May 5, 2010

Naming and Branding Low Point of 2010: The Better Marriage Blanket

Today I bring you the year's top contender for most ridiculous product name. Ladies and gentleman, behold the "Better Marriage Blanket."

How does this blanket improve your marriage, you ask? By absorbing the foul smell of flatulence, oh, and the "toxic fumes from mattresses and box springs," which has at least one blogger saying "Seriously?"

I wish I was joking. I am not.

This is a really imaginative nadir in marketing. The idea is that passing gas in the bed can cause divorce so you should buy this thing with it's military grade fabric that comes to us from the technology used to protect soldiers from poison gas.

Fact is, the company can hardly keep up with demand, according to Bnet.

They note that "The phenomenon says something profound about the psyche of the American consumer," but they're just not sure wha that profound thing is.

It is also suggested that you do not give this as a marriage gift, but notes that the word "marriage" occurs six times in the (ridiculous) ad.

Walletpop is loving this, wondering if the twin and king sizes of the blanket refers to the size of the blanket or the size of the problem. The site also offers some alternative naming ideas: "You've Gone Too Fart" and "Bubble Wrap."

Geekolgie says this is, "Officially signaling the end of mankind."

I wouldn't go that far, but it's definitely a turn for the worse.

Technorati Tags: Better Marriage Blanket, Twin, King, bed, flatulencenaming

Posted by William Lozito at 8:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 27, 2009

Is Baby Einstein Brand Naming Misleading?

Yesterday Brandweek noted that watchdog groups are calling for Disney to change the name of its beleaguered Baby Einstein products after news broke that these products probably do not make your baby smarter.

In fact, one study suggested that these actually make Junior a bit dumber.

This all follows a New York Times piece entitled "No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund," which outlines the refund Disney is now offering to disillusioned parents who bought Baby Einstein videos between June 5, 2004 and Sept. 5, 2009. That might be quite a financial blow: it seems that a third of all babies in America between 6 months and 2 years old have one of these videos, which also include Baby Mozart, Baby Shakespeare and Baby Galileo.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is demanding a name change, saying:

Disney should change the name of Baby Einstein because it still has a strong implication that it makes your child or baby smarter. They should change it to a name that does not imply that it could improve a child's cognitive capacity or that it is any way educational for children under the age of two.

Ouch.

The Wall Street Journal has put up a great blog about this and asked readers what they think about very young children watching "educational" videos (whether or not a video for toddlers can be termed educational at all is now a debatable concept).

One reader defended the series, saying that his son "learned things from them, especially when he was able to talk and say the colors and shapes. He would even do sign language along with one of the sign language ones."

Another leads us to the Baby Einstein site, which points out that this is a consumer satisfaction issue and nothing more and says that implications that the company is admitting that they ever suggested their products were educational are simply misleading.

I applaud Disney for offering the refund, but must wonder if the product naming doesn't at least suggest that it will make your child smarter. Parents I know who have bought baby Einstein products did so under the belief that these were designed to help their children's cognitive development.

Still, as one marketing executive points out in Brandweek, "I don't think Baby Einstein should change its name. It's a great name and gets to the heart of the concept in the brand."

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Baby Einstein, Disney Name Change, Product Name Change, Naming Controversy, Baby Naming, Baby Products

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October 20, 2009

Droid Phone Naming: An Irresistible Force for iPhone Owners

So Internet geeks around the world are rejoicing over the forthcoming "Droid" smartphone war, or to quote the NY Post, who in turn quoted Yoda, "Begun, the droid wars have."

Verizon, Motorola and Google have licensed the product name from George Lucas and on Sunday the new TV spot came out, which looks like a teaser for a movie. The ad, entitled iDon't, lists all the things the iPhone, er, doesn't do. They even have a web site called droiddoes.com.

According to Beta News:

While the ad harkens back to the 16-bit era of video gaming when Sega ran a campaign with a nearly identical tag line ("Genesis Does what Nintendon't"), it is one of the most direct advertising attacks a Fortune 500 company has made on Apple, which has itself been directly attacking Microsoft Windows in its advertisements for many years.

The reviews on this thing have been very positive, but of course I am interested in the naming.

Everyone who has watched Star Wars knows what a "droid" is - an intelligent robot. Anyone who has not will probably think it has something to do with the Android system behind it. I have written before about the (somewhat sinister) Android name, of course, but this is different, because these guys really are aiming at iPhone customers.

And if you want to entice customers away from Apple, naming a phone after a Star Wars character is almost unfair because, let's face it, Apple people are Star Wars people. The temptation to dump an iPhone to own your own droid will really be hard to resist on the part of most Apple folks.

Just watch. Every single male iPhone owner under the age of fifty will feel the Force call him.

Technorati Tags: Droid, Droid Does, Droid Naming, Droid Phone, Verizon Droid, Motorola Droid, Droid vs iPhone, iPhone Competition, Droid Advertising

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September 23, 2009

Private Label Brand Naming 'Losing Steam' vs Top Brand Names

So it seems that name brand foods are fighting the good fight against store brands.

Store brands have seen a real upswing in sales in the last few months thanks to consumers' new spendthriftiness, but name brands aren't about to just throw in the towel.

Proctor and Gamble, for its part, started the resurgence by lowering prices and is expecting to see a growth in sales by the end of the year.

Con-Agra and General Mills are also staving off the store brands via promotions and the fact that more and more consumers are staying home for dinner and turning to brands they know and love.

Additionally, name brand companies have a higher profit margin than their slashed-to-the-bone store brand competitors, which over the long run has served them well.

Reports that consumers are moving towards a price orientated buying strategy thanks to the economic pinch, seem to have been made prematurely. Trusted brand names appear to be weathering the storm, no matter what they cost.

In fact, branded food labels have been upping their prices as private label sales trends have "lost steam."

I do think that private label brand naming is really impressive. And it may be true that private labels are learning to be more competitive, but well-known brand names aren't backing down from the fight anytime soon.

Technorati Tags: Name Brand, Private Label, Store Brands, Branding Trends, Product Naming

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August 28, 2009

Can Catchy Product Naming Save Crocs from Extinction?

If you haven't heard, the Crocs brand is in deep trouble.

This is a brand that seemed headed for extinction, but like their namesake, have proven that with the help of a little strategic naming they are a brand that can endure the toughest of times. Recent "business improvements" have given Crocs a chance to actually pull itself into the black by 2010.

The Crocs strategy mainly consists of promoting sub-brands, as well as naming around particular product attributes. In fact, new naming may save Crocs:

• The Crocs Beach sounds a little less frightening, but beside having a different name, they are essentially the same thing as Regular Crocs.

• Crocs Cayman are Crocs that further push the "beach" idea (in fact, the water motif is big across the entire web site"). But again, these are pretty much the same thing as regular Crocs, just a little more narrow to stop the wiggle when you walk.
• As of yesterday, they also offer a new "retro" version called "Crocband."
• While the Kids Crocs all feature characters we know and love, like Nickelodeon's Dora, Spongebob, and Batman.

However, Crocs main competitor lives across the border in Canada and is called Holeys. And while Crocs have become commonplace in our consumer vocabulary, possibly even becoming generic, it's not hard to see how its Holeys chose their name.

A recent article explores the competition between the two companies that seem to sell extremely similar products. But just like Crocs, Holeys appears to be refining their naming architecture.

Holeys also appears to be focusing on its sub-brands, which includes the Critters line for kids that is becoming more popular than the Holeys brand name.

In addition, their new Coastal Boot, as well as their Weatheralls, Drifters and Dreamerzs, don't have any holes at all. Holey Moley!

As a simple idea that went from a consumer craze to a free fallin' concept, a small bit of intelligent product naming may just be intriguing enough to save the foam footwear business.

Technorati Tags: Crocs, Holeys, Crocs Naming Architecture, Holeys Product Naming, Naming Strategy

Posted by William Lozito at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 19, 2009

Sony Plays with PlayStation 3 Product Naming

The new PlayStation 3 is out. And what's more, it comes with a new name and a logo.

Despite it only being a small change from PLAYSTATION 3 to PlayStation 3 (note the capital S), the switch fortifies the history of the PlayStation brand.

This miniscule name change comes alongside a revamp of the current PLAYSTATION 3 system, making it lighter, slimmer and more powerful, hence the "far more suave" nickname, the "PS3 Slim."

The PlayStation name now consistently arches over the entire PlayStation network, including the original PlayStation, the PlayStation 2 and the PSP. Its brand equity only continues to grown despite remaining grounded in the core gaming industry instead of attempting to venture into phones and possibly other products, as was proposed by independent company Sony Ericsson earlier this year.

The gaming junkies have been covertly following the development of the new PS3 quite closely - so close, in fact, that they discovered that Sony secretly filed the PS3 Slim with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) under the company name "Sand Dollar Enterprises," an entity apparently owned by Sony.

This official name change and logo redesign is big news and further proof, if any were needed, that Sony places great equity in the PlayStation name. By making the switch, Sony is aligning itself with the majority of press and gamers out there who already use the PlayStation name.

Technorati Tags: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Rebranding, New PlayStation Logo, PS3 Slim

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May 18, 2009

Guess Who Is Stealing Gucci's Brand Naming?

High end retailer Gucci is suing Guess? Inc. for trademark infringement.

Not only does Gucci claim that Guess is imitating their designs, they are especially irritated by the company's use of "G" in their logos (Guess's logo displayed to the left, Gucci's below). More to the point, Guess seems to be trying to horn in on the famous interlocking GG pattern that Gucci made famous.

Gucci calls these "studied imitations" of the famous designs. On the Luxist blog there is a gallery that compares the two company's bags and I think that it's pretty darn tough to tell the bags and logos apart.

It appears that Guess is attempting to take advantage of the fact that their brand naming starts with G, as does Gucci's. Yet Guess also seems to claim that these bags are a "homage" to the Gucci originals (I have heard that one before), but Gucci isn't buying it.

Gucci wants damages as well as the offending items to be destroyed.

I admire Guess, but I simply cannot believe it when a company says they are paying "homage" to a famous brand name by essentially copying it. Gucci has a perfect right to be upset.

Technorati Tags: Guess Branding, Guess Logo, Gucci Logo, Handbag Design, Trademark Infringement

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March 2, 2009

Lego Succeeds by Knocking Down, Building Up Brand Naming

Sometimes when you're building a brand, you need to knock it down and start from scratch. Like Lego.

Despite hard times and vicious competition from computer games, Lego is experiencing growth nowadays through constantly revolving licensing deals and by letting go of brand names that just don't work anymore.

