May 8, 2008
V8 Soup: More of a Good Thing
It seems like V8 vegetable juice has been around forever, but it’s actually only been since 1933.
The origin of the name is the 8 different vegetables used to make the drink. Obvious, and yet brilliant.
- It’s descriptive: it tells consumers what this drink has that ordinary tomato juice doesn’t.
- It’s suggestive: the V8 engine powers sportscars and aircraft, making V8 an energy drink long before the likes of Red Bull came along.
- It’s short, simple, and easy to pronounce.
Now V8's parent company Campbell Soup is introducing 5 varieties of V8 soup. This seems like a logical step to me.
As a child, watching the “I coulda had a V8” commercials, I was always skeptical about the idea of drinking vegetable juice instead of fruit juice. Okay, I was skeptical about vegetables in general at that age. Vegetables in soup make sense, even to someone who tried to feed her peas and carrots to the dog under the table.
Admittedly, corn, peppers, squash, and broccoli are not among the ingredients of the original V8, which means “V9” might be a more accurate designation, but this is a solid branding choice for Campbell’s.
Technorati Tags: V8, V8 Juice, Campbell Soup, Vegetables, V8, V8 Soup, V9
Posted by Diane Prange at 2:28 PM
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Baskin-Robbins Loses Founder, But Great Product Naming Lives On
The passing of Irvine Robbins of Baskin-Robbins fame has me paying tribute to a man who really knew the value of eye catching product naming.
The name Baskin-Robbins was an amalgamation of the names of its founders, Irvine Robbins and Burton Baskin. The two men flipped a coin to see whose name came first, leading later generations to wonder if an ice cream chain called Robbins-Baskin would have done nearly as well.
Robbins discovered as a teenager that he could sell three times the ice cream if he changed the offering from “three scoops of ice cream, a slice of banana, two kinds of toppings” to “Super Banana Treat.” This was the start of a cornucopia of ice cream naming.
There have been over a thousand great flavors over the years like Valley Forge Crunch, for the 1976 Bicentennial, Lunar Cheesecake, to mark the moon landings, and Beatle Nut for Beatlemania.
After his retirement, Robbins named his boat “The 32nd Flavor.” Nice.
The Baskin-Robbins brand name itself is very powerful. The famous 31 flavors (one for every day of the month) grew from the original 21 flavors . The company, owned by Dunkin Brands is gearing up for a major US expansion with a new logo, graphics, web site, store design and of course some new product naming.
Baskin-Robbins was there with some really funky naming before the founders of Ben and Jerry’s were born and before Häagen-Dazs hit the big time (that name means nothing, really, and it invented Nordic consonance)
Basskin-Robbins’s great names for their flavors have always intrigued us and made a trip to the brightly colored stores special. This company, one of the first true franchises in the US and one of the pioneers of the high end ice cream market, probably owes its existence not only to its great ice cream, but also to the foresight of its founders, who understood that great flavors need great names.
RIP, Mr. Robbins.
Technorati Tags: Baskin Robbins, Ice Cream, 31 Flavors, Irvine Robbins, Burton Baskin, New Logo, Ben and Jerry's, Häagen-Dazs
Posted by William Lozito at 8:00 AM
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May 7, 2008
Cold Spring Name Change Not a Hot Idea
On the State of the Brand 2008 blog this week, Jason Voiovich is lamenting the loss of the Gluek’s Brewery brand name, which was replaced by the more pedestrian Cold Spring earlier this year.
The copyright notice on the company’s website still says Gluek Brewing Company, but it appears not to have been changed since 2005.
Not that Cold Spring is meaningless. It’s the name of the city where the brewery is located. And the idea of brewing your beer from cold local spring water is attractive enough. But here in Minnesota, we’ve got Cold Spring This and Cold Spring That all over the place.
There’s nothing really wrong with it, but there’s nothing really right with it, either. Nothing distinctive. And if you brew craft beers, you need distinctive. Likewise if you’re trying to break into a new and already-competitive market. (Cold Spring now produces energy drinks.)
