Scooped: Renaming the Swine Flu

Aaron Hall — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:40:45 +0000

A friend of a friend put together a hilarious and clever site called Rename the Swine Flu. Looks like my blog post earlier this week was no match for Zach’s fun site. I think his site’s popularity is all because of his logo. How cute is that?! (Well, okay there’s a lot more going on than just the cute logo!)

Here are just a few of the submissions that I give my professional namer’s official stamp of approval:

Mad Sow Disease
The Baconic Plague
Porky’s Revenge
SowMenella
Swinus infection
Snout Gout
Pigpendemic

Taking Advantage of a Crisis: Marketers Should Avoid Over-Hyping Around Trends

Burt Alper — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:00:57 +0000

I spoke with a reporter from the Dallas Morning News last week. He wrote a fantastic column on the surge of marketing directed at combating the swine flu pandemic.

There’s a quote from me about resisting the temptation to be trendy. Naming consultants above all need to be wary of this temptation. Any new brand name that keys on a temporary trend risks becoming obsolete as soon as that trend fades away. This is particularly true in technology, where things can change in a heartbeat. But whatever the category, brand names need to have the flexibility to grow with your company (or product) over time.

catchword » healthcare naming

Scooped: Renaming the Swine Flu

Taking Advantage of a Crisis: Marketers Should Avoid Over-Hyping Around Trends