June 7, 2010

Sippy Stuff Sells Cool Stuff For Your Sippy Cup, Playtex Doesn't Mind the Naming?

Here's some insight into how I spend my mornings.

There is a new company out there called "Sippy Stuff," which offers parents, "Sippy cup cleaning brushes and spout cleaners" and a "sippy secure strap."

Those who have children or deal with children all know the ubiquitous "sippy cup." This is an ingenious cup that cannot be spilled, even if the toddlr hangs it upside down. It's sort of the happy medium between a bottle and a real cup, and it has valves inside it that are difficult to clean.

Still, sippy, irks me. Surely it is trademarked? Nope. The inventor of the sippy cup, Richard Belanger, sold the license to Playtex, who went on to produce the often copied cup under the name "Sipster."

This means Sippy Stuff has a really eye-catching name. The name Sippy Cup known worldwide, and in another naming conundrum, Sippy Stuff also sells labels for your Sippy Cup called Gummi Labels.

Now, Gummi Bears are also quite well known. That name comes from the German Gummibär or "little rubber bear" made by The Haribo Company in Germany. Disney even has a children's series, The Adventures of the Gummi Bears.

So how can Sippy Stuff use the Gummi name? Probably because its a word in common usage--although technically the company is technically calling their stickers "rubber stickers."

Still, I would be very careful if I was the head of Sippy Stuff. Sippy and Gummi are words that are pretty well known, and pretty well associated with their respective product categories.

Possibly Playtex will not mind seeing somebody create products that help them sell more Sipsters, just like Apple lets so many products start with an "i". But what will the Gummi folks think?

Technorati Tags: Sippy Cup, Sipster, Gummi Bears, naming, Disney, Sippy Stuff, Richard Belanger, naming rights, trademark, branding

Posted by William Lozito at 7:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 22, 2010

The Washington Post's John Kelly Doesn't Like Metaphorical Naming, We At Strategic Name Development Disagree

Washington Post correspondent John Kelly quotes me this morning in a pretty amusing column, lamenting the evolution of a brand's original descriptive name to a more metaphorical one.

You know, Spray 'n Wash changing its name to Resolve. Seems that John prefers the more descriptive type of name: "Wite-Out and Liquid Paper leave no doubt as to their purpose. Same with Ty-D-Bol It gets your bowl tidy." It seems that the travel industry agrees with him.

Some othe examples of descriptive product name changes that limited the brand are Confinity changing its name to PayPal, Bridgegate Computers to Compaq, and Kentucky Fried Chicken to the shortened KFC.

Metaphorical naming seems to bridge cultural divides and satisfies "deeply held consumer needs and desires." As Evelyn Rodriguez puts it, "The bite in the Apple logo at once conveys the garden of Eden, wisdom, crossing the lines of convention, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil."

More and more research is promoting the idea that "brand equity based on symbolic values" is what marketers see is the Holy Grail.

In any event, we enjoyed the Post interview and especially John Kelly's sense of humor in the article.

Technorati Tags: Washington Post, Brand, Product Naming, Metaphor, Descriptive, Spray 'n Wash, Resolve

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January 26, 2010

Europeans Change Charmin Name to Cushelle, Mr. Whipple Rolls in His Grave

They do things differently over in Europe.

For example, they decided to rename Charmin bathroom tissue. The new name? Cushelle. This comes after the takeover of P&G's European tissue operations by SCA, Europe's largest private forest owner. The Cushelle brand comes with a koala bear mascot and the assurance that this is "Formerly Charmin" and the "Same Great Product."

Before you laugh, consider that SCA changed the name of Bounty, another recently acquired P&G brand name, to "Plenty" and grew its European market penetration from 26.5% to 34.7%.

Most people in the USA can still recall Mr. Whipple admonishing customers not to squeeze the Charmin, making this an iconic name in household branding in this country.

However, the same associations do not transfer overseas, where soft bathroom tissue was a relative novelty back in Whipple's day.

Also consider that the name "Charmin", to some, is almost synonymous with wasteful rainforest destruction.

According to Marketing Magazine , "The name Cushelle was selected for its sound, which reflects the product's softness," an SCA statement said. The company describes its new koala icon as a 'softness magnet'."

