Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog

Google Android Phone Denied Nexus One Naming and Branding by USPTO

William Lozito — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:13:50 -0600

Google has been denied the name "Nexus One" for the branding of its new cell phone.

Apparently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) deemed it too close to Oregon-based Integra Telecom's product, also called Nexus. This is a brand that generates $60 mil per year for Integra.

The name has not yet been attached to the (very slick looking) device. Now, we are all wondering if the name will be licensed or if a new name will be found for this Android phone. Google is unlikely to challenge the ruling since Integra has used the Nexus name since 2008.

The thing seems to be selling well, with plenty of people making Android apps.

We'll see what Google does next.

Technorati Tags: Google, Cell Phone, Droid, Motorola, Trademark Conflict, Nexus One

Canon Changes the Face of Domain Naming and Branding with .Canon

William Lozito — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:46:58 -0600

This is interesting news in naming and branding.

Canon has applied for the .Canon generic Top Level Domain (gTLD), which Antony Van Couvering of Circle ID says breaks the "thin brand line" of near universal opposition to the practice of companies buying these domain names.

The fact is, it's the "worst kept secret in the industry" that top brands are quietly acquiring their own domains from ICANN to smoke out cybersquatters, throwing costs to the wind.

This makes Canon one of the world's first companies, and certainly the biggest brand, to say "uncle" and buy its own domain name, making the future Canon home page Canon.Canon.

Many bloggers question the wisdom of this move, saying that the intuitive domain name still ends with ".com" But this may change over time, and Canon is not taking chances.

According to DomainNews.com, "The new gTLD system is expected to allow a company name, brand name, geographic region, or service type to be used as a gTLD within website and e-mail addresses."

The installation of the system is set to begin by the end of 2011.

It just seems logical that a large company with a lot of brand equity would want it's own domain, and not have it bought by some kid in a basement or a shrewd competitor.

Technorati Tags: Canon, Domain Names, Branding, Naming, Photograph, ICANN

Tommy Hilfiger's $3.38 Billion Acquisition Biggest Deal Ever in Apparel Naming and Branding

William Lozito — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:17:23 -0600

The Tommy Hilfiger name has been acquired by the Philips Van Heusen Corporation (PVH) for $3.38 billion after the current owners failed to get it listed.

Tommy Hilfiger may seem to be a true American brand but in fact two thirds of the company's business is in Europe.

Philips Van Heusen also owns Calvin Klein, Izod, and Arrow, and the plan is to launch the name into Asia, making Hilfiger a truly global brand name. This is also the biggest deal ever in terms of dollars spent to acquire a clothing brand and makes Philips Van Heusen the world's fourth largest apparel company.

This almost certainly signals a revamp for the brand which saw its heyday in the preppy 80's and 90's and which is on an upswing after some bad years.

Some say this mega-deal is the "return of private equity."

But what is really interesting is that PVH is trying to ensure that control of Tommy Hilfiger himself rests with them. PVH is seeking "ironclad" ability to control the name, and not just the trademarks. Hilfiger is staying on as "Principal Designer and Visionary" for the Tommy Hilfiger brand but he has been quietly acquiring smaller brands, leading to the worry on the part of PVH that Hilfiger may have plans to create a breakout, competitive brand name.

Ultimately, they need to avoid what happened around the Joseph Abboud name, a trademark law precedent I have written about before. In this case, Jospeh Abboud found a way to use his name to promote another line of clothes after selling it off to another buyer.

Should Hilfiger do the same this, it would sour a deal that is fifty times larger than Abboud's $65.5 million 2008 acquisition by JA Apparel.

Technorati Tags: Tommy Hilfiger, Philips Van Heusen, Apparel, Branding, JA Apparel

Is the Maalox Naming and Branding Debacle FDA's Fault?

William Lozito — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:40:21 -0600

The FDA is getting serious about misleading labels, branding and naming.

