June 30, 2009
Hardee's Name Our Holes: Tasteless Product Naming or Modern Mobile Marketing?
I am not going to pass judgment on Hardee's new brand naming effort with their "Biscuit Holes" promotion, but cannot help but submit my aversion to the idea.
Now referring to food as "holes" has a long pedigree - donut holes were a staple of my childhood - but Hardee's is using the name "Biscuit Holes" as sort of a placeholder while they try to convince customers to better it.
Hardee's has a mobile web site with the URL www.nameourholes.com which, to say the least, sounds a little strange. Fans have responded with names like "B-Holes" and "Heavenly Balls."
You can see where this is going.
The mobile element to this naming effort samples the "man on the street" ad philosophy. Stickers on the packaging drive consumers to the site, which really makes this naming for the Facebook generation: "'We view our 'young, hungry guy' customers as people who are going to do things instantaneously, so mobile seems a natural' medium for CKE" says one CKE Restaurants executive.
The slight problem here is that the Facebook generation seems to have taste issues, and the outgrowth of the Name Our Holes campaign has been disgust on the part of the blogosphere.
We're seeing names like "creamy sweet holes," "hole munchers," and "dingle balls" while Hardee's is chuckling right along with their tagline "They sound wrong. But taste so right."
Adage calls this a Carl Jr. inspired "smutfest" and offers us a disturbing look at future ads.
Burger King, however, is also taking the same kind of flack for its "Super Seven Incher" advertisement which looks like it was cooked up in a frat house.
In light of all this, the PopWatch blog has announced that "Subtlety Is Dead." I must agree.
Technorati Tags: Biscuit Holes, Biscuit Holes Naming Contest, Super Seven Incher Ad, CKE Restaurants Product Naming, Burger King Marketing
Posted by William Lozito at 9:28 AM| Comments (0)
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June 2, 2009
The Idaho Fry Company Learns the Hard Way About Potato Company Naming and Branding
The Idaho Fry Company has learned the hard way about trademark regulations as they pertain to company naming and branding.
This new company, which wants to "elevate the status of the french fry," received a short note from the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC), two months before they were set to open, curtly informing them that there was "a problem" with their company naming.
The problem, of course, is that they cannot use the word "Idaho" on anything related to potatoes, including the words "free, fresh, frozen or dehydrated."
Even though the IPC does not seem to technically possess limitation for the word "fries," the commission refuses to back down. The Idaho Fry Company's sign, business cards and web site all have to be recreated and the company cannot simply change the name to "Boise" because that's also protected.
It seems the owners of the company actually did check with some intellectual property attorneys before opening shop and they believed they had a decent case for obtaining rights to the name, but they simply do not have the money to fight the mighty Idaho Potato Commission.
The Boise Weekly blog asks "Aren't enough local businesses struggling these days without nitpicking from the head potato heads?"
It took me only a few minutes to read about the aggressive way in which the IPC protects the word "Idaho" via both certification marks and trademarks. They license "Idaho" to potato growers, shippers, packers and processors, and have a clear record of protecting their mark.
It's a vigorously protected name on a local and global scale, which makes sense since "Idaho potatoes have the greatest name recognition and production preference among consumers."
So considering that the name "Idaho Potato" has the most equity worldwide in the multi-billion dollar potato business, one would think that the Idaho Fry Company had to know there'd be a fight over their company name. Just because you open a shop in Idaho does not give you the right to use the mark.
Idaho Potatoes are to spuds as Microsoft is to computers. They simply are not going to budge if you try to say you're not selling potatoes, you're selling fries.
However, the place looks like they offer some great food, but whoever told them it would be OK to use the word Idaho in their company naming and branding really isn't worth much more than a rotten potato.
Technorati Tags: Idaho Fry Company, Idaho Potatoes, Idaho Naming, Idaho Brand Names, Company Renaming
Posted by William Lozito at 10:31 AM| Comments (0)
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May 27, 2009
Restaurant Product Naming and Branding Goes Bananas During the Recession
Restaurants are facing challenging times and are reacting by offering more for less, which results in a spin off effect on naming and branding.
