Marketing
Domain Considerations vs Strategic Name Development
I have been approached numerous times about developing a name “…with a .com domain available and no more than 6 letters” or something like that.
Limiting the number of letters and requiring a .com domain means you will end up with a random letter name/domain such as ksnhent.com (which is available!).
Clients who insist on making domain availability the primary reason for choosing a name are making a huge mistake.
A far better approach is to hone your brand’s strategy and test it with consumers until you find the positioning that is going to make all the difference in your business, then develop a name based on that positioning.
David Ogilvy once said “The results of your campaign depend less on how we write your advertising than on how your product is positioned.” The same is true for your name. Spend time developing a positioning that rings the bell with consumers and then go find the perfect name that brings that positioning to life.
Sound like a difficult thing to do? Not really. I know I am biased by my 25+ years of experience in building great consumer brands, but this task is not difficult. Time consuming? Yes. At times painful? Yes. Expensive? Could be. But in the end, the process of honing the brand positioning and using that as a basis for name development will pay dividends for years to come.
The one downside is, it is unlikely that a name based on a strategic foundation will have a short .com domain available. However, you can add modifiers to the beginning or end of the name to get a .com domain.
Here is an example. Let’s say you have developed a strategically based name of “Regal” for your brand name. Of course, www.regal.com is already taken. But here are a few ideas for domains that are available for a minimal cost:
HeyRegal.com
BestRegal.com
RegalQuick.com
RegalForever.com
RegalAllDay.com
RegalCalling.com
RegalEtc.com
HelloRegal.com
RegalForAll.com
Marketing Euphemisms – Clean Wine
eu·phe·mism
/ˈyo͞ofəˌmizəm/
noun
a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
We all know a euphemism when we see it (e.g., being downsized instead of being fired; a correctional facility instead of a jail).
Sometimes marketers get a bit carried away in creating euphemisms to enhance their story. For example, consider the term “clean wine.” The Wonderful Wine Co. is trying to latch onto the “clean diet” trend by calling their wine “clean wine.” Here is how they define a “clean wine”:
• PESTICIDE-FREE
• VEGAN
• LOW CARB
• LOW SUGAR
• PALEO
• KETO
• LOW SULFITE
• SUSTAINABLY-FARMED
• ORGANIC GRAPES (Grapes are certified organic by the CCOF whenever possible)
We’ve had wines produced in sustainable fashion using organic grapes that meets these attributes for a while now, so clearly “clean wine” is a marketing euphemism that lacks uniqueness.
Furthermore, they advertise that their wine tastes like:
• TASTES LIKE DOLPHIN RIDES AND BEING PROMOTED TO HEAD ASTRONAUT
• TASTES LIKE SHOOTING STARS, LONG NAPS, AND FINDING TWENTY BUCKS
• TASTES LIKE MAGIC HOUR, BEING RIGHT, AND BEATING THE HIGH SCORE
Trying too hard to sound trendy? I think so.
Hurricane Names
Today I learned that, after Hurricane Sally, the next named hurricane will be named Teddy. Hurricane Teddy? And to make matters worse, the two after that will be named Hurricane Vicky and Hurricane Wilfred. Here is the official list of hurricane names. https://geology.com/hurricanes/hurricane-names.shtml
With all due respect to people named Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred, I don’t think those are appropriate names for a hurricane. If Hurricane Teddy ends up being a destructive hurricane, the name itself will prevent people from taking it seriously. Who is going to evacuate in the face of Hurricane Teddy?
I think hurricanes should be named after supervillains. If you head that Hurricane Apocalypse (Apocalypse was a fictional supervillain appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics) was heading your way, I bet you would take that threat seriously.
But Hurricane Teddy? Hurricane Wilfred? I bet you’d take your chances and try to ride it out.
BACD = Pay Attention To Me
I recently purchased some bar stools from Wayfair. As many of you know, much of the furniture sold on Wayfair requires assembly, and these bar stools were no exception. As a proficient assembler of IKEA furniture, I figured I could handle it.
I started out by taking everything out of the box, and reading the assembly instructions. There were 4 legs, two marked A and two marked B (all 4 legs looked to be identical). There were four side supports, two marked C and two marked D. The seat was marked E.