This means that the Lego theme parks are out, but Lego Raider's of the Lost Ark is definitely in. In an industry that is seeing a 2% contraction, Lego expects to grow 5%-10% this year.

The name, Lego, actually comes from the Danish "leg godt" or "Play Well," and it seems many of us are willing to play right now, with seven Lego sets sold around the world every second. This makes Lego the fifth largest toy manufacturer worldwide - and they don't outsource to China.

The secret behind their continuing success comes from focusing on their core brands: Lego City, Lego Pirates and Lego Castle (as well as the very popular Star Wars and Bionicle series), while also adding new Lego sets inspired by Disney movies.

In addition, they offer cool gadgets that attract geeky adults like the Lego Cell Phone.

And of course in the spirit of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," they have found a nifty way to get their brand name into the gaming world. With games like Lego Star Wars on the XBOX, Playstation, and Nintendo Wii, not to mention Lego Rock Band for Xbox, Lego has successfully broken into the video game industry.

All of this allows the brand to stay fresh and relevant while at the same time remaining true to its roots.

It is interesting to see the Lego of today compared to the Lego of yesteryear, especially considering that they have used other brand names and movie titles to build market presence while also popping up in the video game world.

But there's just something kind of cool about using a joystick to move a Lego Indiana Jones around the screen, and I think A Lego Heavy Metal band is definitely a bit intriguing.

It goes to show that a good brand name and product line can appeal to generation after generation if its willing to deviate from the plans in the box and build something entirely new.

Technorati Tags: Lego, Brand Names, Toy Naming, Lego Brand, Lego Video Games, Product Names, Brand Building, Toys

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November 25, 2008

Betty James, Inventor of the Slinky Brand Name, Leaves Us a Product Name That Will Never Be Forgotten

Betty James, who named the Slinky toy, is dead at 90 and toyland is all the poorer for it.

Betty named the "walking" spring her engineer husband brought home "slinky" after looking up the word in the dictionary and finding that it meant "stealthy, sleek and sinuous." She then went on to run the company after her husband left her, as she continued to sell more than 300 million Slinkys by broadening the line to include Slinky Jr., Plastic Slinky, Slinky Dog, Slinky Pets, Crazy Slinky Eyes, and Neon Slinky before she died.

The name itself is instantly recognizable, as is the satisfying "grzzzzzink" sound the toy makes while going downstairs or balancing between your palms. But the Slinky song is what really sticks in the head:

Ev'ryone knows it's Slinky. It's Slinky, it's Slinky. For fun, it's a wonderful toy. It's fun for a girl and a boy.

The company used it for years because they were too broke to update it, and it is now one of the tunes everyone recalls from childhood.

The name resonates because Slinky is just a part of our life and the company never deviated from the original Slinky brand name. Even in the age of video and computer games, retro toys are still popular with boys and girls (and parents).

In fact, the Slinky is in the Toy Hall of Fame, alongside its newest low tech inductee, a stick. Go Slinky!

Technorati Tags: Slinky, Betty James, Brand Name, Retro Toys, Great Toys, Product Name, Toy Hall of Fame

Posted by William Lozito at 10:09 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 24, 2008

Polaroid Uses PoGo Product Naming to Bounce Back

The Polaroid saga has entered into truly ironic brand naming territory.

This once tremendous brand name has not fared well in the era of the digital camera, while a recent fraud investigation probably hasn't been much help either.

It's former owner, Tom Petters, is in jail for recently bilking $33 billion from investors. This all started after Petters called Polaroid a "great brand" and "one of the most well recognized names in America" and said he would bring it back to life using the success of the JetBlue model.

Polaroid, which is facing a lawsuit from the large number of people that Petters ripped off and has been referred to by at least one analyst as a "beaten vagabond," is now introducing the Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer in a last ditch attempt to salvage its name from the scrap heap of history.

The PoGo will go head to head with Fuji's Instax digital camera with a built-in printer that Wired says will "ride the long tail of Polaroid nostalgia." Seems that Polaroid is attempting to do the same. The nostalgia for Polaroids is so great that you can get a program called Poladroid that actually makes normal .jpegs look like blurry Polaroids.

That product, and its Polaroid inspired naming, is funny enough, but Polaroid's decision to name its new product the PoGo reminds me of the famous Pogo comic strip and the quote from one of the characters: "We have met the enemy and he is us," a famous riff on General Hazard Perry's "We have met the enemy, and they are ours." Maybe the folks at Polaroid had this in mind when they named the new product.

Or perhaps they are simply hoping that the new printer will be more like a Pogo stick that will help the company bounce back from its self inflicted misery.

Technorati Tags: Polaroid, Product Naming, PoGo Pringer, Fuji Instax, Digital Camera, Tom Petters, PoGo Comic, Pogo Stick

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September 24, 2008

What do you think of the T-Mobile G1 brand naming?

The new Google phone is out and it has been named the "G1."  Well, let me be more precise. 

This is a Google-powered phone sold by T-Mobile USA that uses the vaunted Android operating system. It's official name is actually the "T-Mobile G1" leading one blogger to ask "G1, Gphone, Tphone - what will you call your Google phone?"

To confuse matters even further, HTC, the Taiwan based manufacturer of the phone, code-named it the Dream. I've rarely seen a technology device referred to by so many names.

When I first saw the term G1, I immediately thought that this must be for an old product. Why?

I was immediately reminded of:

• Apple's G-Series of Towers which ended in the discontinued G5
• Then there is the Pontiac G5 and G6
• Oh, did I mention that ASUS has a G1 and G2 laptop

• Finally, maybe this is a little bit of a stretch, but I was also reminded of the George Foreman G5 grill

Most likely G1 refers to Google's first generation Android smart-phone software, since the tagline is "G1 with Google."

While I agree with New Gadgets and Gizmos that the T-Mobile G1 Phone is not an iPhone killer, I strongly disagree with the assertion that iPhone will become a genericized brand, like Kleenex, Xerox and Band-Aids.

Just as Apple tightly controls third party developer software for the iPhone, it has a track record of vigorously defending its brand trademarks.

Technorati Tags: G1, T-Mobile G1, iPhone, Google, Pontiac, George Foreman, Computers, Cell Phones, Android

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June 23, 2008

Amana Jots Down a Product Naming Win for Whirlpool

Amana’s new Affordable Design product line is a nice piece of product naming that repositions the well loved Amana name for consumers that typically shop at Target and IKEA.

With Affordable Design, Amana has focused on creating inexpensive, yet attractive kitchen products that even get the nod from the "Design Guy" from Queer Eye For the Straight Guy.

The idea is to hit the savvy young buyer who does not necessarily think that eye-catching form must follow eye-popping cost, while also appealing to Gen Y and Baby Boomers alike.

Here we have the Whirlpool brand name getting a shot in the arm, not to mention the brand name Amana siezing a trendy (yes trendy, not retro) market space in the kitchen.

It also interesting to note that the name Amana is from the Song of Solomon and means “remain true,” which fits well with being one of the classic appliance brand names from a generation ago, hence the baby boomer interest.

But what really interests me is the Amana® Jot™ dry-erase refrigerator, which is producing ten times the amount of blog chatter than Amana itself. This fridge costs under $600 and features an erasable door panel where kids can do their thing, you can write memos to yourself or your roommates, and even your cat can post a crazy message.

Technorati Tags: Amana, Whirlpool, Refrigerator, Affordable Design, Appliances, Fridge, Jot Dry-Erase

Posted by William Lozito at 8:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 6, 2008

Can Infogrames' Company Name Change Save The Atari Brand Name?

There is nothing like a good company naming challenge, but I think that a company called Infogrames has set what might seem like an impossible goal for itself by striving to rehabilitate the Atari name. Yes, Atari.

They bought the name for $11 million and are pumping even more cash into it in an attempt to make it their own.

This is a name that has taken quite a beating over the years, including a Nasdaq delisting a month ago, and has become a name that some simply feel is cursed.

Atari’s history is incredibly complex, but each strand of the story always ends in disaster. Nevertheless, CEO David Gardner feels that the Atari name is still recognizable to anyone who has ever played a video game and that the name will communicate that his company is the “best-funded, best-branded, most energetic start-up in the history of computer gaming.”

One of the reasons that the Atari name lives on is because of its interesting origins. Atari comes to us from the ancient game of Go and is used in a similar manner to check in chess. Being “in atari” means that you are about to lose a game piece unless you move quickly.

There is no doubt that this ancient name, with its roots in ancient gaming, is, at least in heart, a winner.

I can hear the howls of laughter out there already in the blogosphere.

Yes, this is the same company that gave us some of the weirdest games ever, including the Joyboard and the little known Atari Puffer as well as a whole slew of others that are still only known in the world of retro-gaming.

But interestingly, when Infogrames was looking for a new name, they went to Google and discovered that all the good names they came up with were taken, a lament that I am not unfamiliar with. Infogrames apparently then decided to take on the brand name that they already had, Atari, a name with instant worldwide recognition.

Can the Atari name actually make a comeback? I’m going to say yes, but some very big changes have to be made if Infogrames wants to avoid the Atari Curse.

Blake Snow has some good pointers on the Next Generation that I think should be read very carefully.

The first is that the the various manifestations of the Atari naming have to be combined into one entity. Right now we have Atari Interactive, Atari Corporation, Atari Games and Infogrames' recent purchase. This all must be turned into Atari, Inc.

If this is done, the next step is an obvious one, Atari, Inc. needs to create great products that everybody wants. By great products, I mean revolutionary. Offering us a consolidated, recognizable name behind a really cool must have product would immediately wash away Atari’s history of failure in the minds of the consumer.

Anyone who has ever bought an iPod knows exactly what I am talking about.

Technorati Tags: Atari, Infogrames, Company Name Change, Gaming, Video Games, Joyboard, Atari Puffer

Posted by William Lozito at 8:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 29, 2008

Burberry Warrior Kills the Hobo in Fashion Naming

The news that Burberry Group Plc had a 15% gain in its second quarter profit, probably because of the new price tag of $2195 for its Warrior Bag, had me wondering if consumers know there is an economic recession going on?

I had to find out more about the Warrior, which is not a bag carried by a JRR Tolkien fighter, even though it looks like one, but instead is a purse by Burberry that looks like it's made of medieval studded leather that asserts “Power. Strength. Dominance.”

The original Warrior Bag was introduced by Burberry at $22,000, meaning that most women would pretty much have to kill somebody off Gossip Girl if they wanted the “it bag of 2008."

