Startups have a bad habit of using intentionally misspelled names. This is not a new trend, but the fact that it continues shows their ignorance of the science of branding. Crunchbase looked at names of recently founded startups and showed that founders are still using offbeat spelling in their company names (https://news.crunchbase.com/startups/offbeat-misspelled-names-ai-skild-lyft/).

A 2023 study at The Ohio State University (https://news.osu.edu/unconventional-spellings-are-a-badd-choyce-for-brand-names/) showed that deliberate misspelling of a brand name was almost always a bad idea. One example used the name Clear and Klear for a seltzer, and Clear was overwhelmingly preferred. Researchers concluded that “Results showed that participants thought the unconventional spelling was a gimmick or marketing tactic designed to make the brand seem cool or trendy. They also thought it made the brand seem less sincere – less honest, down-to-earth and wholesome.”

There were exceptions though. The researchers found that deliberately misspelling words can work in some limited cases, such as when the reason for selecting the name is seen as sincere, or when consumers are seeking a memorable experience. In one study, the researchers found that a bar called “Xtra Chilld Lounge” did appeal to consumers looking for a fun, memorable evening.

In my experience, when you use intentionally misspelled names, you create a “mind puzzle” with your branding. Consumer reaction to the mind puzzle ranges from “rejection to acceptance to confusion.” If your misspelling is seen as trivial (such as Klear versus Clear), then the consumers seem to reject it. If your misspelling is clever (but not confusing), the customer will often spend time trying to figure out why the name was chosen, which can lead to higher recall of the name later and positive attributions to the product. The consumer might enjoy the mind puzzle if they don’t have to work too hard to get your point. When consumers solve the puzzle, they will then have a sense of accomplishment because they were able to figure it out. However, when you go too far, consumers may just get frustrated and confused and move on. Finding the sweet spot of intentional misspelling is not easy!

The lesson here is that intentional misspelling is not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but what is important is how the target customer relates to the name and the product itself. Misspelling for the sake of misspelling (or domain acquisition) can be bad, but if the name makes the target customer curious about a product and willing to investigate it further, then misspelling can be good.

Many years ago, the prevailing position was that light to moderate drinking, especially wine, provided a wide range of health benefits. Recent research has shown that any amount of drinking is bad for you. Which research do you believe?

As reported in Wine Spectator, a new study sought to resolve that conundrum. The study was published in JAMA (August 12) and was conducted by researchers based at Harvard and other institutions. It examined data from over 135,000 current drinkers over the age of 60 in the U.K. The findings indicated that healthy adults from wealthier areas suffered no additional health risks from moderate drinking and those who drink wine with food even enjoyed better health. However, for those adults with existing health problems from poorer areas, the researchers found that any alcohol posed serious health risks.

I’m sure the fact that healthy adults who live in wealthier areas have better health outcomes than unhealthy adults who live in poorer areas is not much of a surprise. Wealthy individuals have the money and resources to eat a better diet and generally have better access to healthcare.

And call me skeptical, but the highlighting of “even better health outcomes for those who drink wine with food” is not surprising in an article from Wine Spectator.

Wine Spectator walks a fine line and does not say that drinking is good for you. But they strongly imply that it isn’t bad for you either. I think there is some selective use of data in their reporting!

My local BJ’s brochure advertised sales on these drink products:

I did a double take – were these the same brand or owned by the same company? Very similar names and colors.

Turns out they are different products owned by different companies. I investigated the trademark status of these names and found that they both are registered trademarks:

Both offer very similar products in the drink category (C4 has a powdered drink mix). They are registered in different International Classes, but the similarity of the marks is what is important and from a trademark standpoint C4 and 4C would be considered to be very similar.

I’m not questioning the trademark office, but I am questioning the management of C4. When they filed, they had to be aware of 4C (check the registration dates above). Why would you launch a product with a nearly identical name/branding to a competitor?

Jeep Exploits This Strategy To Make Its Plug-In Hybrid More Accessible

Last month I wrote a full debrief of the “Same But Different” naming strategy that McDonalds^TM is using with its CosMc’s beverage-focused chain. https://nameflash.com/2024/01/the-brilliance-of-same-but-different-as-a-naming-strategy/ I provided the science behind use of this strategy (and it is plentiful), but the TL; DR summary is familiarity breeds comfort when it comes to names of new ventures.

Recently Jeep^TM used the “Same But Different” strategy to launch its plug-in hybrid line “4 X e.” Even the clever logo design reinforces the plug-in aspect.