The new brand is meant to retain Charmin's "friendly, fun, family image." The challenge, according to one blogger, is turning this into a "must have" product. P&G did this years ago in the US, but will it work as well across the pond? We will have to wait and see.

Technorati Tags: Charmin, Cushelle, tissue, Whipple, European, product naming

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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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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 25, 2009

A Parent is Born Pushes Pampers Brand Naming

Pampers is going online with its Web series named "A Parent is Born." Think 12 webisodes that follow the lives of two regular people (one a wannabe actress) through the last stages of a pregnancy. Pampers claims that the episodes only feature the brand name at the start of the show, the rest is pure documentary.

Okay, am I the only one who is thinking of the classic poster for A Star is Born? The one with with a shirtless Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson? Surely this name hearkens back to it? The existence of the series has caused some cynical yukking in the blogosphere about guys wearing kangaroo pouches in Walmart.

Anyone who has babies knows that diapers are a product that is virtually recession-proof. In fact, the Pampers brand, has actually seen a 1% increase in sales in the last quarter.

This initiative is part of P&G's $50 million push into so-called "measured media" and should get the Pampers brand name in front of people looking for information about pregnancy in an authentic manner by following a real-life couple. Parents, especially first time parents, are information hungry and splurge on the right diaper (an average of 5 cents extra over store brands) seems worth it to ensure Junior is comfortable.

Pampers diapers, so say the reports, are noticeably more comfortable and, importantly, leak proof, than the competitors. Pampers still are the number one brand worldwide but have traditionally lost ground to their arch rival Huggies in a competition some say is more bitter than the cola-wars.

I like the authenticity of the idea. When a baby is born, a parent is born, although really that time comes when a woman becomes pregnant, as the documentary points out. But this is a non-obtrusive way to leverage the internet to build brand loyalty before the ultimate consumer even has a social security number!

Technorati Tags: A Parent Is Born, Pampers, Huggies, Diapers

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August 11, 2009

Natural Product Naming Rids Kimberly-Clark of the Kleercut "Brand"

Fast Company's list of "The Top Ten Worst Green Brand Names" returns me to the issue of green brand naming in a down economy.

This issue is made all the more clear by the recent introduction of Kimberly-Clark's new Scott Naturals line, which hopes to attract the ever-growing LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) consumer segment.

The Scott's Naturals web site suggests it can help you "Turn Over a NEW Leaf..." and the tagline on the packaging is "Green Done Right," which really sounds more like something out of fast food branding (KFC's "We do chicken right" comes to mind).

The Naturals line includes toilet paper, napkins and paper towels, but its the toilet paper that really counts here as softness is such a major issue for buyers: eco-friendly brands are seen as more abrasive. Ouch.

The reason the word "natural" is a safe play is because it will outlast the green movement. Even people who do not want to save boreal forests want "natural" products, especially in the bathroom.

But for those who do, the toilet paper uses a high percentage of recycled paper. This means less damage to the old-growth forests that have gotten Kimberly-Clark in trouble with Greenpeace. Greenpeace activists actually coined a name themselves, "Kleercut," which leveraged Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex name, not in a good way.

However, the new Greenpeace ads reference the truce that has developed between Kimberly-Clark and Greenpeace International. According to the Super Eco blog, "By the end of 2011, Kimberly-Clark will ensure that 40 percent of its North American tissue fiber - some 600,000 tons worth - is either recycled or Forest Stewardship Council-certified. At the same time, Kimberly-Clark will no longer purchase any fiber from the Canadian Boreal Forest that is not FSC-certified."

This truce has angered some really hardcore activists, but I would imagine that Kimberly-Clark can hardly wait to rid the world of the Kleercut name and build new, positive associations with the word Naturals.

Technorati Tags: Natural Product Names, Scott Naturals, Kimberly-Clark Product Naming, Greenpeace Kleercut, Green Naming

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August 10, 2009

Tide's New Product Naming Gets Back to Basics

The Wall Street Journal is up in arms about the new Tide Basic product name, a less expensive, more "basic" version of the high-end stuff we're used to, declaring that it's proof "of how the sour U.S. economy is forcing mass marketers to shift course."