Yes, there are a few versions of this bag, including the nova-check version, but the gold alligator version will still set you back a pretty penny. Elite Choice tells us that the far cheaper plebian version of the bag, which is still over $3K, “would make you feel the strength that lies hidden within you and would definitely make you assert your personality.” I guess so!

I also think that maybe this is the start of a far more aggressive trend in purse naming, not least because the first it bag was called The Baguette, and has an anniversary model out this year.

Last year we had the Chanel Diamond Forever Handbag, but we also had the far more popular Hobo bag.

Evidently, for the past few quarters, women have been told by the handbag industry to be either hobos or warriors. I have to wonder if this kind of product naming is telling us something about the state of the world economy.

Technorati Tags: Warrior, Hobo, Chanel Diamond Forever Handbag, Burberry, Gossip Girl, Baguette, Fashion Naming, Purses, Recession

Posted by William Lozito at 12:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 28, 2008

Should the Kazoo Name be America's National Instrument?

I was interested to read a recent Associated Press article about the Original Kazoo Co. located outside Buffalo, New York, which came to be known as the Original Kazoo Co. after its former owner sold its original name, The Original American Kazoo Co, to its largest distributor.

The Original Kazoo Co. still makes the instruments the way it did back in 1916 when the company was founded; the patent for the kazoo not being granted until 1923.

The actual instrument traces its history into the mists of time. Before it was the kazoo, it was popularly referred to as the "Down Home Submarine." The kazoo is, interestingly, the only truly American instrument, leading some to believe it should be our national instrument.

There are many kazoo fans out there, including the fellow who runs The Kazoobie Kazoos Blog, but it was The Kazoo Guy who found the history of the kazoo name.

The basic instrument does indeed have a long pedigree, categorized among the group of membrane based instruments called mirlitons that were used by traditional cultures in Africa, but came to Europe as an eunuk flute at the end of the 17th century.

I doubt the movement to make the kazoo our national instrument will go anywhere, because the word kazoo is simply too silly. But, on the other hand, its no different than a lot of Web 2.0 names.

Although, if one is to believe the Oxford English Dictionary, kazoo is simply an imitation of the sound the actual instrument makes.

Technorati Tags: Kazoo, Instrument, The Original American Kazoo Co., Original Kazoo Co., eunuk flute

Posted by William Lozito at 7:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 27, 2008

Can the Faberge Brand Name Recapture Its Exclusivity?

The Faberge name has been purchase from Unilever by London-based private equity firm Pallinghurst Resources and is literally working with descendants of the Faberge family to bring the brand name back to its former glory.

The story behind exactly how Pallinghurst managed to acquire Faberge seems to be one of a full-on siege between Unilever and an aggressive fund that methodically brought up “vulnerable rights” of Unilever’s Faberge portfolio until the company was forced to sellout.

Unilever bought the name for $1.6 billion in 1989 and the final sale price to Pallinghurst is undisclosed but must be rather large since the company is investing $450 million into Faberge’s revitalization. That’s quite a sum for a brand name that we all know from the fabulous eggs, the last one was made in 1917, just before the fall of the Czars in Russia.

Trendhunter asks if the brand can become cool again after years of languishing in the Unilever stable. Well, that depends on how you define cool.

The eggs themselves still cause controversy and stand as emblems of excess, but also examples of exquisite, old world craftsmanship. The new brand naming will be appended to “objects of art, fine jewelry and items such as ashtrays and pillboxes,” but not to clothing and perfumes. There do not seem to be any plans for a new egg to be made for some Russian billionaire.

The Faberge brand is probably the most luxurious brand name out there and its proper place is on really, really high end consumer goods. It is interesting to see how people from the Faberge family have been invited to help build the brand, giving it an authenticity that has been missing in recent years.

But make no mistake, the brand name has been acquired to also help promote Pallinghust’s new mining venture that will sell Faberge colored gemstones into the industry. These gems will be laser engraved with the Faberge name, allowing people to figure out where they came from which will also give them additional value.

"Imagine a Faberge gem versus a no-name gem,'' one investor said recently, "Then take them 50 years into the future and try to sell them at Sotheby's or Christie's. Which gem do you think will sell for more?''

This reminds me of the Forevermark on De Beers diamonds that assured customers of quality and its origin from a reputable mine, meaning that it’s not a blood diamond. That’s probably no coincidence, since this company wants to create a diamond brand as well. This means that Pallinghurst is going to have a brand name with the same recognizability as the one hundred year-old De Beers name.

It’s a savvy move. The high end luxury line will add luster to the colored gemstones and create an immediate buzz around the new venture.

More than likely the luxury line will be a means by which consumers can choose Faberge gems for their jewelry, giving the name an allure, and a use, that it has never had.

Technorati Tags: Faberge, Pallinghurst Resources, Unilever, Diamonds, Eggs, Jewelry, De Beers, Luxury, Gemstones

Posted by William Lozito at 7:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 23, 2008

Is Barbie Contributing to her Own Brand Naming Dilution?

The news that Barbie has seen her sales decline by 12% this year is worrying for Mattel, but surely surprising to any parent who has had to keep track of his daughter’s ever expanding collection of ubiquitous toys.

Barbie is still the number one brand name when it comes to girls toys, but girls seem to be pulled in many directions nowadays thanks to video games, iPods and Bratz dolls, to name a few.

Despite the slump, Barbie has experienced a rebirth in the last few years thanks to a whole slew of new movies that see her as empowered, strong and independent. But what does occur to me, as well as to the dads I know who are in the marketing biz and feverishly buy these DVDs for their daughters, is how the Barbie name has become something of a sub-brand when it comes to their naming and branding.

There’s Barbie: The Princess and the Pauper; Barbie: The Twelve Dancing Princesses; Barbie: The Island Princess as well as Barbie: Mermaidia and Barbie: Fairytopia. Not to mention Barbie: Mariposa (think butterflies).

Here’s where it gets tricky. In very few of these movies does Barbie actually get called, Barbie. In Island Princess she’s Rosella, and in Princess and the Pauper the two twin princesses are Annaliese and Erika. In 12 Dancing Princesses she is Gennevieve, and so on.

The idea here is for the viewer to assume that Barbie is playing different parts in the movies, but it’s a stretch. Especially for a five year old, who might feel she has a few Barbies as well as a Mariposa doll.

It looks to me like these are movies given the Barbie seal of approval, rather than movies that feature a character named Barbie (who does in fact speak to the kids when the DVD menu comes up with a cheery “Hi, it’s me, Barbie” but, like some kind of higher power bestowing blessings upon the tale, does not show her face).

Phew. A guy needs a cheat sheet just to keep abreast of all the different brand naming going on here.

With all of these new products being poured on the market, could Barbie be facing brand naming dilution?

Add the thousands of Barbie clones that are out there, and it seems to be that Mattel is contributing to its own problems by creating what look to me like Barbie knock-offs rather than real Barbies.

How about a few movies that star a young woman named Barbie?

Technorati Tags: Barbie, Mattel, Toys, Dolls, Bratz, Brand Name Dilution, Sub-brand, Movies, DVDs

Posted by William Lozito at 7:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 22, 2008

Brandz Ranks the Value of Brand Names Globally

Millward Brown's Top 100 Most Powerful Brandz report is a major undertaking, congratulations to MB.

However, you may call me a cynic, but I always question huge percentage changes in data over a one year period.

For instance, are we to believe that during 2007

• Apple's brand value increased by 123%?
• Blackberry's brand value increased by 390%?

I don't think so.

What it tells me more than anything is that the Millward Brown Brandz methodology, at least in some instances, is overly sensitive to input.

Having said that, the broad findings of the most powerful brands are most likely valid, but I wouldn't put a lot of stock in the yearly percent change in brand value.

The study ranks Google #1 in brand value worldwide. Maybe that's true. Maybe it's not.

Could Google's ranking, be in part, because the name is ubiquitous as both a noun and a verb or is it vice-versa?

It would be interesting to see what a buyer would pay to acquire Google, which consists primarily of intellectual property or intangible assets versus the #2 brand, GE, which consists primarily of physical assets.

David Goldstein quoted a Millward Brown exec that stated that “strong brands continue to outperform weak ones in terms of market share and share price during recessions.”

Again, I don't think so.

I'm not aware of a recession in the U.S. or worldwide during 2007, the study period. My understanding of economics is that a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP.

Again, am I being overly picky? You decide.

Finally, Millward Brown is to be congratulated on this major brand study, even with its perceived shortcomings by a sample of one.

Technorati Tags: Google, Blackberry, Apple, Brand Value, Global Brand, Market Share, Share Price

Posted by William Lozito at 10:33 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 18, 2008

A Product Code Name Worth Watching

Remember when tubular was a term of approbation? Okay, maybe not.

Nokia’s code name for its proposed “iPhone killer” is Tube.

The mobile giant isn’t big on giving its products real names; Symbian Freak speculates that the Tube is part of the S60 line. For the general public, however, Tube is easier to remember.

Engadget describes the Tube as “grossly codenamed," and I have to agree that tube is not an especially sexy word, and in one meaning, conveys entirely the wrong shape for a mobile phone.

But there is logic to the name. The dominant feature of the Nokia Tube, like the Apple iPhone, is its screen. It’s a phone for watching video on. Back in the day, everyone referred to the television as the tube.

These days, not even televisions have vacuum tubes in them any more, but language can be slow to catch up with technology. We still talk about rewinding digital audio and video files. Although it may be that a more typical alphanumeric Nokia designation will actually sound more modern.

Besides, the example of pace Microsoft, the real name is supposed to be cooler than the code name.

Technorati Tags: Nokia Tube, Apple iPhone, Apple, Inc, Nokia, Cell Phone, iPhone Killer, Microsoft

Posted by Diane Prange at 8:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 16, 2008

Pico: The Latest Word in Nano Product Naming

By now, everyone knows that nano means small. Though Apple’s iPod Nano is the most famous product to possess that name, there are 299 registered or trademarked Nano products in the same class, and more than 1200 overall.

In short, the Nano name is getting tired. If you want to name something small, you have to look elsewhere for inspiration.

That’s just what Super Talent has done in creating its Pico drives, which I first spotted on Pocket-lint.

While Engadget points out that at least five other companies have claimed to produce the world’s smallest USB flash drive, Pico is the most aptly named.

The other contenders are the Kingmax Super Stick, the iDisk II, the Pretec Bella, and Toshiba’s MK2001MTN hard drive, which doesn’t use flash memory.

