07.15.08
Posted in Branding, Rotten Names, Name Origins at 10:37 am by Athol
Some elegant and educated words just do not fit for product lines. Especially mass
market consumer product lines. Naming your car the Phaeton has surely doomed its fate to some extent or other, especially in the US.
Wikipedia explains the origins as “The name Phaeton derives from Phaëton, the son of Phoebes and Helios in Greek mythology — and also a type of horse drawn carriage. So intellectually speaking, very smart. But try spelling it or saying it. Ouch.
I therefore award this name two bombs. One for spelling and one for pronunciation. Not to mention how it definitely does not sound like it belongs in the friendly family name collection of VW.
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07.03.08
Posted in Branding, Language Fun, Rotten Names, International at 10:25 am by Athol
Quixtar is currently running a broad awareness campaign to associate themselves with their real Amway Brand. But many people (including me) thought that Amway somehow became Quixtar to get rid of some of the negative brand baggage of the old Amway name, especially when they went online. So then the question that begged to be answered was if you were going to tar yourself with a brush of a different color, why not keep it very separate and distinct?
Turns out that Quixtar actually was a separate e-initiative originally kept at arms length from Amway - presumably while they learned and saw how it affected their independent business operators and their traditional MLM marketing programs. Of course, it took off like a rocket and has now been fully embraced (if I read their official releases properly), so they want to fold it back in and next year call everything Amway Global. A strange, slow- change strategy that makes my head spin… why advertise who you are now if soon you won’t be?
Could it be that a big agency is calling the shots, and they make more money if it is dragged out to the max? Or does it take the IT guys that long to do the integration?
But in the meantime, those clever names where there is a play on the English language often backfire, especially for the foreigners, the young and the half educated. Especially when you let your graphics designer break the word so it does look like Quix Tar. Don’t blame me if some people miss the implied Star sound.
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06.29.08
Posted in Branding, Name Origins, Great Names at 7:38 am by Athol
Not evey mother names her future Hollywood siren with a hot name like Raquel Welch. But if you start life as Tara Leigh Patrick, and really want to make an impression on your fans, then you deserve a big award for changing your name to Carmen Electra.
Maybe you even deserve two awards, for creating both a hot first name and a smart last name. As a naming professional I loved you before I even saw how you light up a show.
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06.20.08
Posted in Branding, Name Origins, Great Names at 10:52 am by Athol
As it celebrates its 10th Anniversary, it is interesting to look back and see that the techies who founded Paypal first named the company Confinity. It is fun to read John Powers firsthand account of how this all came to be .. see www.Confinity.com. He is quick to point out that he never came up with that name. Regardless, Paypal is so much better than Fieldlink, the name he first used.
If you have ever shopped for or sold goods on eBay, you know the magic of Paypal. If you have ever paid or received money from contract services half way around the world, you know the magic of Paypal and the convenience of paying people almost instantly when they don’t take credit cards.. or want to use them if they do have them.
Now if only they provided the same level of support to English speakers in Spain that they provide Spanish speakers in California, that would be the icing on the cake. Especially for the rural community where no mail goes to a physical house address. How can they deny full service when you are a property owner simply because your mail goes to a box number? Not all countries and rural towns are spoiled with the US level of mail delivery! In more and more parts of the world, you go get your mail at a mail box center.
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06.14.08
Posted in Branding, Rotten Names, International at 8:57 am by Athol
After their disaster with the name Phaeton, you would think VW had learned more than to just go out to a German Auto magazine for a new name. Even though the name was supposedly submitted by a reader - and they now say it is from Tiger and Iguana. With Latin America as a key market (as well as a number of factory sites) for them, you would have thought they would pay more heed to the Latino connotations.
Oh well, I am sure the trademark lawyers like it, and with their branding dollars they can do what they like. After all, they have had Rabbits and Foxes and Beetles, why not an Iguana from Tijuana?
PS Since Tig is a friendly nickname for the diminutive of Tiger, this name may actually fit a little better than at first glance.
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06.13.08
Posted in Branding, Name Winners, Trademarks at 9:52 am by Athol
One of the advantages of having “first mover” advantage in any industry is the fact that you can sometimes legally tie up a good name which later would otherwise be judged to be generic - and therefore non-registrable. Such is the case with the name TopRank® for search engine optimization and marketing services. They have recently been blogging about how they have to be aggressive in protecting this name, especially in an online environment (the only field for which they have the trademark).
If the USPTO did their literature search today, they would see the words top and rank (or ranking) are surely widely used and therefore generic. But it is too late. Someone moved fast and was smart, although it really is a difficult name to protect and to own as a brand, since people have strong existing expectations of the words, before they are even educated to the fact that it is someone’s trademark. And there are many ways around it. And what is the industry generic way of saying getting a top ranking if top rank is a specific trademark?
