Linguistic and cultural appropriateness are important factors when launching a global brand. We all know about the Chevy Nova. Naming a car with a word which means “doesn’t go” in Spanish is probably not the best idea (although we’ll dispel this naming myth later.) But the point is valid: If you are launching a global brand, you will want to conduct some level of linguistic and cultural screening on your new name candidates.

Good naming firms have the ability to test names in any language globally, for linguistic AND cultural appropriateness. And really stellar naming specialists will be able to test names with native speakers who actually reside in the respective countries. This becomes particularly important when testing for current slang, recent cultural snafus, and coexisting brand names.

Which languages matter most? Make a list and rank the importance of various languages/countries where your brand will be marketed. You might ask yourself: “If my name is unpronounceable or has a negative meaning in Punjabi, but works great in all of my other target languages, would I still launch it?”

The most typical languages to test for linguistic and cultural appropriates include: UK English, French, Italian, German, Spanish; Japanese, Mandarin, and Cantonese. If you’re going by the sheer number of speakers, you could also include Arabic, Korean, Tagalog, and Hindi in the mix.

This is part nine in a ten-part CatchThis series. Check back every Monday morning for subsequent naming tips. Check out previous Naming Tips here.

For more on the on the Nova urban legend, keep reading.

Now, let us dispel the Chevy Nova myth for good. Legend says Chevy made a huge blunder by using a car name that could be translated as “doesn’t go” in Spanish speaking countries. The car flopped and Chevy had to change the name. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, that’s because it isn’t true. Chevy successfully sold the Nova in several Latin American countries for years, and was never forced to change the name because of a decrease in sales. Don’t believe us? Then check it out on Snopes.

“No Va” (Spanish meaning “doesn’t go”) is very different in the minds of Spanish speakers than the word “nova” (Latin for “new”). Speakers are adept at distinguishing between a foreign word and a similar word in their own language. What’s more, two separate words are easily recognized as different than a compound. For example, a furniture store called Notable Furniture would never be mistaken as “No Table.”

I am happily addicted to caffeine – until I skip my normal morning dose. There follows an inevitable sluggishness and an afternoon headache. As this is immediately cured by a cup of coffee I haven’t seen much reason in the last few years to quit. Scientific findings oscillate between praise for coffee’s health benefits and the risks or detrimental effects on the body. I usually stick to reading the good findings, but this recent article in the NY Times provides a nice synopsis.

Product branding is starting to pick up on the “good for you” aspects of coffee that attempt to shift the beverage from an indulgent vice into the medicinal cure-all. Some relatively new products highlight coffee that incorporates supplements or that is specially roasted for unique health benefits. The product branding of Caffe Botanica communicates the health of the harvest and is infused with calcium while GanoDerma draws on the Latin name of the Reishi mushrooms that are included in its special recipe (and perhaps unintentionally, that it is good for the skin). Caffe Sanora gets the roots of its name in “sano” which means healthy in Spanish. This Boulder, Colorado roasting company, claims its roasting process keeps anti-oxidants in beans that will help keep you young while getting what you need to get through the day.

For now I’m happy to take my coffee with milk and no mushrooms, but you never know which new branding gimmick is going to catch on next.

Everyone loves an epiphany. Unfortunately, expecting an epiphany from a naming process is usually a bad idea. It’s common to want to fall in love with a single name candidate that communicates all of your desired messages, that is legally available, and that has an available dot-com. But expecting this to happen on your first viewing of any name can lead to heartache and disappointment. Murphy’s Law of Naming says that if you fall in love with a name before the lawyers have given their nod of approval, that name will be unavailable to you.

The solution is simple: Keep several promising names under consideration. Once your lawyers give you the green light, and the dot-com issues have been settled, then you can pick your final name candidate. Choosing before you know all the facts can be dangerous.