In the International System of Units, pico denotes one trillionth, whereas nano is one billionth. So a pico-whatever is definitely smaller than a nano-whatever.

It wouldn’t surprise me, however, if Apple started using Pico drives to make its Nano even smaller.

Technorati Tags: Pico, Nano, Apple, Super Talent, USB Drives, Toshiba, Size, Hard Drive

Posted by Diane Prange at 9:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 15, 2008

Silver Seal is Product Naming Gold

I just read about Seal Shield's medical grade washable keyboard that uses exclusive waterproof technology and antimicrobial plastic. The alliterative Silver Seal name grabs your attention and promises a higher quality solution (in the silver) and protection (in the seal).

But there is more to name behind the product. Most consumers are not aware that silver has antimicrobial properties that kill germs and prevent the spread of disease.

Samsung introduced the idea of silver nano particles in household appliances back in 2003 (refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners) and silver nano has been used to combat germs in socks, shampoo, and toothbrushes and it’s now being used to irradiate microbials on your keyboard, which by the way has “400 times more bacteria than your average toilet.”

The Silver Seal product name may be slightly ahead of its time, in terms of consumers fully appreciating the implications of silver, but it is poised to name a growing category of silver products developed to combat staph infections and other serious disease on your keyboard or in your washing machine.

The fact that it is dishwasher safe gets my vote too.

Technorati Tags: Silver Seal, Seal Shield, Silver Seal, Antimicrobial, Samsung, Silver Nano, Keyboard, Washing Machine

Posted by Diane Prange at 12:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

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

Posted by William Lozito at 4:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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

Posted by Diane Prange at 4:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 4, 2008

Mountain Bike Product Naming Brings Out the Animal in Us

A South African bike manufacturer is getting ready to conquer the world by using some savvy brand naming.

Silverback Technologies makes the hardy Silverback bike, which is ”a symbol of reliability, strength, a leader of the pack, with a cool edge." Naming bikes after animals seems to be a trend. Advanced Sports Inc has named their new Fuji sub-brand after the Kestrel.

As for me, I still remember the Mongoose.

I’m just amazed that a name like Silverback took so long to be incorporated into a brand name. I am glad to see that an African company has done the honors, even if there are no Silverback’s in South Africa.

Technorati Tags: Bike, Product Naming, Silverback, Mongoose, Mountain Bike, South Africa, Bike, Kestrel

Posted by William Lozito at 7:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 6, 2007

Brand Name Evaluation - The Importance of Context

As naming professionals, we are always surprised with associations that people make with the name candidates we present.

I feel it tells us as much about the person and their view of the world as it does their opinion on the name candidate.

One very common response we hear is "That name reminds me of x."

Our response is "You really have to evaluate the name candidates in context." Take the name American Eagle, for example.

• American Eagle is the regional carrier for American Airlines.
• American Eagle is also a retail clothing chain that is located in many shopping malls.

So, if our assignment were to name a clothing chain and we recommended American Eagle, it's very typical for client to say "It reminds me of an airline" and dismiss it for that reason.

We say, "Wait a minute." How about the Ford Fusion and the Gillette Fusion razor and the V8 Fusion juice?

As you can see, the same name can co-exist in multiple categories and not be confusing since all of these brand names are presented in context.

When I go to a store to buy Gillette Fusion razors, I don't think automobiles or juice.

Technorati Tags: American Eagle, American Airline, Ford Fusion, Gillette Fusion, V8 Fusion

Posted by William Lozito at 1:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 4, 2007

Brand Naming Can Tattoo You

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you want a sure way to get your brand naming under people's skin, think tattoos.

As the latest trend, companies are not only incorporating tattoo art into their brand names, but also creating brands that are designed to appeal to people with tattoos.

• The convenience store chain 7-Eleven has a new energy drink called "Inked," which is "aimed at people who either have tattoos or those who want to think of themselves as the tattoo type."
• Dunlop has offered free tires for years to anyone who will get their "Flying D" tattooed to their body.
• General Mills is selling fruit roll-ups that allow kids to create "temporary tongue tattoos."
• Christian Dior, Tag Heur, Aussiebum, Bling, Benefit Cosmetics are all looking into creating "tattoo logos" in India, because tattoos are a big part of Indian culture.
• Captain Morgan's new rum is called "Tattoo."

As you can imagine, people of all ages and nationalities wear tattoos, which means that you almost cannot lose by incorporating tattoo advertising into your brand.

What's next?

Technorati Tags: Tattoo, Brand Tattoos, 7-Eleven, Dunlop, General Mills, Christian Dior, Aussiebum, Captain Morgan

Posted by William Lozito at 9:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 6, 2007

Brand Naming: Handi-Vac Name That Sucks

The good news, at least for anyone who's ever experienced freezer burn: Reynolds is bringing out a $9.99 vacuum-sealing unit.

The bad news: they're calling it Handi-Vac.

If a "Handi-Vac" sounds like a wannabe Dustbuster to you, there's a reason. There are several Handi-Vacs out there already, with minor variations in spelling but the common function of providing suction.

• The Handi-Vac pick-up tool
• The HandiVac refrigerant recovery unit
• Hoover Handivac vacuum cleaners (no longer sold)
• Handy Vac wet/dry vacuums
• Hand-E-Vac medical aspirators

Worse yet, the name sounds a lot like Handi-Wrap-which is not a Reynolds product.

What's wrong with "Freezer Vac"? The domain and trademark are both available, and it would make the purpose of the product a whole lot clearer.

Technorati Tags: Reynolds, Handi-Vac, Dustbuster

Posted by William Lozito at 10:09 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 1, 2007

Coined Brand Names: Findability vs. Brand Dilution

We've talked before about the trend toward funky names and alternative spellings among Web 2.0 companies. Many of them even have similar logos, making them even harder to tell apart.

Some domain name specialists argue that if you don't choose a generic name, one that describes the nature of your business, for an Internet-based company, you are leaving money on the table.

The basic reasoning behind this argument is that when people are looking for something online, they're likely to try typing a generic name into the address bar. So, if they wanted to find books, they might type "books.com." And if you call your online bookstore "Books.com," people will find you online even if you don't do a lot of advertising.

Just about everyone now online knows that if you want to find books, what you actually type is "Amazon.com." But that's only because Amazon has done good job marketing itself, to the point where people associate Amazon with books in much the way they associate Kleenex with facial tissues and Xerox with photocopying.

Owning a generic domain name can certainly be useful. If you type "books.com," you get redirected to Barnes & Noble, which wasn't about to change its very recognizable name just to get a website, but had clever enough SEO advisors to take this step to associate its name with its product.

But the last thing a company trying to build a lasting brand wants is to commit genericide and have everyone else's knock-offs confused with their quality product - even if such genericization is a sign that your product is the one with the most market mind-share.

It's true that companies with physical presences and products have an easier time associating a coined or fanciful name with a particular thing - we see the Kleenex boxes on the shelves of the supermarket, after all. But even those companies have to spend time, energy, and money on advertising and marketing before they become household names.

A company with a descriptive or generic name still has to promote itself. Flicker.com only gets 150,000 visitors a month because Flickr is so popular. Even though the folks at Flickr would do well to buy flicker.com (if they can) and any other possible spellings, the "generic" name is only valuable because of what the specific name means to people.

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Kleenex, Flickr, Barnes & Noble, Xerox

Posted by Diane Prange at 11:24 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 17, 2007

APWagner Looking For Oldest Appliance: What Brand Name Will Win?

APWagner, an appliance parts company, is running a contest to find America's oldest appliance.

The Absolute Overall Oldest Appliance owner will get three new Whirlpool appliances plus $1000 cash, while the "Craziest Video Entry" winner will get three new GE appliances.

It seems APWagner figured the Whirlpool brand name would appeal to people who want longevity out of their appliances, while GE would appeal to creative people. In my opinion, however, all of these brands have qualities built into their names.

If you still wonder how old your appliance has to be in order to win a contest, the Old House Web has a list up:

• Dishwashers should give you from 5-12 years of usage
• Washers and dryers 8-12 years
• Fridges and stoves 15-20 years

Now we have to wait and see which appliance brand name will beat these numbers.

Technorati Tags: GE, Whirlpool, Appliances

Posted by Diane Prange at 3:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 1, 2007

Company Naming That Is As Funny as It Wants to Be

There are many company names that are funny without really meaning to be, for example STD Contractors, the WTF Group, or Phag.

Some restaurants also just seem to create unintentionally memorable names, such as the House of Hung or Yuki Sushi. Boring Business Systems is another name that is kind of, you know, boring.

The fact that these names are funny works against the brand. Yes, they are memorable, but they are not doing much for the business - who really wants to eat "Yuki Sushi," even if it is easy to remember?

On the other hand, Raymond Lawrence has an excellent post up about funny business names that work. Nerds ToGo, Pet Butler, Boneheads and College Hunks Hauling Junk are all on the crazy side but they get the service message across. Brick Kicker gives pizzazz to a home inspection business, and FunBus is a better service offering than "livery service."

The point is that these company names are funny because they want to be: they're laughing with the customer and not being laughed at. Walking that line, however, is no small feat.

Technorati Tags: Company Naming, Funny Business Names, Memorable Names

Posted by William Lozito at 10:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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 | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 31, 2007

Brand Naming v. Brand Extensions: Survival of the Funniest?

As a naming consultant, developing product names for brand extensions is a topic that I've written about before... and it's a strategy that is often necessary for a brand to continue growing.

The recent news that Guinness is diversifying into red beer with the launch of their new Guinness Red drink is a perfect example of this kind of brand extension.

For 250 years, Guinness has meant black and white. It's a black beer with a white froth. Now, parent company Diageo is pushing the brand in directions never been before... offering us Guinness bread and even your own froth maker called a "surger."

Some drinkers are not impressed... the World of Beer grumbles, "Guinness is stout, plain and simple. Not some Kilkenny knock off, not a weird looking creation which, judging by the photo published online at The Sun, boasts tomato juice as an ingredient, but stout. The black stuff. Period." Yet, other beer bloggers can hardly wait for the weekend to try it.

What's up? Extending a brand name, no matter how old and powerful and well loved it is, is something marketers feel compelled to do.

Even Guinness can't rest on its laurels... it has to offer extensions to customers or be swept away in a tide of microbrews and light beers into the ever smaller space of a niche brand name.

TD Clark's excellent article on the subject talks about how newer brands, like Crocs shoes, are already creating new brand names out of old ones. The Crocs brand is now offering apparel consumers "Crosslite rt" or "relaxed technology" shoes. This is aggressive brand naming at its finest, given the relative newness of the Crocs brand name.