Admittedly, those not from Minnesota might be unsure how to pronounce Gluek (which is Old German for luck), and it’s usually a good idea for new product names to be easy for English-speakers to pronounce. But Gluek is not a new name.
The 1902 Gluek House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and Gluek’s Restaurant is the oldest in downtown Minneapolis.
Around here, at least, the Gluek’s name has equity. Abandoning the name, and potentially confusing existing loyal customers, seems like a far greater risk than keeping it.
Viel Gluck!
Technorati Tags: Gluek, Brewery, Gluek's Restaurant, Gluek House, Energy Drink, Gluek Brewing Company, Cold Spring Brewing Company, Name Change, Brand Name, Minnesota, Pale Ale
Posted by Diane Prange at 8:58 AM
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May 1, 2008
Why Did the FDA Object to Merck's Cordaptive Brand Name?
The news that Merck's new Cordaptive drug was unexpectedly torpedoed by the FDA has raised eyebrows across the industry, not least because the FDA
rejected the name as well, leading Derek at In the Pipeline to wonder what Merck will do with "all their promotional freebies."
This seems to be the least of Merck's problems this week.
There are a number of scientific and political reasons that probably doomed Cordaptive, but the FDA has yet to give a specific reason.
I have some thoughts on why Cordaptive may have been given a not-approvable letter.
Cordaptive is a cholesterol reducing drug from Merck that combines niacin, which can cause the unfavorable side affects of flushing and hot flashes, with laropiprant, which mitigates niacin’s side affects.
But Merck also markets Zocor, which also is designed to reduce cholesterol.
Additionally, there is Vytorin, a combination of Zocor and Zetia, which has proven to be no more effective than Zocor alone at reducing heart attaches or strokes.
Perhaps the FDA felt the "cor" prefix in Cordaptive suggested that the new product was an adaptation of Zocor. Or perhaps there were other reasons.
Merck changed the Cordaptive name to Tredaptive, which was approved by EMEA or the European Medicines Agency.
It will be interesting to see what the FDA decides regarding the Tredaptive name and the drug itself.
Technorati Tags: Merck, Cordaptive, Zocor, Tredaptive, Cholesterol, Drug Names, Vytorin, Facial Flushing, FDA
Posted by William Lozito at 8:22 AM
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January 25, 2008
Counterfeit Brand Naming Hotspot Tries To Go Legit With SilkStreet
In what Agenda Inc. refers to as a “highly ironic move,” notorious brand naming counterfeit hotspot Silk Street Market in Beijing has applied for a trademark to its own SilkStreet clothing label and warned counterfeiters not to copy it.
In what must be the most lenient criterion for reselling a high end brand in the world, the company solemnly assures us that only traders with ““no record of selling fake or shoddy products within six months and no [customer] complaints.” can sell SilkStreet brands.
This will surely raise a few eyebrows over at Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada, who won a symbolic $1,387.00 in a joint lawsuit against Silk Street and five of its tenants, “the first case in China to end in such a settlement.”
I’m thinking that it will be really hard to convince people that you are wearing a real SilkStreet shirt.
Technorati Tags: SilkStreet, counterfeit, trademarking, Brand Naming, Silk Street Market
Posted by William Lozito at 7:33 AM
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January 24, 2008
Car Brand Naming All About The Numbers (And Letters)
I have written before about the move that car companies have made towards alphanumeric naming, but had to smile while reading an article by Ken Bensinger that quoted a Ford exec mixing up the name for the new Lincoln MKS—he referred to it at the LA Auto Shows as the “MKX,” another model altogether.
Some of us are just as confused, with Robert Farago asking us irately “Is there a MKT for the Lincoln MKT” (referring to the new Lincoln concept car). James Poulous speaks for an entire generation of automobiles when he says “I'm a car, not a number," while another blogger laments “give me alphabet soup, I’ll give you new car names."