I assumed that the first step in the instructions would involve the legs marked A, but I was wrong. The first step said to mount the legs marked B into the base E. Why start with the legs marked B? Was this just a bad translation of foreign language instructions?
I’ll give the designers more credit than that. In fact, they may have been leveraging a type of cognitive bias. Face it, when things go as you expect them to go, you pay less attention. However, when the instructions start with Leg B instead of Leg A, you read the instructions more closely.
This bias is also useful in name development. Entrepreneurs love descriptive names. A food processor that does a fast job of chopping up food gets named “Fast Chop.” Entrepreneurs think this makes life easier because they do not have to spend money to advertise the benefits of their product…the name says it all!
In reality, “Fast Chop” gets lost in a sea of competitive products with similar names (“Quick Chop” or “Turbo Chop”). To stand out you need a name that is different and causes the consumer to stop and notice. In other words, you often need to put the assembly instructions in BACD order!
Here is a visual way to demonstrate the 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. If you want to stand out, it is far better to be the outlier, such as the center circle in the first two groups of circles.
Tell Me A Story
Smart marketers know how to tell a story. One of Seth Godin’s early books, All Marketers Are Liars, explains the use of storytelling as a marketing tool. It is proven to work.
If you want to up the degree of difficulty, try cueing a story with your name. It is not an easy thing to do. But a good marketer should be able to use the product name as an entry into a story.
Here is an example of how one of our clients did that.
This client was importing a spice liqueur from Goa, India, to the US, and hired NameFlash to develop a name. The recipe for the liqueur is an old family recipe developed centuries ago in a remote village in central Portugal, and includes sugar from Brazil, spices from Asia, and Portuguese fruit, which are then all steeped in strong spirit until the liqueur matures. The resulting dark amber spirit has a unique taste all of its own – it opens with top notes of cardamom, cinnamon and orange, and you slowly get hints of turmeric, cloves and other spices as the taste lingers on the palate.
This liqueur is more complex than Fireball® (cinnamon whiskey) but given the rapid growth of Fireball® to a multimillion-dollar brand, it might have been tempting to develop a similar brand name. However, in working with the client, we developed a storyline that gave this product a unique home in the liqueur universe.
The diverse ingredients in the liqueur emerged from the global explorations of the Portuguese Empire which included the Spice Islands, Brazil, parts of Africa and Western India. Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, was the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, thereby establishing a new Spice Route to India’s southwestern coast. This part of India was known as the Malabar Coast, and as trade developed, it became one of the most powerful regions of India.
We recommended that the client name the product Malabar. Malabar is an exotic name that conjures up images of kingdoms ruled by maharajas, and the history of the Malabar Coast is aligned with the development of the recipe for this product. With a strong historical base and powerful imagery, we felt we had a winner. And the client has taken the name and further developed the story around the product on its website. The product has launched and is available in selected states (www.drinkmalabar.com).
The Perils of Portmanteau Names
A portmanteau is a linguistic blend of words in which parts of multiple words are combined into a new word. Common language examples include smog, which is a combination of the words smoke and fog, and motel which combines motor and hotel.
Some big companies used the portmanteau technique to develop their names. Microsoft is a portmanteau of microcomputer and software. Groupon combines group and coupon.
However, sometimes companies refuse to admit that their portmanteau name doesn’t work.
Consider this manufacturer of pool maintenance products.
Yes, I get that they slammed “pool” and “life” together to get their name, but no matter how many times you look at this name it is hard to not see “Poo Life” isn’t it? And who wants to live a “poo life” anyway?
Here is another one. Yes, I see what they did here by combining “smart” and “tours.” But step away from the page for a second and look at it…what the heck is a “smar Tour” (or did you mean “smarT ours)?
Portmanteau names can be very good when the combination makes sense. But you have to have some common sense (as in most things in life). Combining words together to make a brand name can work or can look very stupid. Don’t be stupid!
The Science of Branding: 20 Proven Ways To Make Better Branding Decisions
The Perils of Naming Contests
Naming contests. Sounds like a good idea, right? A company needs a new name and it decides to engage its employees to come up with a new name. What could go wrong? Continue reading
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!
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!
"Better Branding Through Science"