The new tagline is "Big Value. Basic Clean," it costs 20% less than regular Tide and surprisingly, it comes in a yellow, rather than orange, container.

Yes, this is a product made for consumers looking for ways to pinch pennies, but it is also a reaction to the strong store brands that are taking a bite out their bigger competitors. However, as such, it is a new product name that has the potential to attract new customers, while also slowing the exodus of current loyalists.

Apparently, P&G has concluded that it's better to eat your own lunch rather than someone else.

Tide has been steadily losing market share in recent years and Richard Harshaw of the Lodestar blog suggests that "trophy" brands like Tide have to be more adaptive in terms of their pricing structure rather than roll out cheaper versions of their products.

But this may or may not be a good idea - lowering price points often does not get customers back, and more importantly, it negatively affects customer perceptions of quality.

Watching P&G roll out a "basic" version of this product represents, according to Eli Portnoy of The Brand Man Speaks, a "paradigm shift" in branding - a reaction to the fact that even affluent customers are cutting back.

I'm still holding frim to the idea that this is more of a strike against private label brands than anything else. The key is the word "basic." This new product naming positions a top brand name very well within the private label shelves.

Customers are now going to be asking themselves if they want a private label washing power from, say Walmart or Target, or a basic version of an iconic brand like Tide. It's like asking somebody if they want a Toyota Camry with all the options or a "basic" Porsche.

My feeling is that this is a very good way to boost the equity around the extremely valuable ($3 billion in sales annually) Tide brand name while at the same time grabbing customers out of the cheap seats.

Technorati Tags: Tide Basic, Tide Product Naming, New Product Names

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February 24, 2009

Does Your Product Naming Pronunciation Sound Risky?

Some new research in Psychological Science from The Association for Psychological Science, tells us that human beings tend to find unpronounceable product names risky.

Two made up food items were put head to head, Magnalroxate and Hnegripitrom, and the latter, which is almost impossible to pronounce, was declared by consumers to be the most dangerous. Additionally, a fictional amusement park ride called the "Vaiveahtoishi" was perceived as being more dangerous than the pronounceable "Chunta."

Of course, these finding have obvious implications in the naming and branding business.

Tylenol's scientific name, N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, will certainly have to be hidden from consumers, while tea ingredients including glucopyranosyl-fructofuran may send some consumers running scared.

Even more interesting is that we underestimate the risk attached to items that are familiar sounding. Risk, it turns out, is much more of an intuitive process than we used to think.

This news could not come at a worse time for household cleaning brand names, which already have plenty of suspicion around them.

New legislation may even force name brand cleaners to disclose their chemical ingredients, which would actually be a reactivation of a 1976 New York State law that has been ignored for decades.

My guess is that people won't like the sound of even the safe ingredients, never mind the bad stuff.

However, this is all good news for eco-friendly brand name cleaning products, which often consist of ingredients we know and trust.

One green blogger puts it this way: "The most eco-friendly cleaning products are those where you recognize all of the ingredients on the label and know they are harmless."

Brand names like Green Irene use the slogan "Simple. Pure. Clean." to convey this message, while other products are given the Green Seal of approval by third parties.

In the end, it may be the simplicity around the brand names of these products that give them an advantage, rather than their eco-friendliness.

Technorati Tags: Pronounceable, Product Names,Brand Names,Household Cleaners,Linguistics,Brand Research,Green Irene,Green Seal

Posted by William Lozito at 9:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 4, 2009

I Love the Scent of Naming and Branding in the Morning

I am always fascinated by the naming and branding behind new scents, and today's Wall Street Journal has given me food for thought.

Interestingly, the scents attached to cleaning products are the "the lowest-hanging fruit as far as new-product innovation is concerned -- you don't have to change a capability or substantiate a new claim." Just cook up a new scent, add a good name to it, and viola, you have a new and improved version of the same old formula.

Of the over 3,000 new cleaning products introduced last year, a whopping 93% had a new scent, an increase of 100% over 2004. Consumers today, referred to at Procter & Gamble as "scent seekers," are going for unique scents like "Moroccan Bazaar," "Brazilian Carnaval," and "Hawaiian Aloha."