What Jeep is leveraging is decades of “4 X 4” communication. The public is so very comfortable with “4 X 4” as a moniker that putting a slight twist to it causes some people to notice the change. The replacement of the second “4” with “e” is a way to leverage that level of comfort into plug-in hybrids.

Even though I identified the “Same But Different” naming strategy in action, I am not a fan of its application here. “4 X 4” communicates a very specific quality of the vehicle. “4 X 4” indicates a system in which a vehicle’s engine powers all 4 wheels evenly with the end benefit of being able to get traction in messy situations like snow or off-road. “4 X e” twists that into something different.

Are these new Jeeps no longer 4 X 4? Have they reduced the effectiveness of the “4 X 4” capability of the plug-in hybrid Jeep? In other words, are “4 X e” vehicles less capable than regular Jeeps? If that creeps into the minds of consumers, this innovation is doomed!

Personal Branding Is Not Just For Influencers — You Need It Too!

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com

I know, not another article on personal branding!

Here is a different way to think about it. “Personal Branding” is just a shortcut description of the process of figuring out who you are, what you stand for, how you interact with others, and where you are going in the future. I think everyone would agree that those are critically important things to understand and communicate. And that is what personal branding can do for you!

Personal branding is essential for leaders who want to be successful in their business efforts. Establishing a clear, concise, and compelling personal brand can enhance your trust and credibility, which can help in raising money or attracting public interest in your business. A strong personal brand can enable you to stand out from the crowd and establish yourself as an expert in your community. Finally, having a strong personal brand can lead to superior networking possibilities.

Building a personal brand may seem challenging, but it is actually a very simple process. This process mirrors the one I would use to develop a brand strategy when I was working at a top consumer products company. Here is the 5-step process for developing a personal brand:

1. Identify your most important target audience.
2. Define your role in your area of expertise.
3. Communicate your meaningful point of difference.
4. Provide the most important reason why one should believe this point of difference.
5. Express your brand personality.

Let’s cover each step of the process in detail. Then I’ll show you how to put it together in a Personal Brand Positioning Statement that can be a touchstone for how to present yourself to the world.

TARGET AUDIENCE

While it is true that your personal brand will be exposed to everyone, you should not consider “everyone” to be your Target Audience. An effective leader will tailor his/her brand to the Target Audience that is most relevant.

Seth Godin is a marketing genius, and his book This Is Marketing contains an entire chapter dedicated to finding “The Smallest Viable Market” for your business, product, or service. Seth advocates starting small. Here are some relevant quotes from Chapter 4 of his book:

· “The relentless pursuit of mass will make you boring, because mass means average, it means the center of the curve, it requires you to offend no-one and satisfy everyone.”

· “Instead of trying to reach everyone,” he says, “we should seek to reach the smallest viable audience and delight them so thoughtfully and fully that they tell others.”

· “‘It’s not for you’ shows the ability to respect someone enough that you’re not going to waste their time, pander to them, or insist that they change their beliefs. It shows respect for those you seek to serve, to say to them, ‘I made this for you. Not for the other folks, but for you.’”

Consider the most relevant niche market for your personal brand and don’t be afraid to start small!

Here is an example. A few years ago, I hired a handyman to install a new garage door opener. He did a fantastic job. I was so impressed by his dedication to the quality of his work that I tried to get him to help me with some other projects. And even though these projects were well within his skillset he told me no, that he only did garage door openers. He said that focusing on garage door openers was enough to keep him busy, and because that was all he did he could delve into the intricacies of different manufacturers and models, to enable him to install all types of openers with ease. He truly was an expert in this niche, and I have recommended him to others who need to have a garage door opener installed. But don’t ask him to do anything else!

ROLE & AREA OF EXPERTISE

What do you call yourself? Are you a consultant? Are you a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer? Are you an expert in a specific field? Answer the question: What do you do?

Where do you operate? Consider geography if geography is important (e.g., a local plumber). Consider the scope of your operations (e.g., if you own a limousine are you in the transportation business or are you in the wedding party business or the bachelor party or prom business?).

The goal is to be able to communicate what you do in your area of expertise with just a few words. It could be as simple as “I’m a CPA who specializes in small business taxes.”

MEANINGFUL POINT OF DIFFERENCE

What is your unique “special sauce” that you, and only you, provide. Your Point of Difference should be the most compelling and motivating benefit that you can own in the hearts and minds of your Target Audience.

The word own is bolded and italicized because that is critically important. To establish a strong positioning in the marketplace, you must have a compelling and motivating benefit that you can own.

