Name Awards

When is Gold no longer an appropriate part of the name?

The term Gold is often used as a descriptor of value in products and services, like the Gold Card, or Gold Program. This is similar also to the usages of diamond and platinum at times. But when you name your company Safari Gold because you really sell safari jewelry made in gold, and the gold price goes so high that you mostly  sell silver products, do you change your name to Safari Silver or do you stay with the old name?

Help me out here folks. As an investor in Safari Gold I am too close to the subject to know what is right or wrong.

Secondly, my giraffe friend here is always part of the image and branding of the company. What is the right name to give to such an icon that regularly appears? I am not crazy about giraffes, but so many people are fascinated by them (especially ladies) he gets to stay regardless.

Sky throwing their weight around at Skype

Sky TV in England have now sued Skype, claiming the name and trademark is confusingly similar and they have the consumer market research to prove it.  Wow. Years after the two brands have co-existed. Years after Skype has successfully filed for many trademarks. Sky obviously needed time to find the right morons to survey. And, coincidentally, waited until Skype filed for an IPO. Talk about being greedy. Why couldn’t Sky have sued them when eBay was the owner? Not big enough target?

Sky have always been aggressive about protecting their name, and with due respect, they have to be to protect such a common word. But this seems to me to be a classic case of trademark bullying that is not built on reality, but on opportunity. However, it should be taken as a lesson for all. When you are small and inconsequential they don’t come after you. But when you are fat and ripe and ready for fishing, the legal sharks arrive.

These are both great names, and I wish I knew how to create a big consumer forum to affect the trademark registration gods to come to their senses.

Vidyo is a street gutter name

It isn’t often a name of a successful high tech startup really gets under my skin, but this is one that does. Maybe it is because I don’t follow (or speak) rough rap style, nor with an Israeli or Eastern European accent, but these two syllables just don’t belong together.

Of course, I assumed from the outset that it was pronounced Vid Yo and not video, because they have a registered trademark and video is a generic word (and trademarks are filed phonetically) which cannot be trademarked.

Seems like their new tie in with H-P is just in time. Now H-P will be able to have more video surveillance of their executives and what they were really doing with their marketing contractors when they claim those big expense account charges.

Concrete company name or medical name?

If you didn’t know better, or if you knew old business names, you might think that Kaiser Permanente is a great name for a concrete company. And you wouldn’t be far off the mark, if you check the history of this name. They save the headache of its length by having KP.org as their website.

But actually it is the name of one of the few (and certainly the largest) full service medical aid companies in the country. The big strong name is now used to compete with Blue Cross, Blue Shield and numerous other medical insurance groups across California, the difference being Kaiser has their own hospitals, clinics, labs, pharmacies and doctors, all connected with full electronic patient records.

I recently moved hundreds of miles, yet I can order my prescriptions online, see all the history of my lab tests for years, and my new doctor in a different Kaiser has all my history on his computer too. This is how medical should be done in the USA. Only big pity is that at my age it costs me more than my rent!

Regardless, names come from many sources. Why doesn’t your company post a little story online about its name origin?

As predicted, Aulani shows the Hawaiian names are coming.

A reporter once scoffed at me when I said we would see more Hawaiian names abound because of the shortage of English words that can be owned and trademarked. She thought Akamai was a big exception. Of course, they have since grown to be a major internet infrastructure player.

Now Disney is launching its Aulani Resort in Hawaii.  Being in Hawaii, it is much more natural to use such a name… but it is a rare word that has them explaining its meaning and pronunciation. And, of course, with their money and marketing mojo they can brand anything, you might argue. Still, it takes courage to really bring a new word to life. The baby naming books say it is female for a god’s messenger. After the Disney spin is added, it supposedly means “the place that speaks for the great ones”.  And no, it does not rhyme with aura. Like in Wow or Maui, it is a loud Au.

Sign up now for your timeshare at Aulani.com. It will be ready for you and Mickey to don your flowery shirts next year.

Blooming Business Week let their brand fans down

A long time ago I went to my first big branding conference where an executive from one of the big branding agencies of the world, in reply to an audience question said: “Never change a brand unless it is broken.”

Yes, there are exceptions and other situations. But the one that really bugs me is when management ignore all the know wisdom of the marketing industry because ego gets in the way – and forever more makes marketing their business, products or services an extra chore for the team involved, as well as their customers too.

I have been a loyal reader of Business Week for many years, even scooping up my son’s copy when my subscription accidentally lapsed. But now it got sold off. So what. Doesn’t mean I want any direct association with the new owners – especially when that gives them a whole NY financial slant that doesn’t necessarily play as well across the rest of the country.

The inside makeover is great… and much to my point, the one good weekly read that is not all about financial results and numbers. So why take a great brand name and dilute it so badly by making it longer. If you want to promote your parent company fine, but why foist it off on us loyal readers… especially when you even drop it down to a drab black and white text logo.

Oh McGraw Hill, why did you have to sell it off?

All hotels under one name… to create a brand

Today’s name award goes to Ian Schrager, as recently profiled in a Business Week Hard Choices column.  Ian, one of the largest owners of a collection of unique boutique hotels around the country, is quoted as saying:

“The properties have value, but a brand itself has a value too. In retrospect, it was ridiculous. I should have developed all of my hotels under one name. I’m in the hotel business, not the cool business”

Yes, branding is sometimes a big money game. And now Ian is joining forces with Marriott rather than starting a new brand from scratch.

When the name and logo are at odds

Sometimes when we do name audits for clients we find there is nothing wrong with the name, but there may be a problem with the logo and other visual identity. Here are two from my old neighborhood that were always driving me nuts, even though colorful and bold and still successful.

Air National Guard’s Rescue Wing -  look more like feet to me!

And at the height of summer St. Stephens Green might be partially hidden in the greenery, but why did they have to paint in blue? It dropped 2 points on my elegance scale immediately. Of course, after you have had a pint or two and tried their great menu, you probably won’t care.

Water in a box! And just call it H20. Brilliant.

Never mind all the great sessions and private discussions, I took personal delight at the recent Sustainable Brands conference in discovering the free samples of H2O – water in a cardboard container.

How come I never thought of that? We have all made enough comments about wine in a box, so why not water in a box? It is a much improved packaging source to keep all those millions of plastic bottles out of landfills and the ocean.

As to whom has the registered trademark on H2O (without modifier), I am not sure, but it seems like it is now adjudged generic. In other words, anyone can use it and no one can own it.

Intel back to numbers – but model years?

Ever since the Pentium came out it has been no big industry secret that many engineers at Intel harked for the days of the 486 and similar number nomenclatures. Well finally Intel is back to numbers.. but what an extreme tactic!

They are promoting their 2010 Core Processors widely right now. Maybe, just maybe, they will get some significant market share to notice before all the big auto companies start promoting their 2011 models starting Labor Day (first weekend in Sept).

Then who will want a 2010? Maybe get one on a dealer incentive fire sale day just like the older car models?  Will we have a Blue Book for chip values? And since no one owns a date, we are looking forward to the AM 2010 (or better still, with perfect vision, the AM 2020 or similar name from competitors).

PS Yes, it comes in 3 flavors. But would you buy a product with only a 3 Star Rating? (See graphics). Maybe that is their trick to push you to the i5 model. Grrrrr.