Sorry, people. Alphanumeric naming is easier to trademark, gives a car a European cache and does away with the risk of being mistranslated when it moves overseas. Consumers are also pretty finicky: VW, who has brought us some classic car names (Bettle, Golf, Jetta) just gave us the new Routan, an update on its classic hippy “bus”, and it was duly dubbed “The worst car name in history” in the Businessweek Autoblog.
Now that’s gratitude for ya.
Technorati Tags: Brand Naming, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKS, Routan
Posted by William Lozito at 7:33 AM
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January 23, 2008
A Green BMW Could be a Triumph in Product Naming
It seems that the rumors that were flying around last November are true: BMW is looking for a new brand name for a line of eco-friendly cars.
Hilton Holloway thinks the solution is to simply make the MINI brand name the eco-brand, while Lascelles Linton at AutoblogGreen argues that BMW’s hydrogen car project, alongside its fuel-efficient Mini and gas sipping Smart brand, should be enough for the Bavarians. No new brand naming required.
I am partial to the idea of BMW trotting out a clean, green Triumph, a brand it also owns, which seems to be all but languishing despite its enormous appeal.
If the MINI can be brought back in new livery, why can’t the Triumph be a “triumph” in green engineering? I’d say that the first model should come out in British racing green and use BMW’s Efficient Dynamics Technology. That would be a sweet ride indeed.
Technorati Tags: BMW, Triumph, Product Naming, Eco-Friendly Cars
Posted by William Lozito at 7:28 AM
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January 16, 2008
Cool Green Car Product Naming An Asian Thing
Concern for the environment has occupied a great share of our attention recently.
This focus has not been lost on auto manufacturers. At the recent Detroit Auto Show, several environmentally friendly autos were introduced:
- Dodge Zeo - This brand name is a clipping of the word zero to signify that this Dodge vehicle generates zero emissions.
Chrysler ecoVoyager - This name simply precedes the current Voyager brand with "eco" which suggests it's an environmentally friendly, battery powered vehicle.
Cadillac Provoq - A hydrogen powered Cadillac with a stylized name suggesting either provoke or more likely provacative since the source of power is very unusual, provoking great admiration or interest.
Most of the rest of the new auto naming comes from taking an established brand name and adding “concept” to it (e.g. Jeep Renegade Concept).
Another tack in car branding is the Zenn and Karma, which comes from California, of all places. Or the Mazda Furai (which means “the sound of wind” in Japanese).
Toyota’s Prius has set the bar in my opinion. It’s a good name from a well known company, and a great car. If Japanese car makers grab all the good names, consumers are going to start thinking that green cars are an Asian thing, which would be a pity.
One great name for an American green car would be “Sequoia”-- now there’s a name that doesn’t simply have “eco” tacked in front of it and doesn’t sound like a Star Wars droid—plus the word is utterly green and American. Oops, Toyota has that, too.
Technorati Tags: Dodge Zeo, Chrysler ecoVoyager, Dodge Zeo, Cadillac Provoq, Green Car Naming, Zenn, Karma, Pruis, Jeep Renegade Concept
Posted by William Lozito at 7:31 AM
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November 30, 2007
AOL to Become Brand Name History?
Wired's Epicenter asks a hard question today: "whither the AOL brand?"
The company, as a whole, has been in decline for some time now, due to an outdated business model and decentralized leadership. However, AOL, as a brand name, still holds a lot of leverage. "AOL is a high fast ball," Frankel says. "They have everything you need to make it a great brand besides a strategy," states Robert Frankel, a branding expert.
Instead of leveraging the established AOL brand, the company has been actively developing brands that do not include the AOL name, like TMZ.com or Truveo, and adding a new ad division called "Platform A."
These new developments seem to fit with AOL's new strategy of getting away from the Internet portal and instead becoming an online advertising giant. "You want to be there whether you're branded or not," said Kevin Conroy, executive vice president for products at AOL. What it comes down to, is that AOL executives either do not believe that the iconic AOL brand name is as important anymore, or they just do not have a branding strategy, which I doubt.
This is really just another argument about brand image. AOL's CEO Randy Falco sees AOL as a house of brands, like Proctor & Gamble. Falco also believes that the attributes attached to the AOL brand are not all positive.
