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.

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.

Green names for great brands? Or green grammar?

At the Sustainable Brands conference this week in Monterey, I will be co-presenting on naming and grammar to describe sustainable brands. I know not everyone gets a choice, but I keep coming back to how the name and the product make for a more complete brand promise and experience.

So a uniquely new styled car like the Nissan Leaf, and before that the Prius and Tesla, make for so much more of a powerful market brand statement than something like Civic Hybrid or Lexus Hybrid – which don’t look different and don’t have unique names for a unique share of mind.

Despite the braking woes at Toyota, Prius has over 60% of the hybrid market, and Leaf is already sold out for this year.. before they even ship the first US model! Believe me, the writers over at Huffington Post are very misguided when they voted these names as being in the top 10 worst green names. Has anyone at Huffington ever been out of the city? They need some fresh air.

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.

Remember when fossils were old and yucky?

For a brief moment as I unwrapped my gift, I thought I really don’t care for fossils. Why on earth would anyone buy me one…  I prefer they be left in their natural habitat.
Oh boy, aren’t I out of date and forgetful.  Fossil does not mean fossil when it is the watch and gift brand. It means high class, even avant garde, with a touch of travel whimsy and humor. Yes, this word has taken on a whole new meaning as a brand.

That in itself is not unusual. But a brand that is the complete opposite of the original meaning of the English word?  That takes skill and class. What a great example of the power of branding when your brand values are clearly known…. and your name is but a unique handle for that brand promise.

Damn, aren’t names fun!

One final product name caught our eye as we left Barcelona airport. Yes, Damm Lemon is a beer and lemonade drink. When they take all the alcohol out it is called Free Damm.

Damn, it sure brought a smile to our face early in the morning, especially as we were only looking for orange juice or coffee.