October 29, 2008
How Does Charlotte Moss' New Product Name Smell to You?
Home fragrances are in vogue, and don't dare call them air fresheners. Plug-ins, solids, sprays and lamps are now being used to create different fragrances in every part of the house.
Of course, this concept is nothing new, it's been with us since ancient times, but in its most recent form it has moved out of the world of aromatherapy and into mainstream fashion.
Case in point is decorating doyenne Charlotte Moss, who is making sophisticated home fragrance products, one of which is called "Left Bank."
Most fashionistas will immediately recognize that this product name references the Left bank of Paris, while those of us less familiar with the geography of fashion may be left scratching our heads.
It may also be helpful to note that the fragrances are administered via AirEssence fragrance diffusers by Agraria, which are made to look like perfume bottles.
This news closely follows the announcement that Moss's flagship New York store is closing, which is terrible news for anyone who likes trendy shops and even trendier homes. It will officially be gone as of November 15.
Technorati Tags: Left Bank, Fashion Naming, Fragrance Naming, Naming, Product Name, Fashion
Posted by William Lozito at 8:03 AM
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July 30, 2008
Scrabulous Brand Naming Not Fabulous to Hasbro
The demise of the much loved Scrabble knockoff named Scrabulous, played by thousands of avid Facebook users, has sent a "cry of woe" through the blogosphere.
This blatent copy of Scrabble has finally been shut down by Hasbro after the two brothers who invented it refused to be bought off.
While some argue that this type of fighting between online/offline game creators should prompt companies to "give up trying to protect their brand altogether and just learn how to better compete with those that counterfeit their copyright," the more interesting question is how, exactly, did Scrabulous' get itself into trouble.
The answer is partly in the name. The entire fight centered around trademark and copyright infringement, and not patent infringement.
The Scrabble brand name goes back to 1954, but the actual copyright is in reference to the very well protected and recognizable board. This offers a lot of loopholes, mainly with the contention that the fifty-four year old "Scrabble" name should be in the public domain, which arguably came out of copyright in 1994, even though technically it is still protected for another 55 years (70 years after the death of the game's inventor in 1993).
The fact is, the Scrabble brand name is immensely valuable to Hasbro and they have a duty to protect it.
The side issue here is Facebook's culpability in this matter. Simply put, the Scrabulous game attracted users to the site, and that's trademark infringement. It appears that Hasbro has decided to not take the matter up with them, but sooner or later Facebook will likely suffer from a similar case.
Technorati Tags: Hasbro, Facebook, Scrabble, Scrabulous, Copyright, Trademark, Brand Naming, Product Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 9:39 AM
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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
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May 20, 2008
Zombie Brand Naming Back in the News
This week there has been a great deal of talk about whether or not a dead brand can live again spurred by an article in the NY Times Magazine on Sunday by Rob Walker. He discusses how some well-known brands, like Brim coffee, stay in the consumer's memory and have equity long after they are no longer available.
Now, some bright sparks are out there collecting those names and bringing them back to life. Turns out that 9 out of 10 people over the age of 25 remember Brim and its tagline line: “Fill it to the rim, with Brim!”
Bringing back dead brand names may be an uphill battle, but it sure is interesting to watch.
What I love here is that Walker reminds us of the lingo around dead brand names; they get referred to as “ghost brands," “orphan brands,” or “zombie brands”. The company Walker profiles is interested in brand names that are dead, “not ailing.” At least one marketing blogger has an interesting take on this, telling us that the Yahoo brand is not dead, but is more comparable to the “walking dead," because Google owns the online search industry. This is a differentiation I have not thought of, most likely because I think that reports of Yahoo’s demise are a little premature.
Nancy Friedman calls bringing zombie brands back to the shelves “The New Old Thing,” while others refer to the phenomena as Dinosaur Brands or Graveyard Brands.
What we have here is a company prompting the “attack of the killer zombie brands.”
Names that have been exhumed include Underalls, Salon Selectives, Nuprin, Coleco and a list of others. These guys are engaging in what is referred to as “Retromarketing,” and it’s based on the theory that consumers will keep buying a certain brand name as long as it works or its “functional attributes” remain sound.
Walker asks us to witness the revival of White Cloud at Wal-Mart, a former P&G brand name that was eclipsed by Charmin, just like Maxwell House did for Brim.
The only problem is that consumer memory is faulty. We may all recall the Brim brand name, but few of us seem to also recall that it was decaf only. This could mean, argues one interviewee, that a caffeinated Brim might be possible.
Zombie brands also infest the electronics industry because Chinese no-name tech groups love to buy up well-known American zombie TV brands like Zenith and Polaroid to bring out new products. The average consumer, seeing a caffeinated Brim, wouldn't even blink, just like they’d be willing to buy a Zenith flat screen TV.
I have to say that many members of my staff are unashamedly retro in their tastes. We cheered when we saw the Indian motorcycle make a comeback and at least one guy on my payroll wants to 
get a Chevy Nomad.
Good brand names retain their equity over the years, the trick is to decide just how much. The Indian, the Nomad, and even the Beetle are all essentially niche brand names now, although they once were mainstream. Seems to me that so long as you are happy having your zombie brand occupying only a tiny percentage of the consumer landscape that it once held, you’re OK.
Technorati Tags: Zombie Brands, Brim Coffee, Coleco, Nuprin, Salon Selectives, Zenith, Polaroid, Yahoo, Chevy Nomad, Indian Motorcycle, Beatle
Posted by William Lozito at 8:02 AM
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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
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February 29, 2008
Ink Product Naming and Branding: Krink is the Street’s Quink
The Razor Apple blog has a great commentary on a recent New York Times Magazine article discussing Krink, a new ink that comes right out of the world of tagging and graffiti.
The packaging is interesting, and the naming is going to work despite, or because of, the fact that we often get "krinks” in our necks or shoulders.
The name reminds me of Parker’s Quink, one of the best product names for fountain pen ink. The Quink name is well regarded by ink aficionados and the Krink naming looks like a street derivation of this popular brand.
Technorati Tags: Krink, graffiti, Parker's Quink, Ink, Pen, Naming, Branding, Brand
Posted by William Lozito at 7:54 AM
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January 29, 2008
Sears and Halston Return to their Brand Naming Roots
The old adage “Know Thyself” is certainly true when it comes to popular brands.
Two news stories today put this into bold relief: the first is the return of glamour fashion brand names Halston and Ossie Clark, both of which died when they tried to move into popular, low brow fashion, but which have experienced a revival in recent years thanks to the likes of Kate Moss and Jennifer Aniston (pictured right, wearing a Halston dress). Maybe this time they will have learned something about sticking to their target markets.
The second was addressed by Jack Trout on Forbes.com yesterday when he wrote about the various brand names that helped build Sears: Kenmore, Craftsman, Die-Hard and Weatherbeater.
These are legendary brand names in American culture and are synonymous with the Sears brand name.
Trout suggests that allowing them to be sold by other retailers could spell disaster for Sears, adding that he feels that Sears should take over the Kmart brand naming altogether and present a united, unique front to Wal-Mart and Target.
It would be very interesting to see Kmart suddenly turn into Sears, which would immediately increase the brand name’s presence nationally. More importantly, it would be an over promise and is inconsistent with the merchandise offered in the current Kmart stores. In other words, this would be a band-aid fix.
Sometimes a brand name has to return to its origins to move forward, and remember the values customers have traditionally associated with their brand.
Technorati Tags: Halston, Ossie Clark, Sears, Kmart, Brand Naming, Kenmore, Craftsman, Die-Hard, Weatherbeater, Jennifer Aniston
Posted by William Lozito at 7:28 AM
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