September 24, 2014
“The day the radio’s in trouble is the day you don’t want a friend. As long as you want a friend, you’re gonna love it.” This was Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeartMedia and former CEO of MTV Networks, AOL, and Six Flags Theme Parks. You may know iHeartMedia better by its recently defunct name, Clear […]
March 1, 2013
Love it or hate it, the premise of Google Glass (scheduled for release this year) is a real eye-opener. The wearable computer, which looks like a pair of futuristic eyeglasses, lets you do everything from texting and web-surfing to recording POV video: all via simple voice command or head movement (and the occasional tap of […]
March 14, 2012
Naming is naming, right? Wrong. In fact, company naming and product naming differ significantly, from naming strategy and name development to the logistics of your name launch. Here are the top five ways they vary, and some tips for navigating those differences. 1) A company name is an umbrella. A product name, a hat. A […]
February 23, 2012
When I first saw the article, Malt-O-Meal Changes Name to MOM Brands to Reflect Growth, my first impression was of the familiar, comforting Malt-O-Meal box now saying something like MOM Cereal instead. Would the imagery change as well? Would packages feature a generic representation of a mom – like the stereotypical characters, Aunt Jemima, Colonel Sanders, […]
February 7, 2012
Is your coffee female or male? You’ve probably never thought about it, but Starbucks has now forced your hand. Their new, lighter coffee roast is called Starbucks Blonde – and that’s “blonde” with an “e”, which normally means it applies to women (as “blond” applies to men). It debuted in January 2012 and was designed […]
October 6, 2011
Way back in the dark ages of 2007, we reviewed the name Kindle in the very pages of this blog. At the time, we weren’t in love with the name, although we did point out that as a verb, it’s active and suggests exciting or arousing an interest in books. It also suggests illuminating the […]
September 12, 2011
I’m a fan of Ben & Jerry’s, both their ice cream and their naming. Clever tributes to music greats (e.g., Cherry Garcia and Phish Food), loser spouses (i.e., Chubby Hubby), and off-beat, if annoyingly self-aware indie films (i.e., Neapolitan Dynamite) have earned the company a reputation for irreverent, provocative and exciting naming. And fortunately for […]
August 31, 2011
Let’s just say you came up with a computer chip that was able to mimic the thought processes of the human brain. That’s exactly what IBM is trying to do. What name could they give for this seemingly impossible feat? iBrain? CPyou? Microprofessor? Smartificial Intelligence? Yep, I can go on and on. They are in […]
July 27, 2011
The Name Game has stumped even the savviest brand experts. See if you can guess the famous company or product name described in each game below. 5 clues. 1 famous brand name. 0 shame in defeat. Game #10: Name That Brand The ancients knew it, naturally For Felix’s ailing father Not quite a bear Water-soluble […]
July 21, 2011
In my Creative Brief blog on June 23, I shared the importance of creating a naming brief before beginning any naming exercise. The creative brief helps keep the project on track by detailing directions on messaging, tonality, construction, and legal and domain requirements. Once our creative brief has been approved by key stakeholders, we are ready […]