Similarly, Mars is offering us a Starburst Drink... you remember Starburst fruit chews, right? By the way, this is an awful line extension, I think, and is doomed to fail. And current TV is using brand extension strategies to "expand its web presence and increase its marketing efforts."

Technorati Tags: Guinness, Diageo, World of Beer, TDClark, Crocs, Mars, StarburstDrink, Brand Naming, BrandExtensions.

Posted by William Lozito at 8:04 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 20, 2007

Product Line Extensions - The Awful and the Brilliant

When I saw an ad for Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I cringed.

I couldn't think of a more inappropriate or awful product line extension.

The Crisco brand connotes:

• Deep frying
• Fat
• Grease
• Clogged arteries
• Everything else that extra virgin olive oil is not

What were the people at P&G thinking? I'm convinced that someone at P&G let this out the door when deep down they knew better.

For more on inappropriate line extensions, check out Laura Ries' blog on Hellman's Mayonnaise versus Kraft's Miracle Whip.

Now for a brilliant line extension.

What could be more natural than a rum from Tommy Bahama?

• Tommy Bahama by virtue of its name says warm, relaxed and a casual environment
• The leading rum brand, Bacardi, is produced in the Bahamas
• Additionally, what could be more natural than wearing Tommy Bahama clothing while sipping rum in the Bahamas or the Caribbean, the birthplace of rum dating back to the 17th century?

Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Awful.

Tommy Bahama Rum. Brilliant.

Technorati Tags: Product Line Extensions, Crisco, Crisco Olive Oil, Tommy Bahama, Tommy Bahama Rum, P & G, Bacardi, Brand Names.

Posted by William Lozito at 9:44 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 15, 2007

Today, No Brand Name Toy is Safe

The incredible news that Mattel is recalling toys for the second week in a row is rocking the business world; this time we're talking about 9 million toys, some of which contain harmful magnets that could rip through a child's gut (if swallowed) "like a gunshot."

This news comes just as we are learning that one of the Chinese toy executives blamed for last week's recall has shot himself.

Seems that this may be just the tip of the iceberg.

The bottom line is that because the list of brand names affected is so exhaustive, no name is exempt from suspicion. Time Magazine has weighed in already, stating that: "Toys from brand name companies and brand name stores are potentially hazardous, as are toys from dollar stores."

Safety fears among parents are putting pressure on even the most trusted toy names. MSNBC has the complete list of product names that are affected: Polly Pocket is first on the list, alongside the Barbie and Tanner Playset.

This is a much bigger recall than last week, but goes right to the heart of USA toyland. I think this recall may signal a new turn in our trade relations with China, and certainly mark a boon for toys made in the USA.

Technorati Tags: Mattel, MSNBC, Polly Pocket, Barbie, Tanner Playset, Brand Naming, Brand Names, Time Magazine.

Posted by William Lozito at 9:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 7, 2007

The Beckham Brand Name Smells of Money

The Beckham brand name is marching on even if David Beckham himself is benched with an ankle injury.

Next month US shoppers will be able to buy David and Victoria's Intimately Beckham fragrance line.

The launch quietly went off last Thursday and the perfumes have been well received so far: Intimately Beckham Man is a "modern woodsy-spicy scent" while the Woman version smells of "lilies, tuberose, vanilla, sandalwood and orange blossoms."

The ad the Beckhams have been using across the pond, however, might need to be revamped... I simply do not recognize either of them in the picture. For instance, Victoria and David on the Victoria Beckham blog shows a much rougher looking bloke covered in tattoos.

This couple clearly has an empire going: the fragrance line, which includes David Beckham's Instinct is going to ring up $100 million, and Victoria is working on a line of sunglasses and clothing which already includes the VB Rocks denim jeans.

Their photo shoot last month in a seedy hotel probably heralds a new, rougher image for the American market, illustrating that the brand name can easily change with the times, even when Becks isn't on the field.

Will it succeed?

Of course. One gets the feeling that Victoria Beckham is a savvy manager of this multimillion dollar brand name, and we will be bending it like Beckham long after David retires from football (soccer in the US) and Posh Spice is but a memory.

Technorati Tags: David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Intimately Beckham, Rocka dn Republic Jeans, VB Rocks, Brand Naming, Brand Names.

Posted by William Lozito at 8:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 3, 2007

Gas Stations Need Better Brand Naming

Gas stations notoriously have a hard time achieving brand name loyalty from customers.

Why? Because we are simply not loyal to gas stations, despite the fact that we all recognize the various brand names.

We may insist on the same brand name cola or perfume but when it comes to gas stations, we'll take just about anything.

Gas is gas, right? (Imagine Coke&trade saying "cola is cola" or Google saying "all search engines are pretty much alike.")

We are really loyal to car brand names, but not to the stuff we put in the cars.

This has led many gas station brand names to take some desperate measures to lure customers, like offering all kinds of activities at the station itself as well as additives to the gas you pump into your car.

Guys, guys... it's not about the gas. It's about brand naming!

At least one company is getting the message: Gulf Oil LP is switching the 11 stations it owns along the Mass Pike from Exxon to its own brand this month on "one of its biggest moves yet to promote New England's only major locally based gas brand."

They are also getting the Citgo stores along the Pike to switch to the Gulf brand name... what a breakthrough.

Ironically, Gulf is really a ghost brand that bears no real relation to the famous oil company of 1901.

Gulf Oil was bought in 1984 by Chevron and Cumberland Farms Inc. bought rights to the brand in 1994 to set up Gulf Oil LP jointly with Catamount Petroleum Corp. Chevron still owns the name.

Using the Gulf name along the Pike is all about trying to encourage New England customers to show some regional loyalty.

Technorati Tags: Gulf Oil LP, Citgo, Chevron, Cumberland Farms Inc., Catamount Petroleum Corp.

Posted by William Lozito at 8:26 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 2, 2007

Fisher-Price, Big Bird and Dora Brand Names Take A Karate Chop in Toyland

Today's news that Mattel's Fisher-Price is recalling one million Chinese made toys is going to add further fuel to the anti-Chinese sentiment growing within the American consumer market... not that it will do much to stop Chinese exports into the USA.

What strikes me is that Fischer-Price is such an utterly American brand name: One of my staffers grew up near East Aurora New York, where Fischer-Price formerly made its famous toys before outsourcing most of its production to China.

This recall, the first in almost ten years for them, is going to illustrate that no brand name is above suspicion.

Moreover, Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego are all blue chip toy names, and they are all tainted now. Thomas the Tank Engine and Hasbro's Easy Bake Oven are also suspect... is nothing sacred?

These are legendary brand names, not random cheapies cooked up in Shanghai.

Some bloggers point out that there is no need to panic and the Chinese juggernaut is a monster of our own making.

I agree.

But shoddy workmanship is killing famous brand name equity in the USA... and don't get me started on what counterfeit watches going for as little as $12 must be doing to the luxury brand name segment.

We like our cheap stuff and we like our knock offs, but I have to say that in the foreseeable future, products not made in China have a perfect means of creating a nice niche for themselves against the Chinese export tsunami.

The words "Made in USA" are going to sound especially sweet to nervous mothers shopping for their preschoolers.

I'm thinking that if you have a company name that references pretty much anything USA, put it prominently on the box and make sure customers know where your factory is located.

The great Chinese strategist Sun Tzu used to say "attack weakness, avoid strength", and China has just shown its Achilles heel.

Technorati Tags: Mattel, Fisher-Price, Big Bird, Elmo, Dora the Explorer, Dora and Diego, Thomas the Tank Engine, Hasbro, Easy Bake Oven.

Posted by William Lozito at 8:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 31, 2007

Getting Greener and Cleaner: Company Naming Changes and Brand Names

You'd have to be on Mars not to know that there's a growing green movement in the U.S. (and Europe).

The green trend has manifest itself with more and more company names and brand names in the U.S. capitalizing on increased consumer interest in protecting the environment and concern about global warming.

Our proprietary 2006 Company Naming Changes Report identifies at least 10 companies that have changed their name to take advantage of the green trend. Two examples are

• Safer Residence Corp. to Solar Enertech Corp.
• Metasun Enterprises, Inc. to Pure Biofuels Corp.

This green trend, as mentioned earlier, is also being reflected in some interesting new product names.

For example, wine makers are trying to sell us old wine in new plastic bottles and vodka makers are creating a more ecologically-friendly tipple.

The world's first eco-friendly vodka, 360 Vodka, uses locally grown grains resulting in reduced fossil fuel consumption in transporting raw materials to the distillery, and their glass bottle is made from 85% recycled glass.

Furthermore, we've already covered how Steve Jobs is repositioning Apple to be a greener and friendlier computer company.

Now the Chinese computer archrival Lenovo brand is trying to clean up its act as well... as are Dell and HP. These days, it seems, Greenpeace is actually becoming a brand name consultant to big businesses.

For more analysis on company naming changes in 2006, click on the Company Naming Changes Report button at the top of our home page.

Technorati Tags: Company Naming Changes Report, Safer Residence Corp., Solar Enertech Corp., Metasun Enterprises, Inc., Pure Biofuels Corp., Steve Jobs, 360 Vodka, Lenovo, Dell, HP.

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July 30, 2007

Technology Companies using Branding to Move Closer to Consumers

It's a well-known economic fact that the higher you "move up the food chain" to the consumer, the higher the margins.

Technology companies are well aware of this Law of Proximity, a term I just coined.

However, technology companies execute against the Law of Proximity in different ways.

• In the case of Intel, they branded a component of a computer and established a brand preference for it with its Intel Inside® campaign. Even engineers with Master's degrees in electrical engineering, who should know better, prefer Intel over Advanced Micro Devices as the chip in their personal computer, while both are capable of the same functionality and performance.


• Seagate is moving up the food chain with its introduction of a new product called FreeAgent&trade. Although this product has functionality such as duplicating content and sending it via email or to your iPod, it essentially is a mini-server positioned for the B2C market.


• Cisco has largely bought its way up the way up the food chain by purchasing B2C companies such as Linkysys. However, John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, has just acknowledged that although Linksys is a better-known product in the US, over time, it will be dropping this name in favor of the Cisco master brand. In effect, Cisco will evolve from a B2B brand to a combination B2B and B2C brand.

Technorati Tags: Intel, Intel Inside, Seagate, FreeAgent, Cisco, Linksys.

