March 2008 Archives: Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog

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March 31, 2008

Batter Blaster Blasts Organic Product Naming Backward

There are some examples off product naming that immediately cause a reaction, and The Batter Blaster is one of them. No, sorry, the ORGANIC Batter Blaster. This is essentially pancake batter in a pressurized can.

Don’t laugh.

The name itself fits in pretty well, with the kind of product name we are used to seeing with ready to eat foods, such as Reddi-wip and Easy Cheese. Highly descriptive.

But Fake Plastic Fish has a pretty good blog about why Organic Batter Blaster is “wrong on so many levels.” First of all, making whipped cream takes time (hence Reddi-wip), making melted cheese is messy and also time consuming (hence Easy Cheese), but making pancakes is quick and easy already and buying the stuff in a can to save yourself five minutes of mixing is just plain crazy.

More than that, trotting out the overused word organic to tack on the product name is really not in the spirit of organic living. Organic Picks argues that The Organic Batter Blaster and its resource wasting can has provided us with the moment where the “organic label has truly lost its meaning.”

On top of that, according to Dead On, “the sexual innuendo is off the charts here.” Ookee.com admonishes us “it’s not some kind of sex toy. Stop it.”

Technorati Tags: Pancakes, Batter Blaster, Organic, Reddi-wip, Easy Cheese, Brand Naming

March 28, 2008

Pingg and the Evolution of Language

Once upon a time, a programmer needed to do some network troubleshooting.

He wrote a little program to tell him whether a given network host was accessible and how long it took to get a signal there and back. He named this program after the sonar pulses used to determine how far away an object was in space.

And thus “ping” was born.

Five years ago, most of us only encountered the term if we had to call our ISP’s tech support because we couldn’t get online. Then the tech support technician would ask us to open a command line and ping Google or some other site they absolutely knew was working.

But now the word “ping” has entered our everyday language, particularly among the BlackBerry-toting business types who use “offline” when they mean “in private” or “after this discussion is over.” (Real geeks know that what they want to say is “use the back-channel.”)

“Ping me” does not mean “try to reach my network host to see if it’s working.” It means “contact me” or “remind me.” Keith Ferrazzi uses “pinging” to mean keeping in frequent touch with your contacts, to remind them who you are and how helpful you can be to them.

Now there’s pingg, an online invitation service discovered this week by Springwise.

Despite the obligatory Web 2.0 spelling of the name, pingg shows us just how far this once-obscure term has penetrated into popular consciousness. It doesn’t take a geek to want to send out invitations online, and pingg provides every conceivable way to get your friends’ attention: e-mail, SMS text message, social networks, and even good old-fashioned snail mail.

Technorati Tags: Pingg, Blackberry, ISP, Sonar Pulses, Ping

Posted by Diane Prange at 8:02 AM

Posted to Linguistics | Naming | Product Naming | Technology
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March 27, 2008

Will Wal-Mart Ruling Start Parody Naming Trend?

In copyright law, parody counts as “fair use.” So too in trademark law, it would seem. Wal-Mart accused Georgia resident Charles Smith of infringing on its trademark by selling products emblazoned “Wal-ocaust” and “Wal-Qaeda.”

It’s no surprise that Wal-Mart doesn’t find these particular parodies amusing, but even if Smith’s sites didn’t feature prominent disclaimers, it’s unlikely anyone would find the names—or the logos, for that matter—“confusingly similar.” The average person is plenty smart enough to realize that none of the T-shirts, posters, or bumper stickers comes from Wal-Mart.

And that’s exactly what Judge Timothy Batten concluded, as WebProNews reported. Smith is free to go on using the names “Wal-ocaust” and “Wal-Qaeda” to sell products.

Of course, Smith’s aim is to make a political point, not establish a business. Any company that chooses its name as a parody of another company risks obsolescence once the subject of the parody is no longer a household name. Some brands might continue to flourish even if no one gets the joke anymore, but if Wal-Mart went out of business, there would be no market for Wal-ocaust T-shirts.

Which is probably just what Charles Smith would love to see happen.

Technorati Tags: Wal-Mart, Wal-ocaust, Wal-Qaeda, Trademark, Charles Smith, Judge Batten, Logos, T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers

Motorola Brand Chief Asset of Recent Breakup

The Daily Herald has a good story up about the value of the Motorola name. The right move, they say, would be for one entity of the recently divided company to continue using the name, probably the Mobile Devices business.

That’s interesting, because as the Herald correctly points out, usually in similar cases the company name is scrapped altogether. That still could happen, not least because some people feel that offering investors the ailing handset business (the one most customers associate the Motorola name with) is, as Extra Tech so eloquently puts it, like “putting lipstick on a pig.”