However, the "You've Got Mail" announcement has become part of popular culture, and products, such as AIM (AOL Instant Messenger),which still hold most of the market share, in their respective markets.
Technorati Tags: AOL, Branding, Advertising, Proctor & Gamble, TMZ, Platform A
Posted by William Lozito at 10:33 AM
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September 21, 2007
Intel Struggles in Naming New Products, Nixes New Product Naming Strategy
I have followed Intel's increasingly confusing brand naming strategy for some time and was distressed to see that their new product naming strategy has been put on hold because it "did not achieve its goal to simplify brand names and even worsened the situation in the CPU realm."
There seem to have been market protests over their naming convention changes although a few name changes will occur, not least the Intel Viiv products will be called Core 2 Viiv and Intel vPro will become Core vPro.
This news comes on the heels of news that Intel's naming woes have helped cause confusion in the Mac market... the latest Macs have been called Santa Rosa by many misguided experts who use the name to differentiate these new, sleeker Macs from their immediate predecessors.
Application of the name Santa Rosa to these machines, which "are not part of the platform" according to TidBITS, is a symptom of how Intel's nomenclature has grown so complex that even computer followers are confused.
Simon Leeman also accuses Apple of being a little negligent in the naming field: after all, the new Mac really doesn't have a new name... Apple calls it, clunkily, Mid 2007.
Intel is one of the few chipmakers that enjoys brand name recognition among the average computer user and I sympathize with their struggles.
They have a daunting challenge... differentiating an increasingly complex and many branched product line while at the same time retaining brand equity and partnering with the iconic Apple brand.
I will be watching how things develop with interest.
Technorati Tags: Intel, Intel Viiv, Core 2 Viiv, Intel vPro, Core vPro, Mac, Santa Rosa.
Posted by William Lozito at 8:34 AM
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September 20, 2007
Courtney Love and SoupMan Learn Some Brand Naming Basics the Hard Way
There are a few mistakes that you really do not want to make in the world of brand naming.
The first is not to insult anyone, like say, how Beaner's Coffee was inadvertently doing with Hispanics until it changed its name to Biggby Coffee earlier this week.
The second is, if your name is Courtney Love, you might want to avoid naming a perfume after yourself simply because we do not want to smell like somebody whose band is called Hole. The only person who we're even less likely to buy perfume from is Marilyn Manson, whose perfume brand naming strategy, Smells Like Children, might be the worst ever.
You also might discover that any association with Nazis is bad, even if Jerry Seinfeld himself creates it as a joke, as is the case with the man who inspired the Seinfeld character dubbed the Soup Nazi. His SoupMan stores seem to have fallen on hard times, despite the fact that he has forbidden his staff to mention Nazis or Seinfeld or "no soup for you" on the job.
People just don't want to buy perfume from washed up rockers who don't bathe, they don't want to buy coffee that is offensive to any group, and they do not want to buy anything from Nazis of any description.
No matter how retro or funny or off-beat the associations are, a bad association is a bad association.
Technorati Tags: Courtney Love, Beaner's Coffee, SoupMan, Brand Naming.
Posted by William Lozito at 8:58 AM
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September 19, 2007
Company Naming Changes in India
If China is the world's factory, then India is the world's back room.
But both countries are developing their own brands. Companies in both India and China are gaining in prominence and stature and someday, in the not too distant future, China will be the world's second largest economy, closely followed by India, or the other way around.
In India, there's Tata Steel, who might be buying Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar and Land Rover units for auto parts, and the famous high tech companies such as Infosys and Wipro Technologies.
As a demonstration of India's evolving economy, more and more companies are implementing company naming changes.
Arati Menon Carroll has written a very interesting article on the subject in a recent edition of the Business Standard, India's leading newspaper.
Our proprietary Company Naming Changes research reveal that there are 1,409 company naming changes in the US in 2006. Again, this phenomenon is becoming more common in India as its economy continues to develop.
