Category: product names

New Yorker’s Naming and Our Review »

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 [...]

Naming philosophies from the Naru, continued. »

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, [...]

Naming philosophies from the Naru (Naming Guru): »

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 [...]

The Rise of Private Labels & The Role of Strong Brand Names »

“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 [...]

Managing Expectations »

  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 [...]

The Naming Hot Pot »

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 [...]

When will New Dogs Learn the Old Tricks? »

Another car brand makes a linguistic faux pas? It seems too extraordinary to be true, and yet Audi has just released its newest electric car called “e-tron.” Inconveniently, étron means “excrement” in French. Whether or not Chevy’s car name “No Va” was really what led to its abysmal sales in both Mexico and Spain, it’s [...]

When to Be Inspired by the Name »

Ibuprofen or Advil? CVS-brand toilet paper or Cottonelle? How do you know when you’re just paying for the name versus a better product? According to an article on CBS News, Generic and Store Brands vs. Brand Names, generic products do sometimes offer the same bang for the buck as their branded counterparts. That being said, [...]

Why Most New Brand Names Are Doomed From The Start »

(A NameStormers’ Viewpoint – August, 2010) Popular commercial brands generate a “positive emotional reaction from the human brain,” according to a study by the Radiological Society of North America. Does that mean consumers are inclined to just purchase those brands that we have all heard of before, for better or for worse? This study links [...]

Anchor’s Away: Why we’re onboard with Talon »

Talon is  the new name for Minn Kota’s fresh-to-market, shallow water anchor. We think Talon works well for a variety of reasons. First, if you’ve ever been to a pet store, had a bird as a pet, or been freakishly attacked by one, you know that most have sharp talons that are so strong they [...]

  • HealthYes!

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  • Raving Fans

  • Thanks so much for all your expert advice and professional project management throughout this endeavor. This has been one of the most satisfying engagements with a vendor that I have experienced over the years, which speaks to the high quality and thoughtful output of your efforts. I especially appreciated your flexibility and patience as the project took on new challenges which impacted the scope of work. You can be certain that as our business grows, NameStormers will be top-of-mind for future work.
    Will Jarred - Executive Director of Sales & Marketing - ETS - Educational Testing Service
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  • I must underscore what an absolute pleasure it was to work with you during this entire project. Your methodical, timely, and resourceful approach to educating me on how a new name affects a company, and the steps you so painstaking address to make the transition a seamless one, were outstanding. Each time I needed to contact you to get direction or clarification, you responded with immediate and informative action. You are the consummate professional and a real pleasure to work with.
    Dorian Stern - Director of Marketing, Logicare
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  • Thank you for your excellent work, great customer service, and fast turnaround. I'd be happy to provide references for you. We decided on Alliant as a good tie to the corporate name: Virginia Mason-Group Health Alliance, Inc. And we've got two Alliant Health Plans, Plus which is a point of service plan, and Select for the HMO.
    Paula Heath - Director of Advertising & Sales Promotion - Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound
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  • I want to thank you very much for your team's effort on this project. You all worked very quickly and gave us excellent direction. I am sure many hours were spent in developing the many name lists you presented us. Your added value enabled us to move forward with a name consumers preferred over the prior internal name. I look forward to working with your company in the future!
    Brand Category Manager - A Major Global Tire Company
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  • I have hired Mike to do naming projects for several of our clients. Naming can be a difficult area for many companies and Mike does a great job walking people through the process and making them feel comfortable. One of his strengths is his ability to ask the right questions to really understand the problem and the objectives at hand. This allows NameStormers to always come up with a wide variety of options that expands the thinking of the client. I have yet to have a client be disappointed with the process or the results. If you are considering going through a naming exercise, I would highly recommend Mike and The NameStormers.
    Tom Dorow, Design North.
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  • Our success with our name change and branding has been phenomenal. I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. I am ecstatic over it. Our experience in working with NameStormers has been so good let's just call them again and let them handle this next project for us.
    Bill Macey - CEO of Valtera, formerly Personnel Research Associates
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  • The naming industry landscape is littered with agencies that make the process seem onerous and intimidating. They tout their unique proprietary processes, advanced research and ideation tools, etc. And then they tell you it's going to take months and months. Ugh. With Mike and NameStormers, you get a team focused on results. Their approach is practical, thorough and creative. And they can be flexible and lightning fast. If you want results without the headaches, then I highly recommend NameStormers.
    David Cameron, Business Public Affairs, Dow Chemical