USA Today reports that KFC, despite being all about "fried" chicken, has a grilled chicken option now. Pizza Hut is also offering far more than Pizza (think pasta), McDonald's is selling coffee, and Arby's now sells Roast Burgers.
Restaurants are trying to be everything to everybody. KFC's new tagline is a prime example, urging us to "Taste the unfried side of KFC," while Cheesecake Factory is selling small portions as well as "Pizzettes."
High end restaurateurs are also invading ballparks in an effort to reach customers and are all slowly coming round to using "Restaurant Marketing 2.0," appearing on food blogs, Twitter and Facebook to find hungry customers.
Sam's Chowder House even has a well named "SamCam" that shows web surfers the restaurant's view of San Francisco Bay. And brands like PF Chang's are actually surviving the recession by cutting costs and upping efficiency.
Social media, new media and marketing are the new buzz words for foodies and this means thinking outside of the box, much like Target is by selling fresh fruit and seems to be moving away from its "cheap chic" mantra.
This means that almost every single restaurant sector will be looking for new names for new products as restaurants try to enlarge their offerings and drop prices to entice customers to come en masse.
Everything we once knew about restaurant naming and branding is over. When McDonald's sells coffee, KFC grills its chicken and the guys from Nobu, an upscale restaurant that specializes in fusion cuisine, are setting up stands in ballparks, the times they are a-changing.
Technorati Tags: Restaurant Naming, Restaurant Offerings, Restaurant Branding, KFC Grilled Chicken, McDonald's Coffee, PF Chang's
Posted by William Lozito at 10:53 AM| Comments (0)
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April 30, 2009
Krispy Kreme's Use of Vo-Vo Naming not Fair Dinkum Down Under
For some reason the countries down under and North America seem to be at quarreling over branding and naming this week.
First there was the Eskimo Pie issue between Canada and New Zealand, and now Australia is upset with U.S. donut giant Krispy Kreme.
An Australian company called Arnott's has cried foul over Krispy Kreme's use of the trademarked "Vo-Vo" biscuit (cookie) name, which was originally registered in 1906. One variant of the Vo-Vo line is the Iced Vo-Vo, which is apparently an "iconic" piece of "Australian culinary heritage."
Krispy Kreme has meanwhile released the "Iced Dough-Vo" doughnut as part of its Australian inspired "Fair Dinkum" doughnut line (this is an Australian expression which means "fair enough" or "truly fair"). Arnott claims that its product, the Iced Vo-Vo, and Krispy Kreme's product, the Iced Dough-Vo, sound much too similar for it to be a simple coincidence.
The Australian head of Krispy Kreme attempted to justify Krispy Kreme's naming rights in a statement that is best reprinted in its entirety: "The word 'iced' is pretty well used, and the word 'dough' I don't think has got anything to do with what Arnott's do, and the word 'vo', I'm not sure what it means, but it goes well with 'dough.'"
Um, well, not really. The beloved Vo-Vo has legions of supporters in the blogosphere, from the one who has declared "No-No Not The Vo-Vo" to another Aussie who says he wanted to name his first born "Iced Vo-Vo."
Krispy Kreme Australia claims that these items are a "tribute" to the real thing. Tribute or not, a trademark is a trademark and one man's tribute is another man's infringement, which does not go a long way in conveying the"sincerest form of flattery."
However, this disagreement seems to be coming to the appropriate end, as a truce has been declared and the name is being removed from Kispy Kreme products.
Australia can expect a new name on May 11. Now that's Fair Dinkum, if you ask me.
Technorati Tags: Doughnut Naming, Iced Vo-Vo, Iced Dough-Vo, Krispy Kreme, Arnott, Fair Dinkum
Posted by William Lozito at 8:09 AM| Comments (0)
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April 29, 2009
Jaffa Sweetie Brand Naming Not So Sweet in Iran
Recently, Iranian shoppers were confronted with oranges that were apparently grown in Israel despite an Iranian ban of Israeli goods that dates back to 1979.
Before then, Iranians were happy to eat over 40 tonnes of Israeli oranges a year, but the seemingly innocent appearance of "Jaffa Sweetie Israel-PO" oranges was enough to make one Iranian official declare that "rogue elements" were trying to "disgrace the ruling government."
