or the cool-to-be-overweight-reinforcing Fat Boy.

Splendour I am finding that other bike brand names are following suit. Guy Kawasaki, who has a very successful business blog, may be interested to know that when it comes to aspirational product names for motorcycles, his namesake’s brands are the most dour, including the Kawasaki Eliminator and Mean Streak.

Technorati Tags: Splendour, Suzuki, Heat, Honda, Elite, Harley Davidson, Fat Boy, Guy Kawasaki, Aspirational Brands, Motorcycle Names

Posted by William Lozito at 10:14 AM

Posted to Brand Naming | Durable Goods | Naming | Product Naming
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March 23, 2006

Links Du Jour

Slack Off! - Seems as if a little slacking goes a long way in making us more creative.
Pickle Theory - Proof and Perceived Value - Pickle Theory: The "perceived value" of your company, and how it goes up and down from when you start the enterprise to when you start making money.
Episode V: Wal-mart Strikes Back - Wal-Mart Recruits Bloggers? Is Wal-Mart using bloggers to counter recent negative PR about the store?
Sine-Off Uses Methamphetamine in Re-positioning Strategy - Cheap cold medicines like Sine-Off have often been the base for the creation of methamphetamine, but no more, as Sine-Off changes its formula and its brand to keep people clean. Will it really work?
CBS's NCAA March Madness On Demand A Success - NCAA March Madness on Demand is in full steam, slamming the critics who sad that on demand video stream sports would never fly. 1.2 million video streams later, we find the doubters were wrong: we are indeed willing to watch sports on the laptop.

Technorati Tags: Slackers, Pickle Theory, Positioning, Vision, Wal-Mart, Bloggers, Sine-Off, methamphetamine , pseudoephedrine, NCAA, March Madness

March 22, 2006

Linguistic Leftovers

Zenith Even though technology generates new words almost daily, language doesn’t always keep up with the world we’re living in. Podcasters (a new word) talk about “tuning in” to their web-delivered mp3 audio files, not to mention “rewinding” them and being “on the air.” There’s nothing to wind in a digital audio file, and the only air involved is between headphones and eardrums. Nor is any tuning required. The very word “podcast,” a combination of the brand name, “iPod”, and the word “broadcast”, contains an inaccuracy.

New media like podcasts and blogs are better described as “narrowcasts” or even “pointcasts” - delivered directly to individual readers and listeners through the mysterious magic of RSS (Really Simple Syndication).

I think it's just a matter of people only understanding new things by referring to things we’re already familiar with. The ancient Greeks were already well aware of this, and used the verb proseikazein to describe that act of comparing and likening.

For those who grew up without cable television, it’s natural to think in terms of “tuning in” and being “on the air.” Broadcast TV and radio still exist, transmitting signals on specific frequencies and requiring some form of antenna with which to tune in. These days the transmission is as likely to go via satellite as radio tower, but the principle is the same.

8-Track Likewise any experience with film reels (or film cameras, for that matter), 8-track tapes, audiocassettes, and even VHS makes it easy to think in terms of “rewinding.” What actually happens when you skip back or forward through a digital audio or video file is more complex than rolling a magnetic tape or film strip around a spindle. Learning to use the technology can be hard enough, without taking the extra time to learn how it works and to describe it accurately.

Technorati Tags: Podcasting, Podcasts, 8-Track, Proseikazein, RSS, Narrowcasts, Pointcasts

Posted by Diane Prange at 9:23 AM

Posted to Consumer Electronics | Linguistics | Media and Entertainment
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March 21, 2006

Great Brand Names in Search of a Market

I've always liked the Segway brand name and product.

As you may know, Segway is the phonetic spelling of segue, which means to proceed or follow to the next song. A perfect product name. The Segway is a human transporter to get one from point A to point B.