They are looking at claims like "low fat," "high fiber," and "cholesterol-free" and responding to customer requests for actual warnings on packaging if a food is "high calorie" or "low in nutrients". This came to a head last year when the FDA found that the voluntary "Smart Choices" program was seeing boxes of Froot Loops getting labeled as a healthy option.

This is already having an effect on drug safety where dozens of medications are getting zapped with labeling changes or changes to information about their their boxed warnings, contraindications, precautions and adverse reactions.

This is all pretty routine news until you consider that last month Maalox was hit by news of "serious" adverse reactions from consumers thanks to poor naming and branding of one of their products.

Their "Total Relief" product looks just like their "Advanced" antacid, but it is in fact much different and the danger to consumers has attracted the notice of lawyers. Notably, "Total Relief" contains aspirin-like ingredient called bismuth subsalicylate, which normal Maalox does not.

People associate Maalox with aspirin-free antacid, and Maalox is benefiting from this to sell this fairly different line extension. This so-called "brand name creep" into a new medicine territory offers real danger to consumers.

It is proof of labeling's impact. Now, Novartis, which owns Maalox, has to remove the Maalox name from the product. They also have to "change the product label design, conduct an educational campaign, and actively monitor and report adverse events associated with the use of Maalox-brand products." The new product, with the new name, will come out in September.

Ouch.

Bnet says Novartis is not exactly at fault here. According to blogger Jim Edwards, "The government agency has a longstanding - and completely insane - policy of allowing two different drugs to be given the same brand name, or two identical drugs to be given different brand names." Hmmm.

Technorati Tags: Maalox, FDA, Total Relief, Maalox Advanced, Novartis

Punch Ya Daddy Naming Continues to Live On

William Lozito — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:46:03 -0600

I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news, so I'll just put it out there: "Punch Ya Daddy" seasoning can keep its (ridiculous) name.

I wrote about the seasoning war simmering between "Slap Ya Mama" and "Punch Ya Daddy" last year. The makers of "Slap Ya Mama" Cajun seasoning, Walker & Sons, slapped "Punch Ya Daddy" with a trademark infringement lawsuit last year.

Now, a federal judge has ordered "Punch Ya Daddy" to change its logo and packaging, which is very similar to that of "Slap Ya Mama" and "damaging the plaintiff's business".

The judge ruled that "Slap Ya Momma" is a term that is "quite common" whereas "Punch Ya Daddy" is not, so as far as the naming goes, there is little likelihood of confusion.

The term "Punch Ya Daddy" came from when the toddler son of the maker of the stuff, Kirby Falcon, said "I'm going to punch ya, Daddy".

"Slap Ya Mama, on the other hand, is a term down in the Bayou that means you like something so much you want to "Slap Ya Mama With joy"

As for me? I'm slapping my forehead at the idiocy of it all.

Technorati Tags: Punch Ya Daddy, Slap Ya Mama, Naming Dispute, Bayou, Cajun

A New Look for Can Do Canines™ to March into the Future

William Lozito — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:36:42 -0600

For the past few months, we at Strategic Name Development have been partnering with Hearing and Service Dogs of Minnesota (HSDM) to create a new, more all-encompassing name and logo for their steps into the future.

HSDM is a non-profit organization located in New Hope, Minnesota, and for over 20 years, Hearing and Service Dogs of Minnesota has been enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities by partnering them with specially trained dogs. Since the company's inception, they have placed over 300 service dogs to people with disabilities. All at no cost to those in need.

However, the organization was growing far beyond its original scope. They were moving to a newer, much larger facility where they can train three times as many dogs as before. Now, HSDM is placing dogs with people in need across the Midwest, not just in Minnesota.

And the dogs' skills are growing as well. They are being trained to do much more than just help those that are deaf or profoundly hard of hearing. Now the dogs can assist people with mobility challenges, diabetes complicated by hypoglycemia unawareness, seizure disorders, and autism. Most recently they have recommitted to serving the needs of disabled returning veterans.

Clearly, the organization needed a new name, and the 'can-do' attitude of the volunteers, the employees, the sponsors, and of course, the canines was perfect inspiration for just that.