As it turns out, those "rogue elements" were unscrupulous Chinese middlemen, who illegally used the "Jaffa Sweetie" brand name on their counterfeit fruit.
The problem was exacerbated by the fact that "President Ahmadinejad inadvertently distributed the fruit during a two day goodwill visit to the town of Salam in southern Iran."
The Chinese and Iranian investigators have counter-claimed that they actually bought the real thing in Israel and simply forgot to remove the stickers before sending them on to Iran. One then must wonder if it is the brand naming of the oranges or the oranges themselves that is the actual problem?
The Iranians claim they want no part of "Zionist" oranges, but if the Chinese investigators are correct, then they have been eating them via China, branded as Jaffa or something else, for some time.
Technorati Tags: Orange Branding, Fruit Branding, Israeli Oranges, Jaffa Sweetie, Citrus Fruit Conspiracy
Posted by William Lozito at 8:41 AM| Comments (0)
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April 24, 2009
Eskimo Pie: Derogatory Brand Naming?
A Canadian Inuit tourist in New Zealand has been in the news recently for her outrage over finding "Eskimo Pies" for sale. The term is considered by the Inuit people to be derogatory and her indignation has caught the attention of the blogosphere.
Many people don't view "Eskimo" as being a derogatory brand, especially when you consider the name's heritage. Its presence in New Zealand reaches back to 1955, and in the USA, its country of origin, it goes back to to 1922, although Eskimo Pies are no longer are available here.
The New Zealand diplomat to Canada has lamented the controversy as well as the "rednecky" comments made by Kiwis on local radio stations.
However, one thing is clear, there will no name change. Cadbury/Pascall and Tip Top, who market the product, says ""Pascall Eskimos are an iconic New Zealand lolly and have been enjoyed by millions of New Zealanders since they first hit shop shelves way back in 1955" adding that they sold "19 million individual Eskimos" last year, making it a top seller there.
The tourist, Seeka Lee Veevee Parsons (21), plans on sending an Eskimo Pie to the Canadian Prime Minister, which I am sure will keep this story in the news a while longer.
I personally support her stance in principle and understand that the word Eskimo is offensive to some cultures, keeping in mind that I have written about my excitement for the return of classic brand names like Indian Motorcycles, realizing that the word is fraught with negative connotations.
Along those same lines, I also believe that the brand name "Eskimo Pie" probably should not be abolished as far as the ice cream treats are concerned. There is simply too much equity tied up in it and the word Eskimo is not generally construed as demeaning.
The word "igloo" for instance is used for ice chests. The word Indian, as displayed by Indian Motorcycles, is commonly in usage where it doesn't imply anything demeaning.
All that said, if you're products are going to target the global market, I would definitely not recommend creating a new brand name that includes a term with the potential for being derogatory to any possible consumer.
Technorati Tags: Eskimo, Eskimo Pie, Indian Motorcycles, Ice Cream Naming, Derogatory Brand Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 8:35 AM| Comments (0)
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April 23, 2009
Political Brand Naming Challenges Here and Abroad
It appears that Vladimir Putin may be the next ice cream czar of Russia, because the new ice cream bearing his name seems to be flying off the shelves.
Putin also has a meal named after him, as well as a Vodka called Putinka. Of course, the vodka makers deny any connection to Putin, claiming that Putinka references the lesser known meaning of "the best fishing season."
The Russians seem to have a penchant for naming food products after statesmen, even if those statesmen are from the U.S. There is a somewhat questionable ice cream ad being run that leverages Obama's likeness to sell ice cream.
The Copyranter blog has a pretty good list of other Obama, W, and Hilary brand naming riffs.
Going back to Russian brand naming, Putin also has a miracle cabbage with mushrooms named after him, while Russia's president, Dmitri Medvedev, doesn't even have a vodka of his own. One Russian explained that, "Mr. Mendvedev is not a vodka personality."
Okay, but then what kind of personality conjures up cabbage and mushrooms?
Technorati Tags: Putin Brands, Obama Brands, Political Naming, Russian Vodka Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 7:54 AM| Comments (0)
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