It’s always exciting to see a thoughtful article about brand naming in a mainstream, American staple like the New Yorker. The article, “Famous Names: does it matter what a product is called?” written by John Colapinto in the October 3rd, 2011 edition was certainly a fascinating read from beginning to end. Tools like Mind Maps and a diverse naming team are concepts that resonate with us. And although we agree that effective brand names can do a lot of the legwork for a new product or service, there were aspects of the prose that did not sit so easy with us. Read the rest
The Naru (Naming Guru) has emerged from the naming reflecting pool to finish sharing his/her branding perspectives from earlier this month.
5b.) Literal / descriptive names are better than emotional names when developing specific product names underneath a family brand.
While emotional, short & snappy brand names should establish strong connections with consumers (e.g., Northface, Nike), too many names of this ilk in one’s brand name portfolio tend to dilute brand building efforts. This type of name works well to establish a new product family’s tone and the brand’s “ambiance.” However, when a family brand adds additional products and line extension names, it is more effective to stay simple and use literal or descriptive names. At this point, it becomes more about communicating what the additional products are and their key benefits to better establish the family brand, than it is to risk creating potential confusion by launching more brand-like names within the family.
Read the rest
One of the special educational services NameStormers offers is access to the sage naming philosophies of the revered Naru (Naming Guru). (The identity of the Naru is protected so he/she can go about day-to-day life without being chased down the street by marketers and branding strategists demanding one-on-one audiences.)
1) Think like a customer, not like a product developer. (Would you have ever named a computer “Apple,” a shoe “Nike,” or a coffee “Starbucks”?)
Read the rest
“Consumers are buying private label food and drink products in greater numbers, typically because these products represent better value” (Mintel, The Private Label Food and Drink Consumer, Dec. 2010). But, is this causation or correlation? Are consumers knowingly buying private labels in larger quantities because of their perceived value, or is something else driving the increase?
This same Mintel study identifies several private label names (e.g., Target’s Archer Farms and Dominick’s/Safeway’s Lucerne) where more consumers believe they are actually buying a national brand than a private label.
Read the rest
The Harvard Business Review published an article this month discussing two possible approaches when naming next generation products: 1. Brand-Name Continuation (or) 2. Brand Name Change.
Callaway Company launched its first Big Bertha driver in 1995 and then chose the brand-name continuation strategy: following with Great Big Bertha and then Biggest Big Bertha. This may be a cute and clever progression, but are there any downsides to this strategy?
Before answering that question note that many other companies like Nintendo followed the other approach, brand name change. In Nintendo’s case, they’ve launched the, N64, GameCube, and Wii gaming platforms. This approach involved a complete divorce from the previous name characterizing the product line. The obvious question is which one of these strategies is best? Read the rest
“Consumers are not buying based on price alone,” led a recent article from Brandweek. Personally, price is always a factor for me, but only decisive when all other things are equal. I agree – “there is a price-value formula consumers use to calculate brand differences” when deciding which brands to buy. Otherwise Chi straighteners ($100) or Nike running shoes ($150) wouldn’t sell. At some point, cheaper is not better – we all have a degree of price elasticity. Sometimes, people buy certain products simply because they’re better quality and therefore don’t mind paying a bit more for them.
This bolsters the case for building strong brands. Take organic products or products with a vested green interest for example. Read the rest
One of the biggest naming challenges can be in transnational markets, where a myriad of languages are spoken and customs are practiced. Besides being sure that you don’t recommend something in English that will offend somebody speaking Cantonese, there are fascinating linguistic nuances that both reveal a lot about what goes into a name and why that amount of thought is important.
Baby names
Never having gone through the birthing process myself, other than when I cried myself into the world as my parents’ pride and joy, I still appreciate the excitement, thought, and detail that goes into baby names. Do you want your kid to be a Thor or a Nathaniel? Despite the fact that I’m sure there are quite a few Nathanials who wind up being Thors (and vice-versa), parents tend to see names for future children as their futures themselves. I want my little girl to be wise (Sage, Mackenzie), or I want my son to be strong (Aaron, Emery). Read the rest
Man: “How was I supposed to know that?”
Woman: “You should just KNOW!”
This refrain repeats in household arguments frequently. I feel qualified in making this observation, as I’m the woman in my household, and have had to bite my lip several times to circumvent this particular script. Typically, I’m not a fan of making generalizations about the genders, but this one I have actually witnessed with countless couples, multiple times. What is it about what women presume they communicate that men just totally miss?
Believe it or not, this has some interesting implications for brand naming. Every time we think of a name or try and articulate a brand, we’re trying to tell a complex story in just one or two words. Oftentimes, the most-liked names are those that convey multiple meanings, whether they be double-entendres (i.e. BitterEnd Beer) or names that just resonate with people on different levels (i.e. “Brita” Water sounds like crisp water to some, has a deep mythological meaning regarding inner purification to others (check out the description on their website), sounds more sweet and nurturing to still others, etc.). So, all this thought and context that we put into these names and enrich these brands with, does it work? Read the rest
Why does every brand seek the role of the “popular kid?” Is it because the popular brands attract the most interest and consumers? Like the popular clique in high school, they drive the gossip and news that everyone actually wants to discuss.
However, this seems counter to general brand strategy – much less good parenting. Good names are sticky and standout. They might make people laugh, think differently about a service or product, and generally be memorable. They aren’t always pretty. They are oftentimes quirky, eccentric, and creative. Therefore, why do many brand strategies focus on the popular kid idea?
David Cameron recently wrote about the difference between a name and a brand (Branding Isn’t As Important As ‘Experts’ Say?). He described a name as generally empty-bucket – there are good attributes it can have, but the best name in the world won’t make a poor brand or product successful. A brand is kind of Read the rest