Then there is the importance of scents in retail environments, for example, after Westin hotels have cleaned up with their "White Tea" scent guests can ask for it in the gift shop.

Home scents have also moved beyond just cleaning products; check out the offerings from Fruits & Passion. There is even a chart that tells us how certain scents make us feel:

• The scent of talcum powder makes us feel safe.
• The smell of apples and cucumber makes a room feel bigger.
• And the scent of pumpkin pie and lavender are especially arousing scents for a man - though the smell of the sweat of nursing mothers is the big turn on.

The most intriguing, however, are the personal scents we like. Some want to smell like Wall Street (brisk citrus), or Park Ave (which smells like florals).

Now, whether or not Wall Street actually smells like brisk citrus is almost irrelevant. The most important element to a name is its ability to interest the consumer in learning more. And really, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to take a whiff of Wall Street in a bottle.

Technorati Tags: Naming, Naming Scents, New Scents, Product Naming, Wall Street Scent, Naming Smells, Scent Names

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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

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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 | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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

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 | 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

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 15, 2008

"Sticky Ass Glue" is Silly Brand Naming

It seems to me that the name “Super Glue” is so good that it has made competitors desperate for names that are even more suggestive of incredible stickiness.

Thus we have “Gorilla Glue” which has decided to top its already fearsome sounding brand naming with the more clunky sounding “Gorilla Super Glue Impact-Tough Formula”—they just cannot seem to avoid using that term “super” when it comes to really good glue.

Today, we have news of something that is supposed to be just as strong: "Sticky Ass Glue" which is “stubbornly strong” and has a jackass for a logo. Toologics got a sneak peak last year and at least one commenter claimed it was better than Gorilla Glue...but is it better than the “Gorilla Super Glue Impact-Tough Formula”?

I can’t help but be reminded of the Big Ass trademark hassles of 2006 that erupted in California. Here’s a great glue that all of the brewers and wine makers who like to put “ass” in their brand naming can use on the premises.

Technorati Tags: Super Glue, Gorilla Glue, Brand Naming, Sticky Ass Glue

Posted by William Lozito at 7:31 AM | Comments (1) | 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 15, 2007

Martha Stewart Wins and Loses Katonah Brand Naming Dispute

The New York Times reports today that the dispute between Martha Stewart and her fellow residents of Katonah is now over: she will be able to use the exclusive village's name on "furniture, mirrors, and chair cushions" but not on things "such as hardware, paint, lighting and home textiles."

Her plans to create a Katonah brand hit a snag when the US Patent and Trademark Office took up the case of the Katonah Hardware store and the Katonah Village Improvement Society, which have indicated disappointment with their challenge to the domestic diva.

As I have written about this before, it seems to me that Martha is not getting much out of this deal.

Technorati Tags: Martha Stewart, Katonah, Trademark, Furniture

Posted by William Lozito at 8:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 13, 2007

eBay's Counterfeit Couture a Threat to Tiffany Brand Name

Tiffany's battle against eBay for not vigorously patrolling the sale of counterfeit Tiffany items is about to commence. The focus is on the ridiculous number of fake goods being sold by the online auctioneer.

Hermes has weighed into the battle, as have L'Oreal and others.

Despite the fact that eBay forbids the sale of these things quite explicitly, it seems that major brand names want eBay to take more responsibility for the no-good-nicks that fall through the cracks - and there seem to be thousands of them selling everything from Gibson guitars for under $3 to computers.

There can be no question that tracking what people want on eBay is a great way of tracking the world's most desirable brand names. And if eBay becomes the portal through which people undermine brand name equity of some of the most desirable names out there, then that is a real shame.

Add to that the ready availability for almost any brand name luxury good over the Web itself and it might be argued that "counterfeit couture" could very well wipe out the real thing.

Technorati Tags: eBay, Tiffany, L'Oreal, Hermes, Gibson Guitars

Posted by William Lozito at 9:58 AM | Comments (1) | 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

September 14, 2007

The Influence of China on Brand Perceptions

It's no surprise to anyone reading this post that China has been in the news the last few months regarding numerous product recalls for pet food, prescription drugs and toys.