I had the privilege of being interviewed for the Business Standard article.
Technorati Tags: Business Standard, Tata Steel, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Arati Menon Carroll, Company Naming Changes.
Posted by William Lozito at 10:30 AM
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September 18, 2007
Reventon Brand Name a Blowout
Lamborghini has just introduced a $1.6 million car, and named it after a bull.
While bulls are symbols of power, speed, and virility, and the bull Reventón was particularly aggressive, the name Reventón doesn't have anywhere near enough sex appeal to match the car itself.
Reventón is Spanish for burst, which is fine if you think of a burst of power, but the word is also used to mean a blowout, as in a flat tire. It also means outburst, as in an emotional display.
Those connotations would have been lost on non-Spanish-speaking auto-fanciers before the Internet.
Now bloggers have the power to spread naming gaffes around the world in mere minutes, and the Reventón is likely to go down in history as second only to the Nova in awkward auto naming experiments. And, indeed, if you have a reventón, your car will no va.
Even without that problem, however, the name just sounds too clumsy. It doesn't have the smooth, rolling power of, say, Lamborghini. Even removing the n from the end of the word would give it a better sound, though for a car like this, a one-syllable name that whips past you at high speed might be more appropriate.
Too often, we buy products that don't live up to their names. In Lamborghini's case, the name doesn't live up to the product.
Technorati Tags: Lamborghini, Reventon, Product Naming, Brand Naming.
Posted by Diane Prange at 9:40 AM
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September 14, 2007
The Influence of China on Brand Perceptions
It's no surprise to anyone reading this post that China has been in the news the last few months regarding numerous product recalls for pet food, prescription drugs and toys.
This prompted us to conduct primary research among 503 consumers in the US. The sample was balanced by gender, age, household income and census region.
This week, some of the findings of our study were the subject of a cover story of Brandweek.
Next week, we plan to publish more of our proprietary research findings on the influence of China on brand perceptions.
Technorati Tags: Brandweek, Strategic Name Development.
Posted by William Lozito at 12:34 PM
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September 13, 2007
Netscape Has a Propelling New Brand Name
A few days ago I wrote about the danger that the Netscape brand name seemed to be in, not least because its identity as a social news portal has been dropped and will be moved to a new site which has yet to be named.
Well, the name is out and its a good one: Propeller.
As one Netscape blogger points out, "to propel means to motivate, actuate, move, prompt, incite, impel, or to give incentive for action and cause to move forward with force."
OK, I'll accept that, not least because they will be "propelling" news to us.
Of course, we would expect Netscape to spin the Propeller (a blog title that has been used many times in relation to the new brand naming) but the future of the brand is still in doubt, according to Tim Faulkner.
This news comes right on the heels of Motorola's announcement to launch a content portal with the name Comprehensive Solutions Catalog which James Quintana Pearce hopes "is a working title and not the planned brand name."
Technorati Tags: Netscape, Propeller, Muhammad Saleem, James Quintana Pearce, Product Naming, Brand Naming.
Posted by William Lozito at 7:43 AM
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September 12, 2007
The Biko Brand Name Alive and Well in South Africa
South Africa marked the 30th anniversary of freedom fighter Steve Biko's death yesterday, who was killed during interrogation at the hands of the apartheid police.
Steve Biko is one of the great "might have beens" of history, and because he died in such a tragic manner and wrote so eloquently against the apartheid system, he is somewhat of a political martyr in South Africa... and now a fashion icon and indeed a brand name.
Wearing his image is now something between a fashion statement and a political statement. The commercialization of the Biko name, however, has caused much soul searching on the part of his admirers.
This reminds me of the same kind of agonizing over the use of the image and name of Che Guevara, another resistance fighter who died an untimely death and leaves a difficult legacy behind him.
It seems to me that people who buy images of Che or Biko are often not wholly aware of either figure's politics.
Their images might have become disassociated with historical reality and taken lives of their own, much as the glamorous preppy life of Ralph Lauren has done.