The rot started in earnest, says GigaOm, when the RAZR (another well loved brand name in the Motorola stable) “stopped being the next new thing.” Ironically, the new MOTORZR truncates that name even further, while offering what looks like the same old thing.

Extra Tech says that “right now, Motorola is simply a brand,” but one that could be very attractive to Chinese manufacturers who have little, to no brand name recognition in the United States.

It's interesting to see the fortunes of a company (or senior executive for that matter) change so quickly. A year or two ago Ed Zander, Chairman of the Board for Motorola, was poking fun at Samsung's naming, calling them "Same Sung."

I agree. The Motorola name has simply too much equity to be tossed.

Technorati Tags: Motorola, Brand Name, RAZR, MOTORZR, Mobile Devices, Phones

March 25, 2008

The History Channel Brand Name is History

The History Channel has shortened its name to simply History and has literally thought outside the box with its logo by taking it out of its box altogether. This follows the industry’s tendency to refer to a channel in a shortened version of its original name. In this case History.

TV Jab finds this move “slightly disturbing,” not because they have a problem with the name, but because of the perception that History (formerly the History Channel) is trying to become more “hip.”

At the same time, TV Squad notes that the channel is known in some quarters as “The Hitler Channel” because of the number of World War II documentaries you can see there and worries that the name will alienate its core audience. I don't think so. The channel's programming and its audience is much broader than its original focus on World War II.

At least one civil war historian feels the same way, bemoaning the channel’s move towards “immersive” adventure documentaries about truckers and loggers.

The fact is, dropping the word channel from the name allows History to get into other forms of media. It’s a logical move on the part of the channel that many did not believe could be profitable in the first place.

The same thing was said about the Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Weather Channel and the original Financial News Channel. Oh, people thought Ted Turner "was crazy" when he established CNN, who would want to watch news 24/7? Apparently many people around the world, including world leaders.

Technorati Tags: History, World War II, History Channel, History, Brand Naming

Posted by William Lozito at 8:14 AM

Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Media and Entertainment | Naming
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March 24, 2008

Kentucky Grilled Chicken - KFC's New Coke Naming Moment?

In the coming weeks you can expect to see "Now Grilling" signs at select KFC stores. And storefront signs will be changed to feature "Kentucky Grilled Chicken." The London Free Press says that "Even the brand's ubiquitous chicken buckets will get a makeover."

Doug Hasselo, KFC's chief food innovation officer, says: "This is transformational for our brand."

All kinds of things have to happen to make this naming work.

First of all, customers have to accept that KFC can grill chicken and that the product is indeed healthier than its fried alternative. Will they really believe that a piece of grilled chicken from KFC is better for them than a piece of extra crispy chicken?

More than that, many loyal customers are not going to like this kind of
brand name dilution. Circle of Food wonders if the sides will also get a makeover. Some executives have pointed out that if you want to eat healthy, you can't "just chow down on biscuits."

I think this is either going to be major coup for KFC or an unmitigated New Coke-like disaster. The name itself, Kentucky Grilled Chicken, will refocus consumers on what KFC actually stands for, a case of one step forward and one step back.

The other thing that must worry some executives at Yum foods, KFC's parent company, is that Kentucky is not really the grilling center of the United States. When I think about grilled chicken, I think possibly of Subway.

I wonder what Colonel Sanders would think? I'd hate to be the one to tell him!

Maybe they should run an add showing that the Colonel left behind a top secret grilled chicken recipe.

Technorati Tags: KFC, Grilled Chicken, New Coke, Colonel Sanders, Product Naming, Fried Chicken

March 21, 2008

Soccer Naming Gets Tough in Seattle

There seems to be some unhappiness in Seattle about the possible name of that city's major league soccer team.

The names that the soccer fans of Seattle have to choose from are: Seattle Alliance, Seattle Republic and Seattle FC, leading Seattle PI to report that sports fans were asking "Is it a phrase from a "Star Trek" convention? The name of an Eastern bloc country? Did focus groups consisting of a bunch of youth soccer coaches come up with some new moniker?"

Apparently, there had been a chance the name would be Emerald City says the WV Hooligan, who favors Seattle FC.

It seems like the folks in the Pacific Northwest have a pension for unusual names.

Seattle's tourist slogan is "metronatural." Need I say more. Of course it reminds one of metrosexual, perhaps not the most positive association.

Wisely, the state of Washington had the wisdom to drop its most recent state slogan "SayWA!"