This prompted us to conduct primary research among 503 consumers in the US. The sample was balanced by gender, age, household income and census region.

This week, some of the findings of our study were the subject of a cover story of Brandweek.

Next week, we plan to publish more of our proprietary research findings on the influence of China on brand perceptions.

Technorati Tags: Brandweek, Strategic Name Development.

Posted by William Lozito at 12:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 25, 2007

Paint Color Naming Not a Game

Product naming for a paint company is one of the more challenging assignments for a naming consultant. Or, as Michael Marturello says, it's "nothing to sneeze at."

He learned about the myriad of naming issues that one encounters given the thousands — millions — of possible colors out there, wondering in his excellent column what color "canary green" should be (yellow? green?). Turns out it's a greenish yellow. Go figure.

He jokingly suggests a paint called "sneeze green," which sounds a little crazy until you realize there really are product names out there like "pickling spice" and "twisted knot" and "marsh misery."

Spare a thought for Crayola, who has to think up colors that are both useful and child friendly. You can play a color game on their site if you are so inclined. Just don't make the same mistakes they have made in the past by creating famously politically incorrect names like "Indian Red" and "flesh" (which is pink, but not always). They still have "Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown," which in some circles is considered racist.

Paint companies have an assortment of names on offer. Check out the Sherwin-Williams site for an "online color visualizer" or swing over to Behr Paint and Wood Stain and "Paint Your Place".

But if you really want an idea of how hard it is to match color naming schemes to the actual colors, go on and play the online paint game from the Dulux range.

I dare you to tell me what color "Labrador Sands" is. Or "Party Surprise."

Technorati Tags: Paint, Color, Color Names, Crayola, Sherwin Williams, Behr

Posted by William Lozito at 11:11 AM | Comments (2) | 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.

Posted by William Lozito at 7:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

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.

Posted by William Lozito at 8:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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

Posted by William Lozito at 9:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 21, 2007

Branding Katonah, Martha, Isn't a Good Thing

Martha Stewart's idea to trademark a line of furniture named after her upstate New York home town of Katonah has probably not earned her many friends.

The neighbors don’t seem to mind her use of the name but cannot see why it has to be trademarked.

One of Stewart's people has said this will be "a tribute" to the town, like "Philadelphia Cream Cheese or London Fog raincoats."

The head of the Village Improvement Society has countered, "I don’t object to Ms. Stewart's using the name, but her attempt to prevent others from using it is disturbing."

My advice as a professional naming consultant: use it, but don’t try to protect it. As at least one Katonah resident has already figured out, the patent application is doomed anyway simply because Stewart cannot claim the furniture, which will in all likelihood not be made by local craftsmen, comes from Katonah, NY. These days, 70% of furniture sold in the US is not made in the US.

The Katohah brand name is not a good thing, Martha.

Technorati Tags: Martha Stewart, Katonah, Trademark, Furniture

Posted by William Lozito at 12:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 25, 2006

Brand Naming: To Google or Not to Google - That is Genericization

Google is worried about the genericization of its name, which means that it doesn't want its trademark to become generic in meaning and suffer the same fate as Kleenex, Rollerblade and Xerox.

I think that genericization is a bug bear of product naming. On the one hand you want your brand name to be a household word, but on the other you want it to still mean your product.

The bone of contention is the infinitive "to google". Google claims that the overuse of the word Google as a verb will lead to "Googling" being the generic term for "searching the Internet with a search engine".

Google has gone so far as to remove the usage from the Wordspy online dictionary, but as Jason Lee Miller (who has done some pretty cool brand name research) points out, various forms of the word Google remain in the dictionary and in common discourse: Googlebombing," "Googleverse," and "Googlejuice." As well as Googtopia, Googler and Googlite.

And it is not entirely clear to me if Google allows you to do all the Googling you want...so long as you use Google? Do they really sit around at Google Corporate Headquarters (called the Googleplex) and not "google"?

Lee also points out that Google did not raise the alarm when Pontiac asked users to "Google Pontiac" in a recent TV campaign (which we linked to in an earlier post) and it does seem unlikely that people will start "googling about" with Yahoo! and MSN Search.

However, I believe Google should by all means protect its trademark - the Google brand name is one with massive equity behind it and they would be remiss in not being concerned about its misuse.