Centaur The company recently introduced another product with an evocative and appropriate brand name. The Centaur is a four-wheel device that is propelled by a combination of human power and horsepower in the form of a battery. Again, as you may know, in early Greek literature, centaurs were the first expert riders that were half human and half horse, and the source of many fables.

In my opinion, these product names, or brand names, are evocative, clever, and fit the products and their target market. Both the Segway and Centaur are relatively high-ticket items that would likely appeal to the well-heeled and sophisticated.

Centaur I'm less enthralled with the company's tagline or slogan of "Get Moving." This tagline could apply to many products in many categories and therein lies its weakness.

Although the brand naming is great, observers have noted that these are products in search of a market.

Technorati Tags: Segway, Centaur

March 20, 2006

Brand Naming: A Case of a Missing Vowel

Alphabet Soup Motorola popularized it with RAZR. Reebok pioneered the concept many years ago with RBK.

I’m talking about brand names or product names that have eliminated a vowel.

Check out this interesting article in the March 19th issue of the Boston Globe that identifies many product names that have eliminated a vowel: Merchants X out A, E, I, O, and U

Technorati Tags: Vowels, RAZR, RBK, Brand Names

Brand Naming: Operation Swarm or Swarmer?

Operation Swarmer is the name given by the U.S. Military to its new Iraqi initiative, the largest air and ground combat operation since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Let me be clear, I’m not questioning the intended meaning of this brand name (yes, this is a brand name) but, I do question its grammatical legitimacy.

Drawing a metaphor from the agitated movements of a swarm of bees, the concept of swarm may be appropriate. However, the use of swarmer is not. According to the OED, a swarmer is

1. One of a number that swarm

2. A flagellated motile cell produced by the stalked cell of certain species of stalked bacteria

3. One beehive adapted for swarming from which a swarm is sent forth

Since there are more than 1500 troops involved in this operation, the first definition cannot apply. And, because we are talking about soldiers and not biological weapons, the second definition is also out.

The third definition only fits if all the troops are coming from one concentrated location and heading in a concentrated manner to another as a single entity. While this might have been semantically appropriate for the original Operation Swarmer (a series of airborne maneuvers in 1950 in North Carolina after which a swarm was deployed to Korea to provide airborne capability to General Douglas Macarthur) it is not the case in Iraq, where troops are coming from all over Iraq by air and by land to swarm in on one northern operating area.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves I have no way of knowing who in the U.S. military developed the brand name Swarmer, but some brand name research may have been in order. I have a feeling it wasn’t Dick Cheney. Dick, as you know, is more practiced in the fine art of English. After all, he Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

For more information, Bill Roggio's The Fourth Rail blog has a detailed account of Operation Swarmer and this Blue Voice blog post has some commentary about the Operation as well.

Technorati Tags: Operation Swarmer, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Operation Iraqi Freedom, OED

Posted by Diane Prange at 8:42 AM

Posted to Brand Name Research | Brand Naming | Branding | Naming
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March 17, 2006

Brand Naming: The Alphabet Soup of Naming

Alphabet Soup I’m pleased that the March 17th Wall Street Journal article, When a Drug Maker Creates a New Pill, Uncle Sam Vets Name, has shed light on the challenges and difficulties of developing a new drug brand name.

It’s fair to say that naming a new drug is likely the most challenging of naming assignments. However, I think those of us in the brand naming game could say that about most of naming assignments since clients seem to want short, evocative names, that are trademarkable, and agreeable to management up the food chain within the organization.

With anywhere from 240-280,000 U.S. Trademark applications per year and only 80,000 words in the typical college dictionary, this makes our work challenging, interesting, rewarding, and most of all, fun. I’m reminded of the famous Confucious saying, “Find something you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” That’s how the Strategic Name Development team feels about its work.

Technorati Tags: Drug Names, Drug Brand Naming, New Drug

Trademark Squatters May Have Already Stolen Your Name

China Flag A March 7 article on CNNMoney.com, which I found helpful, advises US companies who plan on doing business with China in any capacity to immediately trademark all of their brand names in that country.