The problem with falling in love with one name, or even with ranking a few names in order of preference, is a psychological one as much as it is logistical. If, for some reason, you’ve ranked your names and your lawyers rule out the top “favorite,” you may be left with a name that you consider to be “second best.” Naming specialists see the fall-out from this misguided strategy all the time. In order to distinguish between a first, second, and third ranking, clients often find (or create) unjustified or unfair concerns with names. Then, if the second name gets the nod, it just doesn’t seem as good anymore.

The rule of thumb is to always keep a group of names under consideration and on a level playing field, until after the lawyers have given their nod of approval. Once you have the all-mighty legal blessing, then, and only then, can you pick your favorite final name candidate!

This is part eight in a ten-part CatchThis series. Check back every Monday morning for subsequent naming tips. Check out previous Naming Tips here.

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is in the market for a new name after being affectionately and famously known as SLAC for 46 years. The Energy Department, which funds SLAC, wants a name that can be trademarked (and which will better reflect its new emphasis on particle astrophysics and photon science) — but Stanford University won’t allow the use of its name in the trademark.

Some critics of the change compare it to a “major mid-life crisis,” and even wonder if SLAC will soon be referred to as the “center formerly known as SLAC.” Researchers are worried that a new name will be less attractive to prospective scientific talent and confuse the general public that has grown accustomed to the name for the huge facility. Others say there hasn’t been any accelerator activity there for years, and it’s about time for a name change.

What to do? SLAC’s staff members have been asked to contribute suggestions for the new name, which must be approved by Stanford’s president and the Department of Energy. One of the most obvious solutions is to replace the word “Stanford” with another word that starts with an “S” (such as nearby “Sand” Hill Road), thereby retaining the acronym SLAC. Or, simply eliminate the expanded form of the acronym altogether, as in the case of SRI International (the former Stanford Research Institute).

Getting a professional naming firm in on the action probably wouldn’t be such a bad idea. But you can also submit your name change suggestions to the SLAC community here.

When a professional namer stumbles across a gem of a new name like Diaroogle — a search engine “for the discerning, on-the-go defecator who is brave enough to use a public bathroom” — there is simply no alternative to obsessively creating alternative name candidates.

So, working on the assumption that the name must graphically convey bodily function AND rip off Google, we humbly submit these for your Friday afternoon enjoyment: Google-loo, Loogle, NumberToogle, Poogle, Canoogle, Poopoogle. Going to check domain availability now, so I can launch my competitive site.

Not long ago, it would have been far-fetched to consider a Safeway brand synonymous with “certified organic.” But the last few years have seen a mainstreaming of organic products across the board, and in-store brands are finally getting a little panache – right down to brand name creation.

Two of Safeway’s store brands, O Organics and Eating Right, found immediate success from their debut. These product brands speak to people who are looking for healthier foods that are still good deal. (And who isn’t these days?) O Organics sales reached $150 million when it launched in 2005 and increased to $400 million in 2008 while Eating Right is expected to bring in $200 million this year. In a highly unusual move, these brands soon will be showing up in competitive supermarkets, as well, in the hopes that Safeway can further expand revenues.

In-store brands are generally cheaper than outside food brands, because of lower marketing overhead. But in this case, a little added branding focus has gone a long way. O Organics, for example, is an excellent product brand name. The O, like the numeral for zero, is a transparent communication of purity, telegraphing natural, unprocessed food. Eating Right is also effective in its straightforwardness. We all know that we’re supposed to be “eating right” and the name for this line of products communicates an easy way to follow this common advice.

It will be interesting to see if other grocery stores follow in Safeway’s footsteps — increasing their naming and branding efforts, more effectively competing against national brands, and then broadening their sales scope to include other grocery chains.

Catchword recently named a new bottled water from Canada (Eska). Like most of our names, this brand has an interesting tie to the key differentiator of the product: namely that the water is filtered by an esker into super-pure drinking water. But enough about the name...

What's really cool is that the company was just featured in the New York Times and has recently launched a new, really informative web site that challenges many of the common assumptions in the water business.

The water is only available in Canada right now, but I know I'll be checking it out once it hits the States.