Technorati Tags: Google, Generic Brand Names, Genericize, Googling, Googlebombing, Xerox, Google Pontiac, Search Engine, Web Search

Posted by William Lozito at 2:03 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 2, 2006

Product Naming: The Trademarking Hurdle

Did you know that the US Trademark office rejected a product name called Lotsa Suds? Or that well known brand names such as Tender Vittles, Chap Stick and Bufferin are actually very difficult trademarks to defend in court?

Trademark issues are becoming more and more complex and can bedevil a product name or brand name and a major part of what a naming company deals with on a daily basis. A recent article, What Not to Name Your Product, by Mark C. Jacobs, reminds us that a trademark is not a Service Mark and that trademarks are always “adjectives and not nouns". Jacobs means that there is no such thing as a "Buick" in the world of trademarks, but there is only a "Buick car".

I think that people who are not naming consultants may not be aware of a few other interesting things: it’s very hard to trademark a person’s last name and almost impossible to trademark a geographic name for a product or service that does not come from that place.

The fact is, if a trademark registration application is rejected, it is an incredible headache for the applicant. I believe that navigating these rough waters is part of the job of any good naming company that knows how to do the proper brand name research necessary to avoid trademark hassles.

Technorati Tags: Trademark Office, Service Mark, Trademark Issues, Mark Jacobs

Posted by William Lozito at 11:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 24, 2006

Earth Day: The Products Are Great; The Brand Names May Not Be

April 22nd was Earth Day, which puts into focus Earth-friendly products and brand names for today.

I think that the people at Coolhunting have found an interesting array of Earth-friendly products that appeal to those of us interested in saving the planet; they also have directed us to the “Preserve” range of disposable plates.

There can be no doubt that social activism and concerns should have a direct link to brand naming and brand name research. At least one store has made its entire focus on environmentally friendly products, including, amazingly, composting toilets and “woody pens” from the amusingly and forthrightly named Goodkind Pen Company.

I think the company name is OK, but the product name “woody pen”...may need some work.

Technorati Tags: Earth Day, Green Store, Composting Toilets, Woody Pen

Posted by William Lozito at 10:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 3, 2005

Why Companies Change Their Name

The November issue of Business 2.0 takes a good look at when and how an established company must change its most valuable asset.

Corporate name changes are up 12% over last year. Times change and business names change with them, whether it's Kodak dropping Ofoto in favor of Kodak EasyShare or beleaguered WorldCom returning to plain old MCI. We're also now seeing the post-bust demise of the ".com" company name. However, the article points out that the "leading trigger" for corporate name changes is mergers and acquisitions, which are way up nowadays (9,000 last year, up 50% from 2003).

When one company takes over another, you either have to settle on one of the old names, combine the two, or think up a new name. The key is to evaluate each M & A partner's brand. When I was asked by the writer of the article how this is accomplished, I said: "You do substantial quantitative research" using rigorous but subjective surveys. I suggested that the companies ask themselves "Can the brand be described as a leader or a follower? Does it feel young or old?"

Many times it is best to find a compromise, such as when Sprint acquired Nextel. Sprint's adoption of Nextel's yellow and black color scheme, along with the tagline, display what I felt is "the perfect example of co-branding" (see our September 6 post on the subject).

Some companies start with a fresh name, such as the name Novartis that grew from the merger of Swiss pharmaceutical giants Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz Laboratories. Sometimes, however, the new name is simply an awkward amalgamation of the two partners: think ConocoPhillips, DaimlerChrysler, ExxonMobil and, lamely, Konica Minolta.

Other companies either seem to rename themselves after their top product. Xerox was once boring Haloid; Relational Software is now called Oracle after its best selling database product; Motorola started as the name of a car radio produced by Galvin manufacturing in the 1930s.

Renaming a company usually involves hiring branding agency, which can do the hardcore research involved in finding new names and how they will appeal to customers. We often provide "demos" of how the new name will look on letterheads, corporate reports, the website and even on business cards. Then comes introducing the new name to workers, and finally, to the world.

