When Acronyms Go Bad…or Just Sloppy Naming Work?
Name developers occasionally are asked to develop acronyms for clients. Sometimes acronyms are terrific short cuts that resonate. Who hasn’t heard of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)?
Sometimes acronyms are trouble. The CNN article has numerous examples of “bad luck” with unfortunate acronyms (e.g., when your acronym develops a bad meaning). Perhaps some of these acronyms are a result of bad luck…but I believe most of these cases are unfortunate examples of naming sloppiness and bad branding!
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/17/mf.naughty.initials/index.html
Naming Faux Pas
As a professional name developer, I am often amused by the decisions companies make when naming products. Here are just a few of the naming faux pas I have observed.
1. Poor Visual Communication – Naming is an emotional decision and you often get caught up amongst the trees instead of seeing the whole forest. Sometimes you just need some perspective before you commit to a name. Of course using a professional name developer helps provide that outside perspective! But sometimes all you need to do is take a step back and ask yourself, “What is wrong with this name?”
As an example, the owners of this business probably think they have a terrific name for their consignment store: “Kids Exchange.” It isn’t a bad name, but I bet they get a lot of jokes about people wanting to swap their kids for some other kids. But the “What Were They Thinking?” award goes to the owner who approved their logo/signage. This picture is worth a thousand words!
Why didn’t they put a space between the words “Kids” and “Exchange”? Proper capitalization would have been helpful as well. Not sure why this is a problem? Look at it a bit more closely. These 12 letters could just as easily spell…Kid Sex Change. It’s obvious that not only the name, but also the logo and signage could have benefited from professional help.
2. Poor Audio Communication – Sometimes I wonder if companies make decisions based on how something looks on a piece of paper, versus how it sounds. A classic example is AcipHex, an excellent medicine for relief of acid reflux symptoms such as heartburn. By its nature, AcipHex is a classic pharmaceutical name…it uses the “Aci-“ from acid (the problem), the “pH” represents the change in stomach pH by using this product (the solution), and the “-ex” is a classic pharmaceutical drug suffix. Text book naming for an Rx drug!
Now pronounce the name. Yes, it really does sound like “ass effects.” I used to work in the heartburn category, and I cannot tell you how many times people asked me whether that really was the name of the drug because they thought I was kidding.
The website mentions the following potential side effects:
“In adolescents, the most common side effects with ACIPHEX include headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In adults, the most common side effects with ACIPHEX include pain, sore throat, gas, infection, and constipation.”
So I guess there could be “ass effects” after all, huh? No false advertising there.
3. Failure to Check International Communication – Assitalia is one of the biggest insurance companies in Italy. I am sure the company developed its name without thinking about international considerations. In Italy, the name is probably fine. But if they ever wanted to expand to an English-speaking country…well, let’s just say there might be a problem.
Most of my naming clients will conduct international name verification to ensure that the names I develop have no problematic connotations in the major foreign languages. Clearly, Assitalia never thought of that!
4. Failure to Properly Check Common Law Usage – Checking with a trademark attorney is critically important, and most people do this before they start using a name (or they pay a steep price to change things if a conflict occurs). But sometimes people fail to conduct a deep dive into common law usage to see how their proposed name is being used outside of the trademark system.
My favorite “What Were They Thinking” observation in this area comes from the UK. Directgov, the sector of the government in charge of educating the public about the government, launched a site to explain Britain’s government to small children. It was called "Buster's World," and it featured a cute dog named Buster who leads the site's patrons through a plethora of games, videos, and cartoons with the goal of giving children a basic understanding of how the British government works. Unfortunately, when the words "Buster's World" were entered into a search engine, the top result was not a friendly dog educating you about the government, but rather a gay porn site. Needless to say, Directgov has since changed the name of their website.
Obviously, hiring a professional naming service would have nipped most of these problems in the bud.
Anyone have stories about similar “Naming Faux Pas?”
Is The Urban Dictionary A Bible For Branding?
The Urban Dictionary is a web-based dictionary of slang words and phrases. Anyone can submit to the Urban Dictionary, but submissions are reviewed by volunteer editors and are rated by site visitors. Some people in the naming business think the Urban Dictionary is the new “Bible for Branding.” I politely disagree.