As a result, Can Do Canines™, was born.

Al Peters, the organization's executive director said,

I am confident that the new name, Can Do Canines™, reflects much better the people we serve, our volunteers and entire team that makes these special partnerships possible. Each person has to say, 'I can do it' in order for them to be successful."

We at Strategic Name Development were very happy to provide pro bono services for the project; the partnership could not have been any smoother. We are confident Can Do Canines will enjoy much continued success in the future.

Technorati Tags: Can Do Canines, Assistance Dogs, Hearing and Service Dogs, Company Renaming

Sony "Moves" Away From Arc Naming and Branding; Better Than "Giggle Stick"

William Lozito — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:05:29 -0600

Oops, well I'm only human. Back in January I believed the hype and predicted that Sony would name its new PlayStation wireless controller the "Arc."

Nope. It's going to be called the "Move" and it's coming out this fall in a kit costing under $100.

CNET's Crave says that by unveiling the name Sony can start its all-out attack on Nintendo. The name was announced yesterday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

It works with the PlayStation Eye web cam, and Sony claims 36 third party developers and publishers have signed up to support the new product, not to mention the 20 games Sony has planned for it as well.

Its subcontroller adds a joystick and a directional pad.

There were some pretty provocative ideas for the naming sent in by Joystiq readers, but when Joystiq's blog did a poll on it, Move won out.

Joystiq also notes that the logo looks suspiciously like the letter "A", because, they posit, Sony did want to name their controller the Arc but ran into trademark issues.

Already blogosphere wags have generated eight "better" names for the thing, including "Giggle Stick," "Party Rod," and "The Sceptre of Ultimate Power".

Um, maybe not, but good effort bloggers.

The bottom line is that this controller launching with this name is a good move by Sony.

Technorati Tags: Sony, PS3, Move, Arc, Joystiq, Video Game,

The Unfortunate Saga of Risqué Domain Naming and Branding Continues with the Sale of Sex.com

William Lozito — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:34:54 -0600

The domain name Sex.com is up for grabs.

That's right, potentially the most expensive domain name in history is in foreclosure and will be sold at auction, with bids starting at a cool $1 million. It was sold for $14 million in 2006, which was a record then until Insure.Com went for $16 million.

I have previously written about how the domain name Sex.com has been poorly managed, and even swindled from previous owners. Now, the story seems to have continued its downward spiral.

It will be sold "as is" in the equivalent of a foreclosure sale and should generate a lot of interest, as it can apparently generate $15,000 of revenue a day if managed correct.

Sex.com is one of the top five most profitable domain names on the web today, the others being Fund.com, Porn.com, Poker.com and Business.com.

The Sex.com domain name has been mismanaged, of course, and is surrounded by clouds of legal skullduggery. It is claimed that one of the previous owners had the name stolen from him, and commenced a ten-year manhunt to find the culprit.

DOM Partners, a New Jersey lender is foreclosing the domain and will auction it on March 18, at the New York law firm, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf.

Ecoconsultancy has a great post up entitled "Six things you can learn from Sex.com's failure," and number one is: A great domain only goes so far.

I have to agree.

It takes more than a name to make a product or a domain name shine. However, we at Strategic Name Development can say, a great name never hurts.

Technorati Tags: Sex.com, Domain Name, Auction, Ecoconsultancy, Foreclosure,

Movie Naming and Branding: Appealing to Oscar and the Boys

William Lozito — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:05:16 -0600

I was amused to see that Disney was changing the name of its new film, Rapunzel, to Tangled in order to attract more boys to the film. Seems that The Princess and the Frog wasn't a big hit with the boys, and Disney fears, probably correctly, that the word "Princess" was to blame.

Because Rapunzel is actually a princess, Disney is worried that this new movie might face the same fate. According to the LA Times, "Disney can ill afford a moniker that alienates half the potential audience, young boys, who are needed to make an expensive family film a success."

They also considered "Unbraided" and "The Thief in the Tower." Good thing they decided on Tangled. I just cannot see how "unbraided" was supposed to appeal to boys.