Even the best laid plans can go awry thanks to mismanagement and corporate bungling that can make any new name go sour (think how hard it is to associate positive meanings with the name that resulted from the merger of Houston Natural Gas and Internorth: Enron). But change can bring growth. Since Kodak dropped the Ofoto name, the online service has grown from 18 million to 25 million users...good news for a well-known and loved brand name that's facing an uncertain future.

Technorati Tags: Company Name Change, Corporate Branding, Name Change, Naming a Company

Posted by William Lozito at 3:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 14, 2005

Google This. One "G" Too Many

In an earlier blog on September 2, I reported on the new George Foreman grill, which uses "G5" in the product name. The letter "G" has also been used by Apple to identify its next generation computers, the latest being the G5 series. And, Pontiac introduced the G6 car.

The interest of using "G" in a product name continues, but not without some potential conflicts as reported by CNET. Google is being challenged by German Giersch Ventures who obtained a temporary court order preventing Google from using the "Gmail" name.

Additionally, Independent II Research, is challenging the "Gmail" moniker in the UK and has been using the "G" since May 2002 to represent the Graphiti web-based email product name.

What is it about the appeal of "G" for a product name? Latin constantly confused the "g" and "k" sounds; therefore, Spurius Carvilius Ruga invented the seventh letter of the Roman alphabet (c. 300-230 BCE).

"G" also stands for "money" in vernacular, "government," and the "g-force," which pilots refer to as "G's". It also represents "ground floor" in architecture and "acceleration" when presented in physics equations in lower case.

What product name will want to use the "G" moniker next? Or, should they?

Posted by William Lozito at 11:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 2, 2005

Power Mac or Power Lunch? You Decide on Which G5!

The tenth anniversary of the partnership between George Foreman and Salton will be commemorated with the production of the new George Foreman® G5 Next Grilleration grill.

The G5 marks one of the greatest stories of how properly naming a product can radically transform a business. In 1995, after naming a poorly selling health grill the “George Foreman Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine” and asking the hamburger loving heavyweight champ to be its spokesman, sales took off to represent more than 45% of the company's $922 million in revenue by 2002, making the Foreman Grill one of the great knock outs in the product naming business.

The G5 shares the same name as Apple’s Power Mac G5, which debuted in June 2003. Apple may skip the G6 moniker with its next generation computer to avoid potential confusion with the Pontiac G6.

Pontiac introduced the G6 series, or Oprah car, which the talk show host gave out to surprised audience members in 2004 to mark the start of her 19th season.

And while the target market of Oprah-watching, burger-grilling computer aficionados out there may be small, it does make one wonder if somebody in charge of naming product extensions for Salton hasn’t cottoned on to the fact that “G” might represent more to consumers than simply “George” or “grill”.

Posted by William Lozito at 8:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 27, 2005

PetSmart Brand Name Change a Winner

On September 6, 2005 pet lovers across America will witness the whelping of a new brand: PetSmart. If it already sounds familiar, it is. But, on the other hand, it isn’t. Leo Burnett will unleash millions in media and publicity spending to announce the new name for its client formerly known as PETsMART. This pet project is a pretty clever publicity ruse – as the entire re-branding effort hinges solely on a shrewd but subtle recapitalization scheme.

Key to the name change, according to CEO Phillip Francis, is putting less on being a mart, and more on being smart.

And indeed they are. American consumers have more than doubled their spending on pet products from $17 to $34.3 billion during the past decade. The new smart positioning implies that consumers too, are smart to keep scooping unprecedented amounts of their discretionary income into Buddy or Cleo's bowl, especially when they do it at PetSmart.

But could the new PetSmart brand be barking up the wrong tree? Although the new moniker helps distance them from discounters like Wal-Mart, K-Mart and 68 other U.S. “Mart” retailers, the move to “Smart” brings with it new retail associations. At present, there 114 “Smart” trademarks including the likes of CarSmart, ApplianceSmart, SmartMart and SmartPages.

Strange littermates not withstanding, the new name will still unleash a lot of publicity – most of it positive. And, two industry experts, Chomsky and Pushkin, our company mascots, who recently opined have given both the old and the new brand a vociferous “paws up.”

What does your pet think of the PetsMart to PetSmart name change?

Posted by Diane Prange at 10:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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