Here is a 3-step process to identify your Point of Difference:

Identify aspects of your product or service that your competitors cannot imitate. Put a star beside anything that cannot be easily duplicated, reproduced, or copied.
Decide what emotional need is being specifically met by your product or service. Think about this from the perspective of your Target Audience and add it to your list.
Answer the question your customers are asking: “What’s in it for me?” Make it to the point and state it as a benefit to the customer. Such as:

• Target: “Expect more. Pay less.”
• U.S. Peace Corp: “The toughest job you’ll ever love.”
• M&M’s: “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”
• FedEx: “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.”

Your Point of Difference should be so clear that it stands out in a field of competing voices. For example, if my water heater dies, I’m calling “Mr. Water Heater” who offers “same day service.”

REASON WHY

Tell me why I should believe the meaningful Point of Difference. Provide evidence to support your claim. You could offer proof (over 1000 satisfied clients) or endorsement (recommended by Good Housekeeping or Angi) or expertise (only Bill Smith has served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate) or explanation (I’ve worked with disadvantaged youth since 1995 and have personally ensured that more than 100 have graduated from college) or even reviews (cite comments from people who have worked with you in the past).

BRAND PERSONALITY

Personality is all about how you will interact with your Target Audience. Personality humanizes your brand in the eyes of your Target Audience.

The traditional way to develop your Brand Personality is to describe your brand as a person. In other words, if you walked into the room, how would someone describe you? Is this the way you wish to be perceived? If not, consider how you might change your personality.

For example, in the comparison between Apple and Microsoft, Apple would be a young, hip, creative type and Microsoft would be an older, mature professional type. In fact, this difference was visualized in the famous “Mac versus PC” ads (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eEG5LVXdKo).

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Once you have done the work on each component, you should put them together in a Personal Brand Positioning Statement. Here is how I would do it:

To (TARGET AUDIENCE), I am a (ROLE & AREA OF EXPERTISE) that (MEANINGFUL POINT OF DIFFERENCE) because (REASON WHY). My brand personality is (BRAND PERSONALITY).

As an example, here is a Brand Positioning Statement for a small business CPA:

To owners of small businesses (under $1 million in sales), I am a CPA/tax preparer who is uniquely qualified to assist small businesses in tax preparation because I have 25+ years of experience in small business tax preparation and have a long list of satisfied clients. My brand personality is competence as evidenced by being intelligent and highly skilled, reliable in delivering results on time and within budget, and hard working (I work until the client is happy).

FINAL THOUGHTS

Personal Branding is an essential tool for business professionals to use to communicate who you are, what you stand for, how you interact with others, and where you are going in the future. A clear, concise, and compelling personal brand can supercharge your career, lead to immense personal growth, and maximize the impact you have in your areas of influence.

A lot of new businesses have jumped on the “Name It So Google Can Find It” #naming trend. Here are a few examples:

Thai Food Near Me™ (https://www.thaifoodnearmenyc.com/)

Barber Shop Near Me ™ (https://www.barbershopnearmecoralsprings.com/)

Plumber Near Me ™ (https://plumbernearmerva.com/)

Launching your business with an SEO-driven name can be a powerful marketing tool, as long as there aren’t other companies with similar names. Google will even help with your marketing efforts, as the autofill feature often suggests “near me” as an appendage to a search term.

HT to The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23931825/google-search-local-seo-thai-food-near-me-maps

Name generation is easier if you decide on the type of name you want before you start developing names

Source: Author All Rights Reserved

Before you start thinking about a new name for your business, product, or service, you should pause and think about what type of name you want. I developed the chart above in conjunction with a trademark attorney. It classifies names into 5 different categories and notes the trademark strength of each (trademark strength improves from left to right) . Let’s examine the categories (from left to right).

GENERIC NAMES

Generic names are not ownable. They are not trademarkable. They offer no real insight into what your product can do. In short, generic names are useless. And yet many entrepreneurs want to develop generic names.

Stop it please. I understand that a generic name like Hotels.com communicates a class of products/services, and therefore seemingly implies ownership of that class of products/services. In reality, the opposite is true.

Consider the efforts brands like Kleenex or Band-Aid or even Google undertake to avoid becoming generic names that indicate a category. The reason they do this is simple: If you become generic, you lose the trademark. Here are a few examples of brand names that have lost their trademarks because they became generic: linoleum, cellophane, zipper, trampoline, dumpster, escalator, laundromat, and even aspirin were all once trademarked product names that have become generic names.

Never seek a generic name!

DESCRIPTIVE NAMES

One step up the trademark scale are descriptive names. Sometimes trademarks are possible for descriptive names. Sometimes they are not. Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut rule to clarify this dilemma. But I have seen many descriptive names get bounced by the US Trademark Office.