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July 23, 2007

5 Boroughs Ice Cream Staten Island Landfill Great Product Naming

I believe that one great way of getting people interested in your brand name is to get people angry at you.

This is certainly the case with 5 Boroughs Ice Cream, a New York based ice cream company which was attacked last month by Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro for their Staten Island Landfill flavor.

Seems Mr. Molinaro found this product name "insulting and derogatory" to the borough.

But after Mr. Molinaro's outburst (and his urging that Staten Islanders boycott the stuff), sales skyrocketed, drawing attention to the company's other cheeky product names that have a distinct New York flair: Upper East Side Rich White Vanilla, Jackson Heights Mangodesh, Bakla-Wha?! and South Bronx Cha Cha Chocolate.

This has even prompted people to write in from Connecticut asking for their own flavor on the grounds that the small state is the "sixth borough."

I'm all for supporting the small business person and like the idea of these unique names on ice cream. New Yorkers, I would bet, eat lots of ice cream, as do the rest of us, who all want a piece of the city. And there can be no doubt that when a name enrages certain people, well, you're on your way.

Especially if it's a clever name.

On the other hand, McDonald's ill-fated Supersize name branding campaign seems to have come back from the dead in a new format: The "Hugo," a whopping 42 oz. drink that you can get for as little as 89 cents.

The New York Times says they may as well call it the "Tubbo" and notes that Wendy's is also offering its own gargantuan drink brand name: The medium is now "The Biggie".

McDonald's knows that they are really competing with places like 7-Eleven, who have been offering The Big Gulp for years.

The celebrity diet doctor calls this "Super-Sized II, The Sequel" and another blogger wonders why McDonald's would name a drink after a hurricane.

As for me, I was reminded of Hugo the Hippo, which is what we'll become if we drink too many of these things.

Technorati Tags: 5 Boroughs Ice Cream, McDonald's, New York Times, Wendy's, 7-Eleven.

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July 20, 2007

Air Zoom Vick V Brand Name Grounded... Dogs Everywhere Rejoice

It's no secret that we are big dog lovers, so we were very pleased to see that Nike has suspended (hopefully indefinitely) its Air Zoom Vick V product line after The Falcons Michael Vick was caught operating an illegal dog-fighting ring.

I am amazed, frankly, that the four shoe products and three shirts bearing this person's name will remain in stores.

I simply cannot see the upside for Nike in associating its company name with this idiot, and most of the blogosphere agrees with me... one dog loving blogger has even recreated the Air Zoom Vick V to reflect Vick's cruel habit.

The Humane Society agrees, having called upon Nike to pull its Vick clothing and shoes from retailers and its web site.

Yeah, I know all about, "innocent until proven guilty," blah, blah, blah. But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck!

Zac Bissonette points out that most sports contracts contain some kind of moral turpitude clause; I am sure Nike is smart enough to include something similar in their sponsorship deals.

Yes, Nike stands to lose $1.5 million on this after scrapping 30,000 pairs of shoes.

Look at it as an investment in your brand name, Nike.

I'm thinking "recall."

In any event, the event is rather fait accompli: Who on earth would buy anything with Vick's name on it?

Technorati Tags: Nike, Air Zoom Vick V, The Falcons, Michael Vick, Humane Society.

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July 18, 2007

New Product Names for Turning Technologies' Latest Products

As you may be aware, the No Child Left Behind Act requires that students meet certain levels of proficiency. The testing related to this is often referred to as "high stakes" testing.

Turning Technologies, LLC has introduced three new assessment tools to enhance their audience response system which helps students improve their academic performance.

• TestingPoint™ allows teachers to easily develop, format and administer tests.
• VantagePoint™, a web-based analytics application for creating different analysis reports or summaries of student performance against state standards and AYP goals, uploads session files from TurningPoint, TestingPoint and paper-based bubble tests.
• QuestionPoint™, a question bank powered by LearnStar, provides high-quality content questions, which can be uploaded into TurningPoint and TestingPoint.

Strategic Name Development created the TestingPoint, VantagePoint and QuestionPoint product names to be consistent with Turning Technologies' brand architecture and nomenclature. That is, all components of the suite names end in "point," but still emphasize the versatility and flexibility of a program that offers something for everyone.

Turning Technologies is another satisfied client.

"Strategic Name Development was creative, responsive, and provided us with a broad range of strategically sound name candidates. They are very easy and enjoyable to work with," said Tony DeAscentis, Vice President of Marketing at Turning Technologies.

Thanks to Tony and the entire Turning Technologies team. You were great to work with, very professional and insightful.

Technorati Tags: Turning Technologies, TurningPoint, TestingPoint, VantagePoint, QuestionPoint, Strategic Name Development, Product Naming.

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Legendary Game Boy Brand Name To Be Retired

Some names in the gaming world are legendary.

One of these, Game Boy, looks set to be retired soon, after years of being one of the most recognizable handheld gaming brand names in the market.

Nintendo seems to have decided to focus on the new Nintendo DS product name not to mention the Wii brand name that I have written about in depth. Nintendo is also focusing on its WiiWare service, which may be coming earlier than expected.

Nintendo has almost rewritten the book on appealing product naming, taking odd sounding names and making them hugely popular.

Making a break from an established trademark like Game Boy has obviously caused much soul searching at Nintendo, who seem to be teaching us that new product naming in the gaming field has to be quirky, memorable and ever changing, ever growing.

This news comes just as Microsoft pledges to clean up its abysmal name branding strategies.

Sources at Microsoft seem to excuse their terrible naming by saying that new product naming is difficult, probably because you need to find congruent web domain names and deal with mazes of legal hassle.

Well, Apple and Nintendo seem to be doing just fine with it, guys.

Technorati Tags: Nintendo, Game Boy, Nintendo DS, WiiWare, Brand Naming.

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July 17, 2007

New Bottled Water Has a Bling Brand Name

Is it just me, or do others out there feel that Paris Hilton should be thrown in jail again for giving a bottle of the new luxe bottled water, "Bling H2O," which carries a $35 price tag per bottle, to her dog?

Bling H2O is co-branded with Swarovski, with a product name that says it all.

Bottled water branding is going further than anyone ever would have imagined even a few years ago, with at least one restaurant creating a "sommelier" type position for a water expert who can actually pair bottled water with food (possibly this person would be named a "hydrolier").

The branding of these items is that rarified now... and well it should be, given that we're talking about a $100 billion a year biz.

New high end water brands include 10 thousand BC from, well, BC, as in British Columbia.

I also find it interesting that we have an assortment of names for the kinds of waters that make up these brands. For instance, do you know the difference between artesian water and mineral water? If not, Laura Smith has put together a primer.

Before you drop a few bucks on Bling H2O, I must warn you that one blogger comes to us with the news that Poland Spring ($1) is actually better tasting... go figure.

San Francisco spends nearly $500,000 on bottled water yearly despite owning its own pristine reservoir in the Sierra Nevada. This reservoir is said to produce some of the country's best tasting tap water.

In an effort to cut bottled water spending, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the use of city money to buy bottled water.

By December 1st, all city departments located on city property must switch from bottled water dispensers to dispensers that attached to taps or water pipes.

On the wave of all this, of course, is the New York City effort to tout its own water, which consistently gets rated as better than bottled competitors.

Bottled water is the largest area of growth among all beverages, selling 15 billion in 2002.

Unfortunately, only about 12 percent of those bottles are being recycled... that's 40 million bottles a day that are being thrown away.

Technorati Tags: Bling H2O, 10 Thousand BC, Poland Spring, Bottled Water, Swarovski, Laura Smith.

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July 12, 2007

Chip Makers Need a Professional Naming Company

What's the first brand name that comes to mind when you think of computer chips? How about the first product name?

Since all off my readers are using computers to read this, it stands to reason you all must have an idea of what's driving the software you depend on every day, right? Wrong.

According to CNN Money, computer chip makers just can't seem to differentiate their product names from one another.

The one name we all seem to know is Intel, who in fact is one of the top five brand names in the world. But because so many chipmakers are essentially emulating Intel's product naming strategy, we wind up with a great deal of confusion on the market.

To quote the article, "AMD is working on a chip code-named Fusion. Taiwan chipmaker Via Technologies has a product called CoreFusion. And Intel's flagship processor line is the Core 2."

Intel doesn't always get it right, of course: Englishman Dave Frank has an interesting blog post about what happened to the little known Cornish town of Penryn when Intel's brand name researchers briefly (and probably inadvertently) borrowed its name.

AMD, for its part, has a new chip coming out code-named Barcelona (why is it that computer code names are often better than the names they wind up with?). And their Phenom product name is pretty good, as I have said before.

At the risk of blowing my own horn, it seems like many chip manufacturers would benefit from the expertise of a professional naming company.

Technorati Tags: Intel, AMD, CNN Money, Computer Chips, Product Naming.

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July 11, 2007

Dell Vostro Brand Name Thankfully Offers Less

Dell just introducted a new line of computers for the small business (1-25 people) branded Vostro.

Vostro is Italian for "yours," ultimately derived from the Latin vester (sometimes spelled voster).

• Like many Italian words, it sounds powerful and racy.
• Italian also has the advantage of being a phonetic language, so it's not hard to guess how to pronounce it.
• The meaning ties in nicely with the I/we/you/us naming scheme so popular in web services like MySpace and YouTube.
• And, of course, it's highly appropriate to Dell's build-your-own approach to computer sales.

These are user-friendly, durable, affordable computers that come minus trialware. They already have four notebooks and a couple of towers available.

Hints and ads have been covertly appearing in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. The Direct2Dell blog gives a good overview of the new equipment, which looks to me like any other PC equipment out there.

Dell also has a Small Business 360 site that helps the small business person answer questions.

There really are two things here that stand out immediately.

The first is that it is a little amusing that Dell is selling these with the attraction that it comes without trial programs... this is clearly one of the attractions of the equipment. In other words, the consumer gets less because, frankly, we want less... less bloatware, less junk on the computer that slows it down and is a hassle to remove.

As one wag wrote in to ZD Net's Between the Lines: "Top feature: No features."

The other is that while the new product line is branded as Vostro, Dell's name is all over the equipment. In fact, I was hard pressed to find any Vostro at all on the notebooks or the towers. There does indeed seem to be a separate typography for Vostro on the site (took me ten minutes to find it, mind you), but that's about it.

Maybe Dell is a little bit on the fence about introducing the Vostro brand name or maybe Dell just needs more time to establish the new sub-brand name.

At this point, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein regarding Vostro, "A Dell is a Dell is a Dell is a Dell."