Don't worry, Seattle, you may not be crazy about your soccer team's new name, but at least your team will not be called the PA Stoners, the name that came about in Pennsylvania for its NPSL (National Premier Soccer League) team from "Pennsylvania’s nickname: the Keystone State." Ouch!

Technorati Tags: Soccer, Seattle, Naming, NPSL, PA Stoners, Metronatural, Pennsylvania, Keystone State

Posted by William Lozito at 7:48 AM

Posted to Naming | Slogans | Sports and Recreation | Travel and Tourism
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March 20, 2008

English Product Naming Appeals In Spain, Taiwan, China and the Ukraine

The news that Ukrainian firms are adopting Western images and naming to capture western market share falls in line with the trend worldwide to embrace English sounding names. A law firm that changed its name from Shevchenko Didovskiy & Partners to Asters is simply good business sense in a quickly globalizing world.

Taiwanese companies are also embracing English naming as are Chinese companies.

The headlines last month discussed a Chinese bun shop that had renamed itself “Go Believe,” which sounds a lot like the famous Chinese brand, Goubuli, which translates to "Dog wouldn't care it.”

Brand names often do not translate well from country to country: according to the Branding Strategy Insider.

The Mitsubishi Pajero had to be renamed in Spain because the word pajero is slang for "one who masturbates." No German will drink a latte because it is a slang term for an erection in Germany.

Technorati Tags: Naming, Go Believe, Goubuli, Pajero, Mitsubishi, Asters, English Names, Product Naming

March 19, 2008

Very Zino Luxury Brand Naming set to be Very Profitable

The new Very Zino luxury line of pens, watches and luggage takes advantage of the immense equity around the Zino Davidoff name. All of these will feature the distinctive “brand symbol” of Zino Davidoff, whose name lives on as a brand that is synonymous with luxury. Davidoff believed that ““Pleasure in a thing of beauty is the essence of a happy life!”

Most people know the Davidoff name through his high end cigar brand, but he has also become a fashion and perfume brand via another company called Zino Davidoff Trading AG. The real feat here is that a brand name like Davidoff can straddle so many worlds.

His brand keeps growing and expanding. It is hard to think of another cigar brand that could be used to sell such an array of products, maybe Montecristo, but Davidoff was a shrewd marketer who learned to associate his name with his business.

Would I buy a Davidoff watch or briefcase? Yes indeed! And I’m not sure any other top cigar brand name would sway me. The name Davidoff, which sounds lavishly Eastern European (he was born in Kiev), just seems to fit better on a watch face or luggage tag than a name that sounds like its from Cuba.

The real question is why it looks just as good on a cigar band, but boy does it.

Technorati Tags: Davidoff, Zino, Cigar, Fashion, Perfume, Brand Name, Naming, Luxury, Montecristo

March 18, 2008

Bear Stearns Naming Especially Relevant Today

One of the things that has occurred to me as I read about the JP Morgan buyout of of Bear Sterns was how a company with the word “bear” in it managed to do so well on Wall Street in the first place? Patrick O’Callahan in the News Tribune wonders the same thing, asking “Why not Bull Stearns, Windfall Stearns or Rally Stearns?”

Names that might be avoided, according to Callahan, would be “Crash Stearns, Panic Stearns, Nosedive Stearns, Sell-Off Stearns, Lemming Stearns and Halloween Stearns.” The Daily Dopeness suggests that the new name might be JPBearBernankeMorganStearnsChase. BearStearns_logo.standard.gif Fact is, they are certainly living up to their name (the first part, anyway).

Then again, Callahan's naming might seem very apt to poor old Bear Stearns today.

Technorati Tags: Naming, Bear Stearns, JP Morgan, Callahan, Buyout

Posted by William Lozito at 7:45 AM

Posted to Company Naming | Financial Services | Naming
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March 17, 2008

Wall Street Journal Discovers that Naming and Branding Crucial to Small Biz Success

The Small Business section of the Wall Street Journal has a very good article up entitled “Name That Firm,” that indicates that “selecting a name is one of the most important decisions a company will ever make.” A sentiment that I completely agree with.

The article looks at some common pitfalls that come from not putting enough thought into the naming of your company and your brand.

Funnily enough, the Chicago Tribune has a great piece up about rebranding, something many people wind up doing when their first effort at naming and branding starts to wilt. Of course, this is also a pursuit that occupies the time of many a name consultant.

The Small Business Blog has some good ideas on the subject and gives a good idea of the complexity around choosing a good name. You may go ahead and do it yourself, or you just may decide to engage a naming service.