Entrepreneurs love descriptive names. The main reason is entrepreneurs feel that having a name that describes what the product is or what it does is like getting free advertising. And that may be true. Unfortunately, most of the other entrepreneurs in your space had the same idea.

Here is an example. If you have developed a new food chopping device that enables you to chop food into smaller pieces faster, then you may want to name this product “Fast Chop” because “fast chopping” is the main benefit of the product. In doing so, you may believe that you will save money on advertising because every package of the product is a descriptive billboard that communicates the main product benefit!

Unfortunately, you may be failing to consider that the competitive set consists of products called EZ Chop, Speed Chop, QuickChop, TurboChop, etc. Nobody is going to notice your “Fast Chop” product even if the name is prominent on the package. Any advertising that is done will be wasted as well. Consumers may think the product is great, but when they get to the shelf, they will be confused by all the similar names and similar products.

Is a descriptive name a good idea? Possibly. Here is how I would decide. Get the names of up to 10 competitors of your product. Then place them on the graphic of the spectrum presented at the beginning. If your competition clusters around descriptive names, then you should avoid that area because you will never stand out versus the competition. If, on the other hand, your competition is concentrated in the fanciful or coined names area, a descriptive name might be welcomed by your target audience.

SUGGESTIVE NAMES

I’ll admit I’m biased, but I consider suggestive names to be the trademark sweet spot. They are usually trademarkable. They often suggest some benefits of your product or service. They have the potential to be differentiated against the competition.

And they can become quite powerful brand names. Consider these examples:

· Twitter — The dictionary defines Twitter as: A light, but frequent chatter from birds. Isn’t that a perfect name for a social media network designed to encourage brief conversation? (BTW don’t get me started on the switch to X!).

· Dove — Dove: A delicate bird with a soft cooing call. A perfect name for a gentle skin care line?

· Pampers — Pamper: Indulge every comfort and kindness. Isn’t that perfect for your baby?

The reason I like suggestive names is they create a “mind puzzle” with your branding. When the name is somewhat ambiguous, the customer will then have to find a way to make the connection between the name and the product. Often the customer will spend time trying to figure out why the name was chosen, which can lead to higher recall of the name later and positive attributions to the product. If you use a slightly ambiguous name, the consumer might actually enjoy the “mind puzzle” and won’t have to work too hard to get your point. When consumers solve the puzzle, they will then have a sense of accomplishment because they were able to figure it out.

ARBITRARY NAMES

Arbitrary names are another wonderful option. In this case you use a real word but use it out of context. Examples include Apple, Nike, and Amazon. In each case, the name is a real word that can be found in the dictionary, but the intended meaning of the brand name is different from the dictionary meaning.

They are a little more subtle than a suggestive name. A suggestive name’s meaning is closely aligned with a product benefit. An arbitrary name is not (although company founders often rationalize the name choice with a far-fetched story). Steve Jobs named the company Apple because he liked the fruit. Later, a backstory was developed to suggest the name Apple was a good fit for the brand positioning because Apple products are “fun, spirited and not intimidating.”

Arbitrary names require additional advertising and PR support to establish the linkage to product benefits. But in the end, they can be very strong brand names.

FANCIFUL NAMES

Fanciful names are the trademark attorney’s dream date and the marketer’s nightmare.

Names that are made up (like Exxon, Kodak, or Pixar) are the easiest to get trademarked because they have little competition. But they are a marketer’s nightmare because they require a substantial investment to generate meaning.

As a name developer, I love the freedom that fanciful names allow. But honestly, they are usually a difficult sale to a client (unless of course the client thought of it first!). Trying to convince a CEO that a random name makes sense for the product is never easy. And consumer testing of fanciful names is particularly frustrating because consumers have no context for the name and often rank fanciful names well below more traditional choices.

Despite the shortcomings, if you have the opportunity to launch a breakthrough fanciful name you can be perceived as innovative and forward thinking. If your situation allows fanciful names, you should consider them!

SUMMARY

In reality, 4 out of 5 of these categories of names will work (please say no to generic names). Obviously, you may have a personal preference for one category and if you want that type of name then go for it! Just be careful about the influence of existing competitive names.

Here is a visual way to demonstrate the competitive issue. In the three groups of circles shown below, the circle in the center is always the same size. However, as you can see, the center circle looks smaller or larger based upon the size of the other circles surrounding it. The group of circles on the right has six similarly sized circles, and you can see how it is impossible to distinguish one from another. It is far better to be the outlier, such as the center circle in the first two groups of circles.

Don’t be like the group of circles on the right. Make sure you choose the type of name that will help you stand out from your competitors.

Choose the type of name you want before you start brainstorming! It will make your task easier!