Indeed, Ralph Lauren, ironically, is another person who will be remembered more for the myth he created about the inspirational polo playing lifestyle than the reality of Ralph Lifschitz (Lauren's real name) from the Bronx.
The Lauren brand name, now 40 years old, is the window through which we remember the man. Perhaps he prefers it that way.
But I do think that it is worth noting that the romance of fashion may do a better job at preserving the memories of these men than the nuances of history.
Technorati Tags: Steve Biko, Che Guevara, Ralph Lauren, Brand Naming, Product Naming.
Posted by William Lozito at 8:22 AM
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September 11, 2007
New Indiana Jones Movie Has a Name, Finally
Shia LaBeouf's announcement at the MTV Music Video Awards that the name of the new Indiana Jones movie will be Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull immediately made me think of artist Damien Hirst's diamond skull that sold for $100 million two weeks ago.
The title of that piece is For the Love of God, named after his mother's exclamation, "For the love of God, what are you going to do next?"
Some movie fans were less than impressed with the new movie name but I think it sounds pretty interesting.
Slashfilm has the logo up and had already posted the six possible names, with the original working title of the project being Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods.
Chris Thilk likes the title but is afraid that it's "going to take up a lot of poster space and will be hard to fit easily on toy packaging."
He also amusingly notes that "If there were still such a thing as movie theater marquees it would get chopped to hell."
Technorati Tags: Shia LaBeouf, Indiana Jones, Damien Hirst, Slashfilm, Chris, Uniqlo, Volkswagen, Isaac Mizrahi, Karl Lagerfeld, Very Wang.
Posted by William Lozito at 9:09 AM
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September 10, 2007
Fashion Brand Name Collaborations Match the Boutique with the Big Box
Yesterday The New York Times published an excellent article by Eric Wilson entitled The Big Brand Theory, that talked about the new alliances between high-end fashion names and major retailers like Target and Gap.
- Lutz & Patmos very recently teamed up with Japanese giant Uniqlo
- The same boutique fashion brand name has also teamed with car giant Volkswagen to create a line of accessories for the new Eos
- Isaac Mizrahi has lent his name to Target in a line of cheap and very fashionable clothes that are designed to make middle America more fashionable
- More collaborations are to come with Gap teaming up with fashion trio Thaoon, Rodarte and Doo to bring a hint of elegance to its everyman clothing line
In August, Vera Wang announced she will create an exclusive brand for Kohl's called Very Vera by Vera Wang. The line will include sportswear, intimate apparel, handbags, leather accessories, jewelry, footwear, linens and towels.
I think this is the way forward for high-end fashion brand names, not least because nowadays knock-offs of runway styles are getting into low-end stores faster than the originals thanks to Internet technology and a new, very savvy breed of fashion entrepreneur.
Carefully matching big names with boutique names is the way, I think, to beat the copycats at their own game, and to lift the general quality of fashion in the malls.
It seems that up and coming brand names meld better with the big chain stores' needs than already well-established fashion names like Halston... although we might see Karl Lagerfeld join the trend as well.
Technorati Tags: The New York Times, Eric Wilson, Target, Gap, Lutz and Patmos, Uniqlo, Volkswagen, Isaac Mizrahi, Karl Lagerfeld, Very Wang.
Posted by William Lozito at 8:08 AM
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September 7, 2007
Milky Way 2 To Go Product Name Should Have Gone
A fascinating article by Monica Hesse in The Washington Post and reprinted by "A Dietitian's View" almost slipped under my radar screen this week.
Hesse points out that according to Datamonitor the number of foods with "go" in the product name (as in "on the go") has tripled since 2001.
This makes sense, because we live such a mobile, hectic lifestyle. She posits that people who eat food meant to be consumed "on the go" don't count the calories as much... as if snacks eaten on the subway or in your car don't really count.
But the term "on the go" is becoming grievously overused, and The Milky Way 2 To Go bar is an ideal example. In fact, if you think about it, "to go" or "on the go" are not product names but are category terms that are generic.
The Milky Way 2 To Go bar is just a regular issue King Size Milky Way cut in half that in fact replaces the King Size branding space.