Laurie Ayers has some thoughts on bad naming that you might want to consider, and Donald Rush has some pretty good ideas as well.

Naming and Branding is indeed very complex and its best to get it right the first time. I find it interesting to note just how often companies almost get their naming right, and end up renaming their company.

Technorati Tags: Naming, Branding, Company Naming, Rebranding, "Name that Firm"

March 14, 2008

Tribute or Threat? Shoetube Prompts Trademarking Questions

There are now dozens, if not hundreds, of video-sharing sites, but none so famous as YouTube. Now the clever spotters over at Springwise have discovered a niche video whose name is a tribute to that popularity.

Shoetube caters exclusively to shoe-lovers. If you’re an Imelda Marcos wannabe (oh, I am dating myself here), this site is for you.

I love the name. It’s clever, funny, and tells you exactly what you’re going to find on the site. But I do wonder about the fate of the intent-to-use trademark application that the owner of Powderhouse Productions has filed. It’s possible that even if Google doesn’t choose to file a cease-and-desist on behalf of the name YouTube, the examining attorney at the US Patent and Trademark Office will still reject the application.

There are other registered trademarks that end in “–tube,” but the rhyme makes it tricky, and the USPTO doesn’t look favorably on attempts to cash in on a competitor’s more famous name.

Of course, Google may face its own challenges (its TM for “YouTube” hasn’t made it all the way through the registration process yet), thanks to an abandoned mark for “YouTube” in the same class filed by a Belgian manufacturer of scientific equipment.

Let’s hope Shoetube makes it, but also that “-tube” doesn’t become the “i-” of 2008, with dozens of copycat names to follow.

Technorati Tags: Shoetube, YouTube, USPTO, Trademark, Shoes, Video, Shoetube, Naming

Seth Godin Claims a Piece of Bagel Naming History

Seth Godin takes issue with an article in the New Yorker this week that claims a fellow named David Gussin invented the “everything bagel."

Seth says that he used to make everything bagels back in 1977, three years before Gussin thought up the name. He even emailed Serious Eats to say Gussin’s story is “crazy."

Limeduck has the second best response to all this: “with bagels, everything is nothing.” The best is from Grub Street: “are we really to believe that the world waited until 1977 for the invention of the everything bagel? Somebody's grandfather in Warsaw is going to be getting a phone call soon.”

I’m no fan of the everything bagel (too much of a good thing, I guess) and I might add that “being first with a brand name is nothing unless you trademark it.”

But I’m fully prepared to believe that Seth invented the name, the man can do anything, er . . . everything.

Technorati Tags: Everything Bagel, Seth Godin, David Gussin, Naming

March 13, 2008

Revlon Gets a $70 Million Lesson in Brand Naming

Today’s Wall Street Journal outlines Revlon’s return to its “core brand” after the failure of its Vital Radiance line for older women.

The problem was that Revlon disassociated its extremely valuable brand naming from the Vital Radiance line. It was a deadly mistake that ended a product that was actually very good. I can’t seem to find a word against it in the blogosphere. Some investors still have lots preferred stock faith in Revlon despite the recent debacle, which has cost the jobs of many of the senior management and created $70 million in losses, ouch!

Revlon’s new strategy will be to use the power of the Revlon name to launch new products, something they should have done with Vital Radiance.

Revlon strayed from this basic marketing mantra because of its perception that new products, rather than well known brand naming, rule the day in the make-up world. Well, Vital Radiance was a great product, but without the Revlon name and the names of one or two glamorous models behind it, it failed. Better luck next time, Revlon.

Technorati Tags: Revlon, Vital Radiance, Makeup, Brand Naming

March 12, 2008

Bad Baby Naming Won’t Hurt You

Yesterday's New York Times article on “A Boy Named Sue, and a Theory of Names” reviews a book entitled Bad Baby Names, which suggests that people with names like Please Cope or Major Slaughter should do okay in life.

If you meet a person named Mary Christmas, don’t feel too bad for her. Ms. Christmas probably likes her cheerful name, as does Rasp Berry. At least one blogger has picked a “best of the bunch." Here we are talking about names like Toilet Queen and Acne Fountain, which have surprisingly not proven to be a hardship to their holders.

I don't believe it.

Celebrities often get a roasting, but not enough for the Celebrity Baby Names Blog, which reminds us that our favorite movie stars have dubbed their kids “Pilot Inspektor, Moxie Crimefighter, Audio Science, Kal-El, Bluebell Madonna and Princess Tiaamii.”

Even a name like Ima Reck is not the worst, at least the New York Times article avoided the really politically incorrect names in order to appeal to the bridal shower contingent.

