Might be fun to see what happens to all these folks that have been reselling domains from small countries when more high level domains are released next year. For starters, what if .curios becomes a top level domain?

In the meantime, looks like this is another college crazy mixup by people who don’t understand the complexity of marketing, though it is not as bad as their colleagues with the Doostang site – see what the Name Critic rated that one! On the other hand, Doostang has been able to register it as a federal trademark.

This leads to two big problems: (1) They can’t get a trademark as they are generic, and (2) They can’t be found on the internet because we drown in results from Google and Bing when we search on their name.

And often it leads to a third problem too – when the company grows up it outgrows its own name, just when you want to start building a broader brand without ignoring your existing brand equity. Look at the logo statement here from Plastic Engineering (a nice generic)!  They do metals! Bet you never would have guessed that from their name.

Are they all so young and naive at Google on this project that they don’t know Microsoft and others have already tried and failed with the Wallet name? Plus Google, on their own homepage for it, can’t decide whether it is written with a capital W or not. What on earth is that scooby do scribble logo all about?

But far worse, a wallet is something you store cash and credit cards in. You don’t pay with your wallet. And if you live outside the USA and are a lady, you don’t even own a wallet. Elsewhere ladies keep their money in their purse, which they then keep in their handbags. I wonder if Google programming geeks know the power women have shopping. Why cut them out from the get go?

Of course, this is an effort to fix a problem they have had since its inception with Google Checkout. What a dumb restrictive name that is. Didn’t even their basic market research tell them that Paypal is used for so much more than checking out? In fact it has become a major money transfer and online services payment system, in many cases without there being a shopping cart checkout procedure involved at all.

Oh well, when Paypal was young and poor and every dollar counted, they spent a few thousand on a naming consultant and now have this powerful brand name. At the time they were not owned by the big corporate eBay, which was probably to their advantage. They had to brand and position themselves correctly. And they didn’t have the big egos like Googleites who know it all.. but then make stupid mistakes and think they are invincible. No wonder so many products at Google don’t take off and 95% or more of revenue is still from their basic search ad revenues.

PS Wallets are from the pilgrims days.. to carry your coins in. Modern payment systems will be all electronic or smart card based… no leather needed. Maybe they can call it Google Silver, since they already have Google Chrome!

PPS Not quite as bad a name as Google+ though. See what the naming critic had to say about that over at Brighter Naming.

But I don’t want to deal with the confusion of booking a hotel, or taking a taxi, or telling my friends I am staying in THEhotel and then having to explain it is not a hotel, but THEhotel. Ouch all the way.  Why not the Mandalay Peninsula, as one simple example, that deftly helps spread the brand warmth?

And this blog has a picture with it just so you know I am not kidding! I sure pity the marketing folks and interior designers. How do you not make it feel live every other generic hotel anyone ever stayed in – that are all an ugly forgettable blur today.

So when I see coffee ads while I am watching online video, my cognitive recognition skills kick in. First time or two I saw the Keurig ads I watched them carefully but couldn’t remember the brand. Then I watched more carefully and wrote it down. Today as I sit to write this I discover I can’t find Keuric’s website, but luckily Google helps me out and corrects my spelling (and thanks McAfee for not letting me surf to the infected keuric.com site).

If a professional brand meister of many years standing, when consciously trying, cannot remember your name, then I think you have a problem. Not only is the name difficult to say and remember for English speakers, it just provides us with no associations or meanings. No wonder they have to spend so much money on marketing. What a shame. And they probably have a good product too. Now they need a cure for Keurig.

Why? Why can’t people leave well enough alone? Or control their ad agency instead of paying them for updating and fixing something that isn’t broken. Sure the agency has to do something to get paid. But breaking the brand should not be it.

Now it is 24 hours later and I finally go to the Onstar.com website and look it up.  Guess what..  FMV stands for For My Vehicle. Really? No go on? What was I going to use it for? My cat? Wasn’t that a vehicle in every picture in every ad. Is someone else usurping OnStar for something else? Their private satellite perhaps?

Grrr.  What a big error. What a waste of brand brain time. F…Moth.. of V…

Then they go name it Venza. What is that? And their direct competitor has the hot selling Versa! Even Wikipedia has a note: Not to be confused with Toyota Avanza.

All I know is that it feels very pedantic and something that got lost in committee. Will go down well in Africa though, especially with the Venda tribal people. Or are they expecting the Italians to think they are replacing the iconic Vespa line?

They featured Juice in the City and their focus on moms and the mom market – probably the biggest market in my humble opinion – of people who more often turn to coupons out of necessity rather than desire. Of course, any of the others could target moms as well, especially if they had a  name that more implied moms rather than one implied teenagers flirting in the city. And what about all the country folks?

USA Today says BuyWithMe, Tippr, CrowdSavings, Yipit, Lashou, CatchofTheDay, Scoopon (love this name) and Plum District, among others, have also received funding. Seems like someone sent the investors a coupon themselves! Catch of the Day sounds kind of fishy to me, and I wonder if former VP Al Gore knows what his wife Tipper is up to? Maybe he should Lashou her!

You know Smith Barney. They were famous for their ad slogan: “We make money the old fashioned way.” Sure, like trading billions of suspicious derivatives, banking big bonuses, then running for cover and bail-out funds and mergers. I remember the old way, but I digress.

Why can’t Morgan Stanley just be Morgan Stanley? Why do they need a tail-end moniker? When they have to have so many options and shop the list around for opinions, you can be sure none of them are strong and jumping out. And it doesn’t matter which one they pick, no one will use it. Surely from the CEO on down, they will answer the phone and say they work for Morgan Stanley. So why not call a spade a spade? Does such a worldwide powerhouse brand need  a positioning descriptor?

Sure they are trying to cast themselves in a new light. Well short and sweet and clean and simple, like the logo they are already using, seems like enough for me. Now let them go out and earn their stripes, instead of paying agencies for new long names that are like a tale on a donkey – only good for swatting flies.

If they want to be a global wealth preservation company, let them prove it. And if they have a soft heart and help some poverty stricken poor country that has no wealth along the way too, all power to them. And some of the other tails they are considering, like Private Wealth Advisors, makes it sound like they only handle rich individuals, and not companies or countries. Makes me thing that maybe this tail is a fake just to fill up the voting roster. Have they forgotten that their name is just shorthand for their brand promise after all?

Enough said. I vote for Morgan Stanley. Period.