September 3, 2008
Google Chrome Offers Shiny New Browser Naming
Google Chrome is out. As a browser designed to take on Firefox, Opera and IE8, it's become big, big news.
The world already knows the Chrome name and frankly, almost anything with the name Google behind it is going to pique our curiosity, it is a brand that appeals to anyone with a computer.
Still, Chrome?
It sounds like a fragrance for men. Google claims that it refers to the typical bells and whistles around browsers, with the idea being to "minimize chrome."
Regardless, it is a name that has seen a lot of use in the XUL, "an XML user interface markup language developed by the Mozilla project."
Most of the features on Chrome have pretty standard names, although it does feature an "incognito mode" that is similar to Microsoft's new InPrivate browsing feature. Mozilla is also working on a similar feature and Safari already has a setting simply called "Privacy" for Mac OS.
Computer browsers all have odd names but I think this one is possibly a little impractical because it has been used before and because it is so jarring. "Google" is a funky word we've never seen before, but "Chrome" is not.
Nonetheless, I'm curious, and that's half the battle won for Google. And as a great blog post at Nature and Cyberspace mentions, this is a fabulous word but "this browser name is loaded with metaphors, both good and bad."
I think this is an example of "inside baseball" naming.
Technorati Tags: Chrome, Google, Firefox, Mozilla, InPrivate, Incognito Mode, IE8
Posted by William Lozito at 9:11 AM
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August 29, 2008
Popeyes Branding and Naming Moves Upscale
The news that Popeyes is revamping its brand name has got me thinking, Popeyes Chicken, that is.
Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits is changing its name to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and will also unveil a new logo, tagline and ad campaign, but will continue on without a possessive apostrophe, which the founder once claimed he was "too poor" to afford.
The new name allows Popeyes to offer a broader menu than just chicken, to a slightly higher paying clientele. It also "reminds customers of the labor that goes into creating the brand's authentic taste."
Apparently, Popeyes was not originally named after the lovable cartoon sailor, but actually after Popeye Doyle, the drunken, brawling character Gene Hackman plays in the French Connection. It was only later that the company moved to successfully acquire rights to Popeye the Sailor. The problem is that both characters are becoming distant memories to the under thirty crowd and might in fact lead to the "P" in the middle of the new logo becoming all that remains of Popeyes original brand name.
That said, Popeye may actually be a name that has dubious value. Aside from the fact that it was the name of an ill fated missile, it also has some interesting literary allusions.
For one, John Ashberry's famous poem speaks of a Popeye who was "forced to leave the country."
But most notable, Popeye is the name of one of Faulkner's most notorious villains, a character inspired by Popeye Pumphrey, a real-life criminal during the 1920s in Memphis.
Technorati Tags: Popeyes, Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, New Logo, Popeye Doyle, Popeye the Sailor, Brand Naming, Company Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 8:09 AM
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August 26, 2008
Guerilla Brand Naming Promotion The Real Winner at 2008 Olympics?
This year's Olympics was a competition between the Chinese and a few non-invited competitors who managed to steal the show a few times. I'm of course talking about the brutal brand naming competition that went on while the athletes did their thing.
This year we saw multi-national brand names face stiff competition from Chinese brand names nobody had heard of. The overall winner, according to the Huffington Post, was Coke and its "shuang qi lai - "refreshment rising" tagline. However, Adidas and its "Impossible Is Nothing" campaign was a also a success, while GE managed to communicate its new "green" image with some flair.
The point is that China wanted to use the Olympics to showcase the country along with the country's brand names. China has what is called "high product acceptance with low global brand recognition." However, the Huffington Post notes that some Chinese companies really did stand out during this year's Olympics: Lenovo moved into the premier brand space, as did "non-official" brand names, such as China' s Merchant bank which just happens to have the same tagline (he, or "harmony" ) as the theme of the opening ceremony.
Various athletric gear brand names also had their day in the sun: like Nike (whom we all know) and Li Ning and Anta (whom we do not). Li Ning is the name of the fellow who lit the torch during the opening ceremony, but is also conveniently the brand name of an athletic apparel company.
Guerilla brand name promotion was at an all time high this year. Case in point was Nike's capitalization on hurdler Liu Xiang's heartbreaking defeat. Nike quickly ran an ad that said "Love sport even when it breaks your heart."
Kinesio got some attention (they make the athletic tape that beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh uses), as did Facebook (who owes Phelps a thank you for mentioning how many friends he has).
Tim Delaney reckons that the average sponsorship costs around $100 million all included and that regular sponsorship still cannot be beat in developing markets, but in mature markets, where wise guys like Wasatch Beer can dub themselves "Unofficial Beer of the 2002 Winter Games" you may want to think twice before paying to be the official sponsor.
This might explain why 60% of Chinese people polled thought that Pepsi, not Coke (who paid $78 million for the privilege), was the official Olympic drink.
Technorat Tags: Olympics, Coke, Chinese Brands, Guerilla Brand Name Promotion, Li Ning, Liu Xiang, Michael Phelps, Nike, Wasatch Beer, Pepsi, Sponsorship, Kinesio, Adidas, GE, Love Sport
Posted by William Lozito at 8:55 AM
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August 21, 2008
Ghost Brand Naming Haunts Hard Times
I'm haunted by ghost brand names that often tend to reappear during economic downturns, or so says the New York Times.
The cost of introducing new brand names into the market can be even more frightening than resurrecting the dead, and this has meant that some brands are walking among us that we once believed to be buried.