Technorati Tags: Babies, Baby Names, Celebrity Babies, Pilot Inspektor, Moxie Crimefighter, Audio Science, Bluebell Madonna, Princess Tiamii, Bad Baby Names

Posted by William Lozito at 7:43 AM

Posted to Linguistics | Naming
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March 10, 2008

Brand Names and Meatball Sundaes

Phillip Davis from the Tungsten Branding Blog recently interviewed Seth Godin on his Name Game podcast. The proposed topic of discussion was whether a brand name can be a “meatball sundae.”

For those who haven’t read Godin’s latest book, a “meatball sundae” occurs when a company tries to use Web 2.0 marketing without changing its whole approach to doing business. I was a bit curious as to how a name could be a meatball sundae.

The interview didn’t really answer that question, but did include some memorable comments about product naming from the marketing guru who describes his job as “making a ruckus.”

First, Seth Godin makes the point during the interview that naming your company after a minor character in Moby-Dick is a move no branding expert would advise, but nevertheless Starbucks has been wildly successful.

“The name had nothing to do with their success. And words like Google and eBay are terrible, terrible names, and yet the products succeed despite the name. […] The future of every naming agency [is] not going to be coming up with clever window-dressing. […] Those are the most creative, most confident people in business. The clients need to let them in the door. They need to let them sit with the engineers, sit with the product designers, sit with the customer service people, and design experiences that people remember.”

That scenario seems unlikely to me at the moment, yet it would certainly ensure that those charged with naming a product knew its features and benefits inside out, and also knew the company culture. That kind of collaboration would unquestionably make it easier to come up with an appropriate name, even if it wouldn’t eliminate constraints like the need to find a name that hasn’t been trademarked yet.

Although Seth's advice is helpful, I think it's overly simplistic:

“Pick a name where you’re the only one, where you don’t have to pay a million dollars for the domain name, where you have the ability to spread the word from person to person to person without worrying about getting it misspelled, without worrying about it getting confused.”

The interview concludes with the following statement about the part brand names play in a business:
“The great companies, the great organizations, non-profits, schools, everything—are the ones who challenge our perception of the way the world is, and your name should do the same thing.”
seth's-head.gif
For more of Seth Godin’s thoughts about naming, read the following posts from his blog:

• The new rules of naming
• Sloppy naming
• Being brave with names
• Naming a business

We might not agree with every statement in every post, but Seth Godin is always good, thought-provoking reading.

Technorati Tags: Seth Godin, Meatball Sunday, Name Game, Starbucks, Google, Brand Names, Naming

Tom Ford Gets Bond Brand Naming Blessing

I think that its fair to say that there are some brand names that the average American consumer would never have heard of if it wasn’t for James Bond. Think about the Lotus Esprit S1, or possibly the Aston Martin, and almost certainly the Walther PPK or P99.

The recent news that Tom Ford will be getting the nod to make the tux in the new Bond film is likely to help bring the designer further out of the Gucci spotlight and onto his own stage. Getting your brand naming entwined with Bond’s just makes sense.

The actual name of the new movie, Quantum of Solace, is based upon a 1960 short story by Ian Fleming. The movie will bring back many old friends from Casino Royale and none other than Amy Winehouse will be singing the title track.

Paul McCartney, who sang the title for 1973’s Live and Let Die, says “I definitely wouldn’t do it again. I have been trying to think of something to rhyme with ‘Solace’ and all I can come up with is ‘Wallace’! I don’t envy whoever is going to write the song!”

Technorati Tags: James Bond, Tom Ford, Casino Royale, 007, Live and Let Die, Quantum of Solace, Ian Fleming, Tux, Brand Naming, Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney, Aston Martin

March 7, 2008

A Perfect Name…for a Portable Hair Salon

Springwise listed “multi-sensory pop-up spaces” among its most promising new business ideas for the week of March 6th, 2008. Canadian manufactuer Eventscape markets these fascinating alternatives to cubicles and trade-show booths under the name Kapsel.

To an English speaker, this is a good choice of name. Kapsel is obviously an alternate spelling of capsule, and this product is a showroom in a capsule.

If you speak Dutch, it’s a different story. Kapsel means hairdo in Dutch, and in fact there’s a famous Google bomb in which the Dutch Prime Minister appears if you search for “raar kapsel” (weird hairdo).

So Eventscape might have a little trouble selling to the Dutch market, unless they offer their “adaptable environments” to hair stylists to use as portable salons.

Technorati Tags: Kapsel, Eventscape, Hairdo, Dutch, Product Name

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