Technorati Tags: Dell, Vostro, Branding

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July 10, 2007

Perfume and Car Brand Naming: Bulls Good, Horses Maybe, Hummers Never

I'm inspired by the launch of the new Lamborghini cologne to do a quick run down on how perfume naming and exotic car brands go together.

First of all, it seems to be that foreign sports cars--particularly Italian brand names--are the ones that lend themselves best to perfume brand naming.

The Bugatti perfume (limited edition) goes for a cool five grand and comes in a very interesting bottle.

Ferrari has already sewn up the perfume and cologne market, of course, with the intelligently named Donna Ferrari perfume for women. Italian car brands just have such a sex appeal built into them that crossing over into colognes and perfumes seems easy... even the logos seem to work.

American brand names offer a harder challenge. Witness the Mustang Men cologne. It's really hard to get by the fact that if you are a guy slapping this stuff on, you might smell like, well, a horse.

Of course, since Ferrari has a colt on its bottle and Lamborghini has a fighting Miura bull, this should not be a problem, but that name--Mustang--that's a little tough.

The logo of a farm animal is one thing... but actually naming a perfume after one, that's a whole different story; especially since a huge part of the target market is women buying gifts for men.

But the hardest perfume brand-naming job by far has to be Hummer. How on earth did Elizabeth Arden sell men a cologne with the name Hummer on it? Aside from the multitude of off-color jokes it will inspire, a Hummer itself is just not sexy. It's a mean machine. Which is why it seems destined to fail in the US.

Technorati Tags: Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ferrari, Mustang, Hummer, Donna Ferrari Cologne, Mustang Men Cologne, Cologne

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July 9, 2007

Boeing's Dreamliner is Wonderfully Soporific Product Naming

The news that Boeing has unveiled the new 787 Dreamliner yesterday Sunday, July 8th, has me thinking that this product name is helping Boeing take on rival Airbus, whose competing, mammoth A350 XB has been beset with problems.

There are two reasons why I think Dreamliner is a good name:

• First of all, this may be the first passenger jet brand name that we all can remember, aside from the 747. The Dreamliner name sets it apart immediately from the instantly forgettable Airbus 350 brand name.
• Second, the Dreamliner brand name speaks to what every economy class passenger wants more than in-seat entertainment or pretzels: to sleep, perchance to dream (to quote Hamlet).

Ay, there's the rub. A name like Dreamliner gives me, a long haul traveler, pause. It sounds like I can sleep on a Dreamliner.

And I know I can't sleep on a bus... even if it's an Airbus.

Passengers on the Dreamliner will experience less turbulence via the aptly named "smooth-ride technology." They will experience better humidification, bigger bathrooms, bigger bins and bigger windows... as well as bigger seats and aisles. These things induce peaceful sleep.

I think that the whole point of the rivalry between Airbus and Boeing is to wind up in a place where passengers choose an airline because of what type of plane the airline is flying.

Dreamliner is easy to remember and the name promises sweet dreams. I also think we may be seeing the launch of another airplane name that will stick, and companies that can say they fly Dreamliners may be able to reach for the clouds, starting with the Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways, the first to fly the dreamliner.

Good brand naming, Boeing.

Technorati Tags: Boeing, Airbus, Dreamliner, 787, Airline, All Nippon Airways

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June 29, 2007

Brand Naming: "Easy" Does It?

Steve Blow has a great article up in the Dallas Morning News about packaging that is difficult to open. Hard to open packaging is inspiring a new affliction that has been given the name "wrap rage" by consumers who are tired of struggling with package backs that do not come off and toys that seem permanently affixed to their boxes.

Things have gotten so bad that Consumer Reports has given the "Oyster Awards" to the new Oral-B electric toothbrush that was almost "demolished" upon opening and Bratz Sisters dolls that require almost eight minutes to free from their plastic casing.

I'd add that easy to open packaging joins green packaging as the new clarion call for consumers: the new name is "sustainable packaging," spearheaded by none other than Wal-Mart Canada.

If suppliers do not reduce the amount of packaging on their products, Wal-Mart says, they could get excluded. This comes on the heels of The Toronto Star's report that toymakers are missing the green revolution by filling our landfills with tons and tons of cardboard, plastic and bubble wrap.

On the other hand, product tampering and theft seem to be major worries on the part of the packaging industry.

It seems to me, however, that this affects naming because packages that are clearly labeled "easy to open" or that tout their "green" attributes should capture the eye of legions of parents and grandparents who dread Christmas day and the bags of trash-and sore fingers-that attend the hours of opening the presents once they have been unwrapped. Right now, as Steve Blow points out, "Easy Opening" does not always mean it's easy to open.

Who should be listening? Toymakers, food suppliers and hygiene product suppliers. How about making packaging that foregrounds the product and is green friendly...like the NoBottle bottle from Sidel.

Technorati Tags: Packaging, Wal-Mart, Oral-B, Consumer Reports, Bratz, NoBottle, Sidel

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June 21, 2007

BenQ to Qisda: A Bad Brand Name to A Bad Brand Name

Anyone who reads our blog on a regular basis knows that we do not make a habit of being negative. That's too easy, anybody can do that.

However, this post is an exception.

I've never understood the Taiwan-based electronics company Acer changing its brand name to BenQ. I think it's fair to say that this name has no meaning to English speakers, but Wikipedia indicates that it's an acronym for "Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to life."

The new brand name, Qisda, has nothing going for it. But maybe that's a bit too harsh:

• It does start with the letter "Q," which is the least used letter in English alphabet, thus making the name distinctive
• Our proprietary consonant research of the English alphabet indicates that the letter "Q" is associated with innovation

Apparently, this Taiwanese electronics company is fond of naming its brands after acronyms:

• Qisda reportedly stands for "Quality Innovation Speed Driving and Achievement"

However, Qisda falls short of the mark in English, because the letter "Q" always appears before the vowel "U" and takes on the sound "kw" as in quest, quarter or queen.

When speakers of English see "Q" followed by a vowel other than "U," they quickly recognize it as a foreign word and invariably muddle the pronunciation.

For example, it's been almost 6 years since September 11, 2001, but the terrorist group, Al Qaeda, still enjoys two very distinct articulations in the media:

• Al K- Da
• Al Qwada

Now BenQ is asking speakers of English to pronounce another "Q" name followed by yet another vowel.

In my opinion, this is a classic example of a brand name developed internally with management sitting around the conference room table with little to no regard for the target market.

If you want to see what others think of the new Qisda name, there is an interesting image on Engadget.

Technorati Tags: BenQ, Qisda, English Alphabet

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June 5, 2007

New Brand Name for Victrex PEEK Polymer Film: Aptiv

PEEK polymer film is a product that has almost unlimited applications. Every day, new uses are found for this product.

Victrex, the maker of PEEK polymer, has introduced a new film called APTIV™, a technology enabler that facilitates meeting demands for reduced systems cost and improved product performance, including durability, reliability, miniaturization, and increased functionality.

APTIV film is produced by Victrex in one of the most technologically advanced film extrusion facilities in the world. It truly represents the next generation of high-performance films offering design flexibility and cost savings.

The name, APTIV, is short, sentient, and conveys a strong aptitude for both endurance and adaptability. John Getz, Global Commercial Leader, APTIV film, Victrex, said "the end result is a product name that communicates the product's key benefits, versatility and high performance." Strategic Name Development recently partnered with Victrex to develop the APTIV brand name.

Technorati Tags: Victrex, Aptiv, Polymer

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May 23, 2007

Formica is Now a New Zealand Brand Name

Fascinating news that Formica Corporation has been sold to a New Zealand company. Formica has joined Xerox and Dumpster in the popular lexicon as a genericized brand name.

Like most people, I was under the impression that Formica was a type of laminated plastic, that lost its status as a trademarkable brand name.

I was interested to see that Cerberus was part of the sale of this legendary and quintessentially American brand name, which has been defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary as “a trademark for a laminated, heat-resistant thermosetting plastic used for table and sink tops.''

Formica has been around since 1913 when a young engineer created it for use as electrical insulation, and the name comes from the fact that the stuff can be used instead of mica, literally “for mica.”

Formica's product nomenclature includes VirrVarr, Atomic Orange and Aqua Boomerang. These are names left over from the fifties and I am interested to see what happens what New Zealanders and neighboring Australians make of them. And I wonder how “VirrVarr” will translate overseas.

I’m not sure we should be selling anything with the word Atomic, and Atomic Orange seems like a fairly agressive product name. But that would depend on the category and target market.

How about an Atomic Orange energy drink?

Of course the word boomerang may ring false with some Australians—or else it may be taken as a tribute to where boomerangs come from.

Technorati Tags: Formica, Genericized, Trademark, VirrVarr, Atomic Orange, Product Names, Branding

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May 22, 2006

Product Naming: John Deere's Sweet Brand

The John Deere name is to tractors and harvesters as the CAT name is to bulldozers and earth moving equipment: an industry standard that people outside of the industry (like me) recognize as sui generis.

Founded in 1837, John Deere makes tractors, construction and forestry equipment, and mowers and cutters used in lawn, grounds and turf care. Deere is now branching out into sugar cane harvesting equipment in Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida and Brazil.

Seems that Deere acquired the cane harvester Cameco brand in 1998 and has decided to scrap the product name and sell sugar cane harvesters with the familiar green and yellow colors of John Deere in places it might not be very well known.

I think this will, in the words of a company spokesman, send an “outward signal to customers that the sugar cane harvesting business is fully integrated with other aspects of the leading agricultural equipment company in the world.” I must say that’s good brand architecture at work and I’m surprised Deere, a revered brand name in agriculture, didn’t make the change sooner.

This is a whole new world for Deere: Brazil is the world’s largest sugar producer - the US is the world’s tenth.

Technorati Tags: Deere, John Deere

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May 18, 2006

Links Du Jour 05-18-06

• Lego My Eggo - This is a great example of cooperative branding and product naming that was begging to happen. Leggo has partnered with similar sounding and target-market-sharing Eggo to create Leggo-shaped Eggo waffles. As illustrated in our March 29th blog post, the Eggo-Lego partnership is pure promotional poetry.
  
• Haagen-Dazs branded stamps - Philately may be the last frontier for brand naming. Get your name on the stamp and you not only send it around the world, you get the postman thinking about it, too. In this case, score one for ice cream lovin' stamp collectors.
  
• Take Your Job and Brand It! - Fascinating post on how to brand your job that referenced the ultra-cool Whirlpool Duet. Interesting note on applying the White Rabbit Group's brand ownership forces to your job.