Eagle Snacks is one example. Surprisingly, 6 out of 10 adults remember the brand. It would cost between $300 and $500 million to get those types of numbers with a new snacks brand, so welcome back, Eagle Snacks.
But there also tends to be a new twist on the beloved brand names that keep resurfacing. Eagle Snacks has added brand extensions named Bursts and Poppers, while the Alka-Seltzer brand has been revived with its own extension called Wake-Up Call.
Even credit card branding has ghost brands that seem to come back as sub-brands or are kept alive, marketed to select groups.
Old car brands might be floating over to Europe and Asia, specifically Oldsmobile, Le Sabre, Park Avenue and Century.
In addition, Miller is reviving its "Great Taste, Less Filling" ads.
But the real brand naming comeback of the year is Hydrox cookies, which is a brand that simply will not die thanks to avid consumer activism.
This means thousands of phone calls, petitions and, of course, an online campaign that was started by one loyal cookie fan. Other bloggers have even asked Kellogg's to start a Hydrox-Oreo taste test.
More and more brand naming is getting into the hands of people who just will not let a good brand RIP.
Technorati Tags: Eagle Snacks, Miller, Hydrox Cookies, Car Brands, Ghost Brands
Posted by William Lozito at 9:15 AM
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August 20, 2008
DEWmocracy Electrifies Mountain Dew's Brand Naming with Voltage
Mountain Dew Voltage has won its DEWmocracy election, handily beating proposed brand names Mountain Dew Revolution and Mountain Dew Supernova.
The DEWmocracy initiative has been a major consumer-driven campaign that collected 350,000 votes (Voltage received 42% of them). Around 1.6 million people visited the site to help design the product, watch indy movies and play games, all of which ultimately made Voltage the "people's Dew" according to one Pepsi executive.
This stuff looks pretty good although there are some bloggers who don't share my enthusiasm.
Voltage and other Mountain Dew brand extensions including Dew's Code Red, Live Wire and Baja Blast, as well as this extensive naming competition, are going to elevate the Mountain Dew brand, which is already known as the best drink to buy when studying late at night.
But this initiative is yet another indicator that some branding is going to depend more and more on social media than it has in the past.
Technorati Tags: DEWmocracy, Mountain Dew Voltage, Code Red, Live Wire, Baja Blast, Brand Name Extension, Voltage, People's DEW
Posted by William Lozito at 8:04 AM
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August 19, 2008
Pontiac G8 ST Naming Trumps El Camino, Truck Norris
Pontiac has decided to name its new sport truck the G8 ST despite a concerted movement by fans to resurrect the El Camino name as part of Pontiac's Tame the Name contest.
There have been irritated grumblings in the blogosphere about the fact that Pontiac actually started with this name, and after 80,000 entries and 18,000 distinct names were submitted, decided to stick with it.
GM claims it "thought long and hard about El Camino," but also noticed a trend in the submissions towards simpler names.
The G8 ST is certainly not the worst names out there, but it does end a big naming contest with a whimper. (The prize was given at random to one of the entrants).
I think that there are a few things that we can take away here.
First of all, truck naming is very difficult. 18,000 names are actually not that many, considering that many of them (like Truck Norris, for example) would be unusable in addition to the thousands of others that would already be taken.
Secondly, taking a name like El Camino out of mothballs might work from a nostalgic point of view but not from a sales perspective. Times have simply changed since the days of the Diablo, the Caballero and other Spanish inspired names.
Fact is, alphanumeric vehicle naming is here to stay, even if people think that the Pontiac G8 ST GXP sounds like "alphabet soup."
Technorati Tags: Pontiac, Pontiac G8 ST, El Camino, Truck Norris, Tame the Name Contest
Posted by William Lozito at 7:56 AM
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August 15, 2008
Generic Naming and Branding Ups Its Game
People are turning to supermarket brands as times get tougher (as many as 60% of us), but that may be a good thing.
Store brands are no longer the boring stuff of yesteryear. Kroger's "Private Selection" and "Naturally Preferred" look enticing on the shelf, and Kroger, alongside Supervalu and Safeway, all seem to be creating a surge in their private label branding, and it doesn't hurt that their offerings are high quality.
Not only do store brands need the same finesse as regular brands, but as store brands get more popular, they may find themselves growing beyond their home stores.
Safeway's "O Organics" and "Eating Right" brands are really a case in point, and are taking on Whole Foods on its own turf. O for Organics is looking for $400 million in sales and isn't really all that cheap, it's just less expensive than its nearest competitor.
Consumer's rising comfort level with generic grocery naming is likely to spread to generic drugs as well. This means that private labels are going to have to up their game.
According to a WPP report, private label penetration is growing globally at 5% per year.
In Germany and the UK, private labels now count for almost 50% of all products sold, but the United States it's 17% and growing at 7% a year.
It seems to me that the opportunities for naming and branding are coming from both directions: generics will want to use really sophisticated naming practices to keep up the attack and their competitors are going to have to find distinctive brand names to stop the onslaught.
One look at "The Eating Right" and "O Organics" range of products demonstrates that store brands are doing their marketing homework. People don't just buy these because their cheap: they buy them because there is some really enticing brand names and brand quality.
Technorati Tags: Store Brands, Safeway, Kroger, Supervalu, O Organics, Eating Right, WPP Report, Generic Drugs, Private Label
Posted by William Lozito at 8:04 AM
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