Chinese name hijackers are trolling about looking for brand names they can quickly trademark taking advantage of China’s "first to file system" regarding trademarks. The problem is compounded by the fact that many US companies are unaware that there is simply no such thing as an internationally recognized trademark.

As you may recall, I discussed in October 2005 and January 2006, the challenges Starbucks is having in China protecting its trademark and logo and the many thousands of dollars in legal fees associated with this.

The phenomenon of stealing product names is a throwback to the well known scam of cybersquatting, where unsavoury computer geeks snapped up well known product and company names, added a .com and registered them, forcing the real companies to buy back their own domains at inflated prices. A typical name trademark in China will set you back about $1000. I consider that a good move.

For some additional information about trademarking and squatting, visit Peter Levine's blog post, which I find very insightful and detailed.

Technorati Tags: Trademarking, Trademark Squatting, Cybersquatting , Product Names

March 16, 2006

Product Naming: Barbie Beaten by the Bratz

Bratz I found a recent Time article that points out what parents of little girls everywhere have already discovered: Barbie is "dead", and long live the Bratz, the "Girls with a Passion for Fashion".

At least one Standard and Poor analyst has suggested that the Barbie brand has been "permanently weakened" by the new Bratz: a gaggle of clothes-and-makeup obsessed, pouty-mouthed dolls that look too cool (and too edgy) to even bother stealing Ken from goody-two-shoes Barbie.

BoyzntheHood Brand names ending in a letter "z" gained popularity with the advent of the 1991 "Boyz n the Hood" movie. This naming technique is used across many categories:

Oreo Cookie Barz
Jim Beam Sourz whiskey
Formz.com
Twizzlerz Sourz
Chainz puzzle game
Workz.com

But don't' forget the Kraft's Cheez Wiz, which has been enjoyed by generations of children and adults, existed way before the "Boyz n the Hood" movie.

The name Bratz, with its use of the "z" to signify the edginess of hip hop urban life, fits nicely into the street 'tude that is sold to young kids. The Bratz' online and offline sales material use words like kickin' cool, superstylin and scorchin as opposed to the much more wholesome sales copy used to sell Princess Barbie.

One woman academic says the Bratz look like a "pack of sultry hookers", but admits that Barbie is now "for babies" and the edgier, raunchier rivals are taking over the toy box. Their creators, MGA entertainment, sold 50 million dolls and moved $600 million of Bratz merchandise in their first three years of existence (2001-2003).

Sorry, Barbie, I think at 50 years old, you just can't keep up - even now that you have a brand new and improved Ken Doll to play with. Today's young girl doesn't want the wholesome cuteness of Barbie, she wants the brattiness of the Bratz - and no boyz allowed.

For more on Bratz check out these blogs:

Technorati Tags: Barbie, Bratz, Oreo, Hershey, Jim Beam, Twizzlerz, Chainz

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March 31, 2006

Links Du Jour

Brand Naming: InterContinental Gambling on a Budget Brand

March 30, 2006

Links Du Jour

Product Naming: Wine Names Bring Out the Animal In Us

March 29, 2006

Links Du Jour

Product Naming: Lego My Eggo!

March 27, 2006

In Search of a Brand Name

Wanna Name a Typhoon?

Links Du Jour

Brand Naming: Megamalls Rebranded as Gigamalls

March 24, 2006

Links Du Jour

Product Naming: Motorcycle Names May Unlock the Male Mind

March 23, 2006

Links Du Jour

March 22, 2006

Linguistic Leftovers

March 21, 2006

Great Brand Names in Search of a Market

March 20, 2006

Brand Naming: A Case of a Missing Vowel

Brand Naming: Operation Swarm or Swarmer?

March 17, 2006

Brand Naming: The Alphabet Soup of Naming

Trademark Squatters May Have Already Stolen Your Name

March 16, 2006

Product Naming: Barbie Beaten by the Bratz