Last year a new vodka launched, and there was considerable controversy over its name, RangTang (http://adage.com/adages/post?article_id=142601). Apparently in the Urban Dictionary, rangtang has a slang meaning that is sexual in nature.
When the Sci Fi Channel changed its name to SyFy, some Urban Dictionary fans noted that syfy is slang for syphilis.
I just want to point out that the Urban Dictionary notes that “apple” is “A pejorative term used by Native Americans towards other Native Americans accused of "acting white"” as in “red on the outside, white on the inside.” Does this mean that Steve Jobs will be changing the name of the iconic Apple brand? I doubt it. Depending upon the Urban Dictionary citation you want to believe, Yahoo is a successful website, an expression of joy or an ignorant rural person.
Like most things in life, there is not one simple answer. Do I consult the Urban Dictionary from time to time? Yes. Would it prevent me from recommending a name to a client? It hasn’t yet. In the few instances where a name had slang associated with it, I chose to ignore it. After all, anyone can submit to the Urban Dictionary. And furthermore, some companies appreciate the free PR (some comments in the Ad Age article note this).
Shakespeare’s Hamlet said, “…there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Shakespeare would not have been a big fan of the Urban Dictionary! I don’t consider it the new “Bible of Branding.”
Another Reason To Hire A Naming Professional
In the UK, Directgov, the sector of the government in charge of educating the public about the government, recently launched a site to explain Britain’s government to small children. It's called "Buster's World," and it features a cute dog named Buster who leads the site's patrons through a plethora of games, videos, and cartoons with the goal of giving children a basic understanding of how the British government works. Unfortunately, when the words "Buster's World" are entered into a search engine, the top result is not a friendly dog educating you about the government, but rather a gay porn fetish site having something to do with balloons (…?). Needless to say, Directgov is in the process of renaming their website.
Hiring a professional naming service such as NameFlash would have nipped this problem in the bud. We check trademarks, domain names and common law usage of the names we recommend, and very simply, this name would not have gotten through our screening process. Few non-professional namers conduct this type of screening and the result can be a disaster that leads to bad PR and the added cost of changing the name and all the materials associated with the name. In this case Directgov had an interesting idea, but clearly dropped the ball in screening, which is a terrible shame, as Buster the dog really is quite cute!
Can Your Brand Pass The “10 Second” Test?
Can Your Brand Pass The "10 Second" Test?
Aflac, the company that uses the duck as its advertising icon, has started a new "You Don't Know Quack" campaign.
Their new campaign challenges NASCAR driver Carl Edwards to explain in 10 seconds how Aflac policies help protect people. Carl's response, obviously scripted, was "If you are sick or hurt, Aflac pays you cash – fast – to help pay for things major medical insurance won't cover – things like car payments, mortgage and more."
Genius!
When I worked in Brand Management, I always tried to reduce the brand's selling proposition to the "elevator speech." In other words, if you only had the length of time involved in an elevator ride to sell your brand, what would you say?
Aflac, with tremendously high name recognition and a unique advertising icon, has used the "elevator speech" technique in its latest commercial. While I am sure the advertising agency creative team hated the idea, it is one of the clearest expositions of a selling message you will find in advertising these days.
Brilliant! Kudos to Aflac!
Why aren't more people doing this?
Here is the press release for the Aflac campaign:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/10-seconds-to-define-aflac-84216102.html
Do Google Codenames Make You Hungry?
Google is using names of sweets for its codenames for Android Operating System versions. Listed alphabetically the names thus far are: 1.5 (Cupcake), 1.6 (Donut), 2.0/2.1 (Éclair) and now, 2.X –to be named Froyo (which means Frozen Yogurt).
Am I the only one who finds this amusing? Some bloggers are actually attacking Google, saying that their codenames are sending the message that "sweets are good for you." Give me a break!
I once used the names of the Seven Dwarfs as codenames for the new products of a cold remedy product. Most of them were logical, such as Sleepy for the non-drowsy variant and Doc was the multi-symptom product. But the President of the company got mad when I named his pet project Dopey (it was a really stupid idea after all).