This will be in 3-D, and I think that the trailer looks pretty good.

Movie naming has been on my mind lately, especially since Kate Torovnick did a great piece on How to Win the Oscar: pick a great name.

She notes that "Grand Hotel", "The Great Ziegfeld" and "From Here to Eternity" were all films with really inspiring names and which won despite the odds. So did "American Beauty" and "Shakespeare in Love," which beat "Saving Private Ryan" in 1999: "Shakespeare sounds instantly classic, and who doesn't like love?"

Torovnick suggests that Precious had the best chance of winning and that "producers should definitely start using more positive adjectives in their film titles."

Okay, Kate, I like your thinking but, remember that The Hurt Locker came out on top. Maybe it actually is about the quality of the film, and a little bit of Oscar politics for good measure.

Technorati Tags: Oscar, Hurt Locker, Rapunzel, name change, Tangled, Precious, movie titles

Obama Naming and Branding Losing Luster

William Lozito — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:56:34 -0600

All politics aside, the Obama brand name is not helping some businesses.

An article out today looks at the dozen or so Michigan businesses that have used the name to sell everything from pharmaceuticals to realty to auto body repair. And, funnily enough, the President hasn't clamped down on these small business owners, in fact, one of them actually got a friendly call from the White House. Nonetheless, consumers aren't buying it.

The building of the Obama brand, of course, is not new. There are plenty of political analyses out there describing how he used branding to create an excellent image for himself.

However, the appeal of the name seems to flow out of politics, as evidenced by the apparent Israeli love for it.

But now the brand doesn't sell, and that includes political t-shirts with his likeness and name on them. The Obama store in Union Station has been closed.

Naomi Klein, author of No Logo, a book speaking to the evils of branding, wrote last year about how the Obama brand is just another example of how corporate branding has taken over American politics. If that's the case (and I am unsure if it is), then the brand itself is liable to face the same challenges of any other in the marketplace.

I'm not sure what it means when a pharmacy named after Obama decides to change its name to a far more generic Community Health Pharmacy, but I am thinking that the President's brand name equity may be in trouble.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, No Logo, Brand Equity, Branding, Names

Lara Croft Kills Tomb Raider Game Naming and Branding

William Lozito — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:30:03 -0600

So the new Tomb Raider game due out in mid-year will drop the Tomb Raider name in favor of "Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light."

According to one source, this new game is "something completely new and very different to what people might be expecting." This is a surprise, since the Tomb Raider name has a great deal of equity behind it.

The reason, according to Games Brief, is that this is a downloadable game and the Lara Croft name is a separate and probably bigger brand name that Tomb Raider.

Now, the two brands really require two levels of management, and Lara Croft has by now far eclipsed the Tomb Raider name and association.

Lara Croft has a road named after her in Derby, the UK town where she was designed. She is in "iconic" character in video gaming and the new name reflects this.

That said, there are already rumors out that another game starring Lara Croft is due out, and it might in fact bear the Tomb raider name.

Technorati Tags: Tomb Raider, Lara Croft, Guardian of Light, Branding, Names, Video Game,

Topeka Changes it Naming to Google...for The Month of March

William Lozito — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:06:40 -0600

I was amused to see that Topeka, Kansas has renamed itself "Google, Kansas," at least for this month.

The mayor is trying to attract the attention of the Internet giant's Fiber for Communities program that would make local Internet connections 100 times faster.

There are no plans to change the name permanently. Topeka is a Native American word meaning 'a good place to grow potatoes' although the area is better known for its soybean crops.

The move is part of a plan to keep Topeka's young people at home but it has attracted some unfair derision across the blogosphere. Techcrunch starts out by saying "We're Not In Kansas Anymore. Well, We Are - Google, Kansas," but notes that the benefit could be "huge" and that the city has changed its name before.

For a brief time in 1998 the city became "ToPikachu" after the Pokemon character. So the Google name is "100 times more sane". PC World riffs the same thought saying "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Topeka anymore."