So this award goes to them for trying to protect the name. Not for picking a name that is not unique enough. This is one of many cases I have recently run into, which is why I was reminded (writing as The Name Critic at Brighter Naming) to select Rollerblade® for recent analysis. They are a case study example of how to do it right. To protect the name Rollerblade, they told the industry and the press that the generic descriptor for the product category was In-Line Skates. For all I know (and strongly suspect) they made up In-Line Skates afterwards. Doesn’t matter.. the rest of the world has to describe their products as In-Line Skates, and can only use the term Rollerblade in its proper legal brand (now of the Nordica ski company) sense.
Similarly, in the biotech field, Genentech® is almost a generic if it was first used today, instead of the strong brand and category leader it has become. As an early mover (very early), they have polarized the rest of the word away from names using Gene and Technology…. which so many still dream of.. the basic descriptors for many of them.
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06.05.08
Posted in Branding, Language Fun at 8:55 am by Athol
In this modern world of super brands, isn’t it amazing how we take any name or logo for granted once it has been properly seared into our gray matter? My first award has to go to the relatively younger brand of Starbucks. I say the name, you smell the coffee. You walk down the street, you can feel the pull just from the decor. But what about that mermaid? What is she doing in the logo? Is she the star who gets paid the big bucks?
And then there is the old classic American Express card. A symbol of American wealth and stature for many years - personified by a Roman Gladiator! 
My history isn’t very good though I do know the Romans traveled a lot and conquered many lands. But not the Americas. How come it is not the Roman Express card? Has this Roman become one of us, just like Ellen Degeneres calls him “one of my people” in her commercial?
Now what logo are you going to use with your new company name?
P.S. Know any other great examples?
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05.05.08
Posted in Branding, Name Winners, Great Names at 4:11 pm by Athol
All around a lot of countries, ladies know the brand name Bioré. The name just seems to sound like it cleans your pores in a classy fashion. Yet the name roots are so basic and simple, as some of the trademark fights show. Other have tried to have products called BioRe and Bio Regenaration… same idea - but with no class. The addition of that accent over the e makes all the difference doesn’t it? Changes BioRe into Bee Oar Ray. From the mundane to the classy, as only the French language can do.
Of course, the big irony of this name is that the product line is not sold in France or anywhere on the European continent. The brand is actually owned and managed by KAO of Japan nowadays. But who cares. In fact, who cares what the ingredients do. If I wanted a skin cleanser I would instinctively believe in one with such a cool name.
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05.02.08
Posted in Branding, Education, Language Fun at 2:43 pm by Athol
Reading blogs and sharing notes about names is fun for many, but it is also nice to get together and share stories and ideas over breakfast sometimes. I spoke up once too often at some of the Business Marketing Association’s round table breakfasts, so now I am personally the speaker next week (May 7th) 
in Palo Alto. Let’s have some fun. Business doesn’t have to be boring. When the emotions flow the creativity does too.
Here is the link to sign up. No payment till you show up.. but mostly you just have to pay for what you eat. Bring a story or question to share. Maybe your name idea will win an award.
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03.31.08
Posted in Branding, Great Names at 9:02 pm by Athol
A few years back, we all had to endure an ad agency showing off around the country about how they branded milk with their famous Got Milk ads. I still have a problem with their claims. They may have created a little more awareness about milk, and had some interesting campaigns that became PR items in and of themselves, but I defy you to name 2 brands of milk. Most of us barely know what brand we usually buy ourselves. All I know is my milk of choice comes in a blue carton. And while this campaign was running, they were mostly missing the youth audience that 7Up was happily scooping up at all the X-Games.
On the other hand, what a spectacular job the water industry has done of coming up with different and strong brands, even though all the water scientists tell us we are better off drinking tap water. No, we’d rather pollute the landfills of the world with all those expensive plastic water bottles - even those of us who are thinking green!
Perrier is one of the original and on-going classics in this field. They had us believing in the classiness of French water long ago, so much so it is acceptable to drink in fine bars and restaurants. They were closely followed by Evian as well. Probably because of the weight (and stupidity) of shipping water all around the country there are only a few national brands like Aquafina, DeSani (terrible name!) and Crystal Geyser. If you travel a lot, you can almost remember what airport you are in by what bottled water brand they are selling. Talking Rain tastes funny to me since I don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, but I do love the name.
BottledWaterWeb.com lists 80 bottlers of water now in the USA, yet we all have our favorites and swear we can tell the difference. There are probably a lot more milk bottlers (old theme by now.. I know)! But despite being a namer by profession, I am very visual and of course I am a regular consumer too. Nothing ever jumped into my shopping cart as quickly as Fiji water did the first time I saw their display. The square bottle with the see through label is a magic story in consumer packaging and deserves more attention. Shipping water all the way from Fiji must be expensive, and so they have to compete on something other than price. I still love the fact that they are the first product I have ever seen where the inside of the label shows you a lovely water scene through the water in the bottle itself. I don’t care what it costs. I sometimes “need” this water to decorate my desk. As a result, I believe it tastes good too and I buy their story about how it is natural and untouched by man.
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