A few weeks later an internal memorandum was issued on the development of codenames and the requirement for top management approval. So much for creativity in codenames!
Is It Smart To Throw Rocks At Yourself?
HEY EVERYBODY! Our Pizza Tastes Like Cardboard!
Trash Talking Your Own Product
Um…well…yes it does actually, and your sauce tastes like ketchup. That’s why I haven’t eaten your pizza since my daughter's 10th birthday when it snowed 3 feet and you were the only place open.
The new Domino's Pizza ad campaign explains that they listened to consumer feedback and completely redesigned their pizza based on that information. The video clip shows some focus group feedback that is pretty painful. The obvious question is…what took you so long? The pizza had been lousy for years and I am sure focus groups (if you did them) have been telling you that for years!
Nevertheless, the ad begs the question…is it smart to throw rocks at yourself? Competitors have been throwing rocks at Domino's for years…why reinforce that negative image?
The big risk is that your current consumer base obviously likes your pizza, so why radically change it? If you check out some consumer feedback about the new pizza, you will see that many fans of Domino's are not happy by the spicier sauce and garlicky crust.
Will the ads create a ton of interest in trying the "new" pizza? Obviously that is the hope of Domino's. And I am sure some marketing geek has produced a model that shows the benefits outweigh the potential downside.
In this case, I think it is a pretty good move. You cannot stay stagnant in this environment, and Domino's has to continue to grow. You must improve your base product because you can only introduce things like "Breadbowl Pasta" once in a while. I think the general response from non-users of Domino's will be "the pizza can't be any worse that it was." But will it get them to try it?
Is it smart to throw rocks at yourself?
Stephen Colbert's take on this topic! http://bit.ly/7pIn8A
What Happens When A Few Lights Go Out?
This falls into the category of "you can't think of everything when naming…can you?"
Something that will crack me up and usually leave others staring at me is what store signage can spell when the bulbs in some of the letters in the names have burnt out. My personal favorite is from a Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon where somehow the only letters that remained from “Steakhouse and Saloon” were “HO SALOON.” No comments please from people who work at Lone Star as I am not implicating anyone; just thought it was funny!
I’m not saying that you need to evaluate all possible scenarios for burnt out letters in your storefront name—but let’s just say that you might want to keep a large supply of extra light bulbs on hand and check your exterior signage frequently!
Lessons in Branding From Anti Monkey Butt Powder
A few weeks ago I posted a Twitter Poll (Follow me @NameFlash) to gather opinions on Anti Monkey Butt Powder…Good Name or Bad Name? The results indicated that about 70% of people thought Anti Monkey Butt Powder was a bad name.
However, the real learning came from the comments I received about the post. The people who thought it was a bad name were making fun of the name and talking about how they would never buy such a product. The people who thought it was a good name were people who suffered from what might be described as a “chafed butt” due to extended horseback riding, motorcycle riding, or truck driving. Some of the people who responders were actual consumers of the product and were very defensive about the name—they thought it was perfect!
So what is the lesson on branding? I think the owners of Anti Monkey Butt Powder did a terrific job of connecting with their target market—the problem of having a “chafed butt” is not one that everyone has, but if you do have it, you understand what Anti Monkey Butt Powder is designed to do. If you don’t have this problem, then it really doesn’t matter what you think about the name, because you will never buy this product.
I chose Anti Monkey Butt Powder for the Good Name Bad Name poll because I thought it was a fascinating name, and when the passionate responses came in from people who identified with the product, I came to love the name even more!
Naming Confusion
So the owners of this store probably think they have a terrific name for their business: “Kids Exchange.” Well I beg to differ. First of all, what is a kids exchange, anyway? What do you do here? Swap your kids out when you get tired of them or turn them in for cash like those gold-buying places that seem to be cropping up everywhere? A naming professional could have helped prevent this confusion.
However, this picture goes one step further—why did they not put a space between the words “Kids” and “Exchange”? Proper capitalization would have been helpful as well. Not sure why this is a problem? Look at it a bit more closely…there it is. These 12 letters could just as easily spell…Kid Sex Change. I don’t think that’s what the store is about, but who am I to judge? Either way, it’s obvious that not only the name, but also the logo and signage could have benefited from professional help.