Networkworld takes a darker tone, saying that this is yet more example of 'Google groveling,' with the requisite Wizard of Oz quote: ("There's no place like Google; there's no place like Google ..." ).

Oh, calm down. The Think Big Topeka website points out why this name change is a great idea because the upside of having that kind of Internet connection and close association with Google would certainly put "Topeka on the global map".

If a 31 day name change can do all this, I say why not?

Technorati Tags: Google, Kansas, Topeka, name change, Names, Topikachu,

TigerText Brand Name Will Irritate Cheating Tigers, and The University of Memphis

William Lozito — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:11:14 -0600

I have to laugh at the new TigerText app that really does seem aimed at philandering spouses.

The ironic name aside, this allows you to send text messages to other phones that can delete themselves and cannot be forwarded. This is great if you really don't want any evidence of your midnight messaging to fall in the wrong hands, like, say, your wife's lawyers.

David Letterman has already made a few well placed jokes about this product.

The makers are being coy about the name, which they claim it just coincidentally shares with a noted cheating spouse. Is it really named after Tiger Woods? The makers say not so.

iPhone Scoop says one of the makers points out that ""Tigers are notoriously difficult animals to track" and notes that it was coming to us in the Lunar Year of the Tiger.

Um, yeah.

The people who might really take umbrage are in Memphis: The University of Memphis uses this name for its own cell phone text messaging service which is far less nefarious, this one is an emergency alert.

Technorati Tags: Brands, Tiger, Text, Cell Phone, Names, University of Memphis, App

Chinese Naming and Branding the Way of the Future?

William Lozito — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:10:53 -0600

I'm fascinated by the future of brand naming in China and happy that we have already been involved in it. My gut feeling is that we are seeing the world of branding and naming happen at an accelerated pace.

Right now, it seems that the Chinese, especially at the regional level, are all about price points and trademarks - there were 800,000 applications in 2009 alone!

Still, there is a view that the Chinese are starting to look for good homegrown names even as they create weird mash-up names that are knock offs of the western brands we all know and love. One such example is pictured at right.

The fact is, creating a Chinese brand name is very difficult.

There is an entire world of syllables, imagery and phraseology that is a challenge to any naming and branding company, although we in the West are quickly learning how to create appealing Chinese names for Chinese customers.

At least one company in San Francisco is headed by a person who speaks both Chinese and English and one look at all the challenges that go into a Chinese name can give one pause.

One tidbit:

Your Chinese company or brand name should be two to three characters and never more than five. The more characters in the name, the weaker it sounds and the less memorable it becomes. The name should also be easy to pronounce and free from negative political, social, historical, or psychological associations.

Is it worth it? Yes, of course. This will soon be the world's biggest consumer market. Every naming company has to be involved in China.

There is no doubt in my mind that the country will soon be a goldmine of interesting brand names, and now is the time to be involved.

Technorati Tags: Brands, Wilson, China, Menlow, Names, Transliteration

Hummer Car, Brand Naming Finally Heading for the Scrap Heap

William Lozito — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:20:55 -0600

I'm really trying to feel nostalgic about the demise of the Hummer brand name, but I'm just not getting anywhere with it.

This is the car, after all, that had Fortune Magazine asking "What Car Would Satan Drive?"

The smug, name (a shortening of M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or Hum-Vee) was irritating, as was the car's obvious target market of people who could care less about aesthetics or damage to the environment. This was, after all, the Terminator's ride of choice, or it was until even Arnie saw them as too ridiculously, lunkheadedly macho.

GM tried to dump it on the Chinese, but thank goodness they dropped the idea, the last thing China (or the world) needs is a popular Chinese gas guzzler.

This has been bad news to the 4 x 4 limo market but really, a stretch Hummer is just adding insult to injury.

Cory Doctorow put it best saying, "This car was like the high-fructose corn syrup of automobiles, something that concentrated everything bad about motoring until it underwent a phase-change and somehow became an object of desire."

Technorati Tags: Brands, Hummer, China, Going green, Names