Don’t be afraid to be BOLD. Distinguish yourself from your competitors; don’t imitate them. You think everyone felt comfortable with the name Virgin? Of course not. But it stood out and had a great story to tell. A name’s edginess can play to its advantage by signaling a brand that’s different and game changing.

Embrace the dark side! No, seriously. Most juicy words have a lot of connotations – positive, negative, neutral – depending on the context. Just because a good name has a dark side, that isn’t a reason to kill it. Just be sure that there’s enough “good” left in the name. (Even Darth Vader had good qualities deep down inside!) As long as your name’s negative associations don’t completely overshadow its positive ones, the edginess will likely help you stand out and be remembered. And remember: most consumers aren’t spending their time at the store thinking of all the negative associations that come to mind with any given product name. Context can help steer their perceptions in the right direction.

This is part seven in a ten-part CatchThis series. Check back every Monday morning for subsequent naming tips. Check out previous Naming Tips here.

Yet another embarrassing article on baby naming fiascos. (If you don't want to read the article, here's the gist: dad (Mr. Jones) names new baby "Dow" while mom is sleeping after giving birth. Previous child, Indiana, thinks it will all work out fine.)

I'll at least give these folks credit for spunk. Still a mound of demerits for abusive behavior. And do you really want to be married to a guy who, on a dare, does something so stupid and so permanent while you're still recovering from labor? File for the name change, then file for divorce.

These people are seriously making me rethink my second rule of baby naming ("don't tell people what names you are considering before the child is named"). In this case, PLEASE, tell someone so they can talk you out of it. Then, get a clue. Or hire a naming consultant -- maybe in that order.

Clients often ask us, “Now that I have a new company name, what’s next?” There’s still much to do, from announcing your name internally and externally to handling legal and administrative details. Catchword has developed a document called "Launching Your New Company Name" to help guide you through key elements of the process.

Here are a few excerpts from the section on Internal Communications. You can download the whole thing in PDF form here.

Once you've changed your company name, don't forget to:

If you find you need professional help, give us a call. We have strong relationships with firms that specialize in highly effective name launches.

Next Friday: External Communications

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Tea for what ails you. Tea to help you fall in love (no promises here, at least not in that potential-lawsuit false advertising way). Tea for relaxing in the evening and getting wired in the morning. Tea that makes you (seem) spiritual. Product branding has converged with poetry in the exploding tea market, and I’ve been noticing names that fall far beyond what the creators of “Constant Comment” ever dreamed. Specialty teas are making sure to separate themselves from the fray with names that stray far from simple descriptive naming. Care for some “Iron Goddess of Mercy” or Temple of Heaven”?

The Bay Area’s own Numi Tea can offer you an evocative cup of “Moonlight Spice” (White Orange Spice) and maybe later you’ll meet the “Monkey King” (who tastes like Jasmine Green Tea). “Indian Night” is meant to transport you from your kitchen – under the power of a single teabag. These names speak to us in terms of interesting and exotic associations, but also of the quality of the product.

Celestial Seasonings is the classic cardboard box found in cupboards across America, a company name that is familiar and comforting. In an attempt to update its image new trademarked teas have been introduced with product names like “Morning Thunder”, “Fast Lane Black Tea” and “Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai”. These tea names get at an American sweet tooth and driving need for caffeine, but they are also catchy and evocative.

Unique company names are the first step in conveying that the product is much more than some plants you pour boiling water on. I’m a fan of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, a company name that momentarily includes me in a romantic take on gypsy life. (They make “Love Tea” blended with tiny rose buds.) Mighty Leaf, another producer of fine teas, presents the juxtaposition of a diminutive tea “leaf” with the image of mighty muscles. This appealing and unexpected combination draws you in with the expectation that the tea will also be out of the ordinary and packs a punch that its competitors don’t.

This is great! I laughed. I cried. All of us in the creative field feel this poor designer's pain. We've all been there once or twice.