Technorati Tags: Eggo, Lego, Philately, Whirlpool, Co-branding

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May 17, 2006

Brand Naming: BRP Aims to be the BMW of ATVs

Last week, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) announced that it will be rebranding its well-known Bombardier ATV to Can-Am. If you're not familiar with BRP, it's the company that also markets the Sea Doo and Ski Doo brands.

Rider enthusiasts will recognize the Can-Am brand name as the successful motorcycle division of BRP that started over 30 years ago. BRP is investing in the Can-Am brand name to better position its ATV line in the U.S. market.

Can-Am is something of a legendary brand, and according to the Toronto Star the Can-Am name is going to recall the maverick spirit of celebrated dirt bikes.

Most people interpret Can-Am to mean Canada-America, another big plus for BRP, during a time when big players in this market such as Suzuki, Yamaha, and Honda are clearly in the lead.

The 2007 Can-Am platform will introduce names such as the Can-Am Outlander 500, Can-Am Rally, and the Can-Am Renegade 800, a mean hybrid between a utility ATV and a sport quad. For the Renegade, BRP is even creating a new, more radical designation: the ETV (Extreme Terrain Vehicle).

Reviving the Can-Am brand name is clearly a reflection of BRP's aim to reach the Powersports enthusiast. I think that if BRP wants their new product name to convey high performance and a passion for riding, then they've really hit the mark with Can-Am.

Technorati Tags: Bombardier, BRP, Can-Am, ATV, ETV

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May 13, 2006

Slogans: Looking for a Road Less Traveled

Marcelo Bottoli, President and CEO of Samsonite, is proud of the company’s newly hired Global Creative Director, Quentin Mackay. Samsonite has introduced a new campaign slogan designed "for injecting emotion into Samsonite’s new collections."

The new tagline? Life's a Journey.

Mr. Bottoli is quoted as saying about Quentin, "We just think alike. Competence and chemistry — that‘s what made me choose Quentin."

They only problem is, the Life's a Journey slogan was first coined by Oliver Goldsmith (Irish born British essayist and dramatist) some time between 1730 and 1774.

Goldsmith is quoted as saying "Life is a Journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations."

And, of course, life is a journey has been used untold times since Goldsmith first coined it.

It would seem that Marcelo Bottoli should expect some originality from a highly regarded creative. Go figure.

As noted in my blog post on slogans of May 8, it’s not easy to come up with a clever tagline or slogan that hasn’t already been used. New Jersey, unknowingly, implemented the same slogan previously used by West Virginia, "Come See for Yourself". Perhaps Samsonite should consider Life is a Jersey.

For other perspectives on advertising slogans, please see the following:

• Why Advertising Sucks offers some slogans you’d like to see.
• A Fabulous Mess discusses some advertising slogans and the text from the back of the bag.

Technorati Tags: Slogans, Taglines, Luggage

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May 10, 2006

Brand Architecture: The Sophistication of Motorcycle Brand Names

In an April 30th Chicago Tribune article, Paul Duchene discusses the brand architecture or masterbrand strategy of major motorcycle manufacturers in detail.

It's quite an in-depth article. Duchene interviewed many within the motorcycle industry, including manufacturers and dealers.

I was also asked to comment on the brand architecture or masterbrand strategy being employed by the major motorcycle manufacturers.

This article makes for a very interesting read for anyone interested in motorcycles, brand architecture, or a masterbrand strategy.

Technorati Tags: Paul Duchene, Chicago Tribune, Masterbrand Strategy, Brand Architecture, Motorcycle Brands

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May 1, 2006

Links Du Jour

• 3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Building Your Brand - This one's by Clyde Fessler, former vice president, business development, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, a brand name I have enormous respect for not only for its longevity, authenticity and broad recognition, but also for its good works programs. Anything the boys at Harley have to say should form an integral part of your brand research.
  
• Recycling Tires into Sidewalks - Ok, it sounds wacky but check this out---it is one of the niftiest products I have seen in a while and it's good for the environment, too. The name is just not that imaginative, however: Rubbersidewalks. C'mon! This might be where you need a good naming company to create a really bouncy product name.
  
• Hewitt and Hanes, Together Again - Jennifer Love Hewitt is pitching Hanes underwear, and kicking things off by attending a "Panti-monium" party where the guys at Adjab conjecture models will be walking around in Hanes underwear and the PR links confirm it. OK. I'm not too surprised Hewitt is connecting herself to the Hanes brand name, but a little surprised they got her to agree to partaking in "Panti-monium", which sounds like a 50's stag movie title. Hanes depends on Target, Wal-mart and K-mart shoppers to buy its products - is Middle America ready for Panti-monium?

Technorati Tags: Clyde Fessler, Brand Building, Harley-Davidson, Harley, Rubbersidewalks, Hanes, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Panti-monium

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April 7, 2006

Brand Naming: Gentlemen Prefer Broncos…and Durangos and Wrangler

At least one marketing expert feels that we do in fact assign genders to products in the process of naming brands.

• The Ford Bronco is clearly a masculine name while the Toyota Sequoia is more feminine.
  
• The name Durango is also masculine (names ending in “o” in Spanish are masculine).

The article talks about the “leakage” of gendered words into English. Makita Power Tools - whose target market is predominately male but whose name sounds female - had a hurdle to overcome when they came to the U.S. I think that we in the product naming business have been purposely gendering products for years to appeal to the correct target market, and language leakage is only a part of this.

It is no secret that a car like the Jeep Wrangler is clearly designed for the male target market, while the Renault Clio is much more feminine and demure. My recent product naming post on HERO Honda’s motorcycle names also shows the increasing moodiness of the male mind when it comes to their favorite brands.

Technorati Tags: Durango, Ford Bronco, Toyota Sequoia, Makita, Jeep Wrangler, Renault Clio, Car Naming

Posted by William Lozito at 1:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 1, 2006

Maytag Caught in a Brand Architecture Whirlpool

Whirlpool has just completed the buyout of 115 year old Maytag and will immediately start integrating the companies. The hoary old Maytag name came with a $2.6 bil price tag, including Whirlpool’s assumption of Maytag’s debt.

I’ll have more on this Monday, April 3rd. I do know that Maytag will continue to be sold as a Whirlpool brand. The ancillary Maytag brands, like Jenn-Air and Amana, will probably remain on under the Whirlpool banner.

Whirlpool has published a special section of their website containing information on the acquisition for customers, investors, employees, retirees, media and trade partners.

For more on the Maytag – Whirlpool merger check out Antitrust Review and Home-Tech Talk .

Technorati Tags: Brand Name, Whirlpool, Maytag, Acquisition, Buyout, Jenn-Air, Amana

Posted by William Lozito at 4:41 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 24, 2006

Product Naming: Motorcycle Names May Unlock the Male Mind

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.

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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.

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.

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

Posted by William Lozito at 8:29 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 11, 2006

Product Naming: Reclaiming Negative Language and All that Spazz

Leave it to the Californians to put a positive sociological spin on what is clearly a major business blunder.

California-based company Colours in Motion recently selected the name Spazz to brand their new wheelchair offering - explaining that the name means, "wild and crazy."

I think that's an interesting observation, given that there are 11 Urban Dictionary definitions of Spazz, all of them negative and none of them remotely close to "wild and crazy." But to be fair, I took our research a step further and consulted two of the PhD linguists on the Strategic Name Development staff, and I drew another blank. Spazz, more often now means, "freaked out" or "irrational" in U.S. vernacular. To speakers of American English, Spazz is derogatory in every way.

And there's more. Spazz is being marketed internationally. That means in countries like Great Britain and New Zealand, the potential buyers may be the ones "freaked out" since in the Queen's English, Spazz is a derogatory word for a person with Cerebral Palsy.

Yet Colours in Motion's president, John Box, claims he wants to "provoke people to think differently." And although he admits that Spazz has a negative meaning in the U.S., he sees it as part of "moving the bar" and reclaiming negative language.

I, on the other hand, did not reach that conclusion during my interview with Radio New Zealand. Reclaiming language takes a generation or more. I've seen no evidence at all that spazz, spass or spastic is in that genre. The company simply acted in bad taste. Now they need to work on reclaiming that.

Technorati Tags: Spazz, Colours in Motion, New Wheelchair, Radio New Zealand

Posted by William Lozito at 10:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 20, 2005

Product Naming: CN U SPEK LEET?

Researchers at Harvard call it Abbreviated Text Input. Computer boffins just call it "leet", (or "1337" in leet) a phonetic spelling of the word "elite" used by early hackers to bypass automatic text parsers.

Leet is the Internet generation's streamlined version of Pig Latin: a neat, systematic communication tool that, as one linguist has put it, improves "the efficiency of natural language" by literally getting down on paper, or computer/cell phone screen, what we say.

Leet has, of course, found its way into brand naming, whether in the form of Motorola's RAZR slim cell phone, Motorola's ROKR handset with iTunes, Pfizer's VFEND antifungal immune booster, the BRX hair care line, the TH RML hair appliance, or the new lighting design brand name GNR8 (that is, "generate").

As far afield as South Africa, leet has found its newest dialect with the recent introduction of super fashion brand Loxion Kulca (African leet for Location, or township, Culture) and Internet millionaire Mark Shuttleworth's Hip2B2 (Hip to be Square) educational foundation.

Back in the USA leet has made its way into entertainment with the 1995 Brad Pitt thriller Se7en and the Al Pacino comedy S1m0ne not to mention the pivotal proto-leet 1981 Journey album ESC4P3.

Sears used the product name HE4t for its new Kenmore clothes-washer and dryer in late 2004. Super band Linkin Park, a group of leet aficionados, used the format for all the song titles on their 2001 album Reanimation. These latter product names use another abbreviated language that substitutes numbers over letters called B1ff, leet's predecessor, that hardcore leet geeks try to disassociate themselves from.

Leet is especially useful in text messaging and in any situation where language compression is needed. The simplicity in which leet is used is infuriating to language purists but it does allow for new frontiers in product naming, where 95% of the words in the dictionary have been trademarked.

It also allows new brands to gain access to Internet domains that might otherwise be unavailable. Finally, it allows a brand to gain instant appeal to the hundreds of millions of people around the United States who use the language, knowingly or unknowingly, while sending the over one billion text messages yearly from cell phones.

Add into this the rampant use of leet in message boards, chatrooms, email, online gaming and instant messaging, it looks like leet is here to stay and those of us in the product naming biz better PA A10SHN.

Posted by William Lozito at 8:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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