The So Good blog starts out by saying "Mars, Inc. Makes Me Want to Jab My Eye Out" because the name is so ridiculous. "Since when is a candy bar not 2 Go?"
Apples and oranges are "to go," too! But unlike an apple, this candy bar is actually harder to eat while driving than it was before, when it was just a King Size, or so claims Holstein Grove.
Bookofjoe trashes the name as well, although one of his responders notes that it might save somebody's marriage, as "uneven distribution of the Milky Way is in the top ten reasons why people get divorced."
The name is deceptive. The "2," I think, refers to the two candy bars... or two halves of one candy bar, depending on how you look at it. But Milky Way 2 To Go looks like Mars couldn't decide what to call it.
What is wrong with Milky Way 2 Go? I suppose they were worried people might somehow not understand that you get these two bars to go. They also have a "6 to Go" product, which is a little more logical... kind of.
What was wrong with the term King Size, I have to ask? Surely, king sized items are just as ubiquitous? Was the target market becoming predominately female? Did the McDonald's Supersize debacle scare off customers who wanted big food?
If it did, you only have to look at my blog posts on the subject to see that Big is Back when it comes to convenience foods.
It probably doesn't matter: I have a feeling that this name is not going to go anywhere, especially since Milky Way says that the 2 To Go candy bar is "perfect for sharing or saving some for later."
Well, if you are meant to eat them on the go, how can you... oh, never mind.
Technorati Tags: Monica Hesse, The Washington Post, Milky Way, Milky Way 2 To Go, Mars, Inc., Product Naming.
Posted by William Lozito at 8:09 AM
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September 6, 2007
iPod Gets a Classic Product Name
The big news this week is that Apple has revamped the iPod line and in doing so has tweaked their product naming.
We now have the iPod Touch, which is essentially an iPhone without the phone. One user points out that it's the first one-syllable product name in the iPod line. Lots of people would have liked to call it the iPod Feely, which is probably not a great name, and neither is iPod Smudgy.
The new Nano, which has been leaked as Fat Nano or Fatty is now to be referred to, officially, as the 3G Nano.
The news that has really raised a few eyebrows is the fact that the current Video iPod is getting a facelift and more capacity and will be released as the iPod Classic.
Now just hang on a darn second. A classic item is, well, one that's been around. One we know. Like Coke Classic. This is a newly revamped item that gets the classic brand name. In other words, nobody out there owns this classic item yet.
Blogger Chris Turner is starting to think that maybe there are just a few too many iPod names floating around out there. He suggests that when Apple puts the name classic on something, it's probably getting a spruce up before heading to the pasture the way Mac Classic was the last of its breed.
It's also a little crazy, notes another blogger, that a product that was the must-have item in 2005 is already relegated to classic status. Steve Jobs points out, "It's just called the iPod because it was the first one, and we thought: it's time to give it a name. We're going to call it the iPod Classic."
It's funny, but when we call something a classic, it's a good thing. A Porsche 911 is a classic design, for instance. The Parker 75 ballpoint is a classic pen.
But when a company actually uses the word classic in a product name that may not be such a good thing. The name Coke Classic, after all, was born out of the biggest debacle in the company's history.
Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch, 3G Nano, iPod Classic, Coke Classic, Porsche 911, Parker 75 Ballpoint, Product Naming.
Posted by William Lozito at 8:32 AM
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September 5, 2007
Failed Foleo Product Name is Ugly, Oily Damaged Goods
Palm's recent cancellation of its Foleo mini-notebook is yet another dead end in the twisting and winding route of brand naming that the company has embraced.
One of the reasons the Foleo failed was that the gadget blogs hated it, of course.
But the name has also been an albatross. Foleo is a play on the word Folio and is designed to help the gadget fit into the Treo brand naming nomenclature.
Back in June, The Inquirer ran a great article by Fernando Cassia entitled "How to Make Palm's Foleo a Winner, In Ten Easy Steps."
Step one was to change the name, which has been lampooned as