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This just in - "The Scottish Executive" has rebranded itself as "The Scottish Government." Apparently studies showed that few people outside of Scotland actually understood what the heck it meant.
For those of you who happen to live in the United States of America (and who are quite possibly to blame for the name change because we had no clue that a Scottish Executive was anything other than a guy in a suit,) the Scottish Executive always has been the name of the government over yonder... they just had a cute Scottishy name for it.  With the change the world becomes a little less classy. A bit less cultured. And perhaps a tad easier to comprehend. ...One wonders if Bush ever figured out that the Executive Branch is not attached to a tree outside the Oval Office...
Most regular readers of this website will know I'm not a big fan of the way most organizations use taglines. It seems that companies use them because they're supposed to have something under their name and above their address on their business cards - but they're not quite sure what its supposed to do.
I wrote about this more than a year ago right here. Note the second bullet under the "best taglines" section. That's something very few companies seem to be able to get right. Brains on Fire - a firm we at Stokefire happen to like a lot (and not just because they've got "fire" in their name) wrote a post about this on their blog last week. They suggest that you take your tagline and try to see if you can slap someone else's name on it - and if it fits you should keep searching for the right tag. Interesting that all the taglines were of the Three. Word. Taglines. variety. As much as we hate these trite constructs, we do think there's a purpose (and perhaps a reason why they all seem so much alike.) There's one thing that the TWTs do pretty well - they communicate to the people that work for the company. They see it on their cards, letterhead, and website. It's a constant reminder of what their own product does (or what it stands for.) Sure, it may be the same thing as everyone else - but companies that use this construct have a rare benefit - everyone from president to janitor knows what the company does. That ain't necessarily a bad thing, is it? If you're having confusion within the company this could be a tool to fix it. The only problem is that most of the companies using these TWTs seem to think that people outside the company actually care enough to remember which three words are the ones that matter. Internally? Piece of cake. Externally - nearly impossible. Nike's tagline - "Just Do It" - is indeed great... and the philosophy of the corporation is well communicated by it... but isn't it conceivable that there's someone in a factory job in a poor village somewhere in Asia who doesn't realize that the fabric he's making will help people run faster? (The question of whether or not this matters is a topic for another post.) (Full disclosure: the last company that had me as a full time employee uses a TWT - But they started using it after I left... And I didn't name 'em either.) 
Yes, it's true - if you're going to rip someone off then the chances are excellent you'll do better if you give your rip-off a spiffy name.
Add Stokefire to the list of businesses that have been hit with this scheme - something that seems to be almost as pervasive as the Nigerian scams that come out every few months. Here's how it works:
End result? You get a couple pieces of paper, a nice night out, and your name on the NRCC donor's list. All for doing nothing more than being on a calling list and having money. Cool! But think about this... would anyone ever spend money if this thing didn't have a nifty name? "Hi - we're with the NRCC and we'd like you give us money for our 'Feed the Rich' campaign.' We'll even feed you lunch and dinner." See? It doesn't work. Unfortunately the name has some serious flaws which become evident after you perform a Google search on it. The very first hit is a story by Ira Flatow who very quickly exposes the whole thing as a charade. You have to go through about three pages of links before you find the first mention that doesn't have the word "scam" in it. One wonders how many Republican fund raisers now have Earl Stevenson on their quick-dial. So what's the flaw? Well, let's look at the very first aspect of the FAINTS system: Fidelity. Is "The Congressional Order of Merit" a name that rings true? It seems to imply two things: One, that the US Congress is providing the Order, and Two, that they're acknowledging something that is meritorious. Are either in fact the case? Seems like the answer is no - even if we're generous. Sure, this thing is sponsored by a committee that is related to Congress, but it isn't congress. To have fidelity this should be "The National Republican Congressional Committee Order of..." but they seem to have left out a few of the words. As for merit-worthiness. Donating to the NRCC is indeed worthy of note from the NRCC and they may even consider a donation as deserving Merit if it is big enough. But Congress would never (or should never) provide a similar label for something as mundane as opening a wallet. Once this falls down on the Fidelity measurement the rest doesn't matter. As the Google search shows us - the entire campaign is torn apart on the Internet and the reason it draws this attack isn't that it is a fund-raiser... it is that this is a dishonest identity. They're not selling (or giving away) what the name suggests. A score of (-5) on the Fidelity scale effectively kills this very promising and powerful name. You can't expect to label your wheelbarrow of mud as prime rib and expect that people will continue to enthusiastically buy your product. People may buy the mud once, but they're going to spread the word that the steak your selling is just wet dirt. And they'll be pissed. Two quick notes before I finish. 1) If you run a search on "congressional order of merit" on the NRCC website you return a sum total of zero hits. 2) The "Business Advisory Council" that we are told is an honor to participate in is listed under the NRCC Donor Programs - Individual contribution opportunities. So - they're offering you an award they don't officially acknowledge (which is odd for something they tell you is their "highest honor") and giving you a title synonymous with NRCC donor. How much is that worth? Lesson: Be truthful about what you're offering with your name and brand. Make sure you consider the impact of overstating your product's benefits - or your overall brand image may suffer the consequences.  Many thanks to Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) for an entertaining morning of name and brand exploration. (In case you were wondering what Congressman Cole does with his days - "Tom Cole spends most of his time listening to people." That explains why he's still running this game... Google usually doesn't talk.)
In last night's Simpsons episode (Papa Don't Leech) there was a quick exchange between Lisa Simpson and Mayor Quimby that fans of destination branding (and taglines) can appreciate.
The setup - At the three minute mark in the show Lisa visits Quimby to sell him cookies (Skinny Mints!) and he attempts to pay from the city vault... Lisa: Where's all the money?  Honestly... it's at least as good as most of the recent location branding efforts we've seen lately. Say WA anyone? At least Springfield has an excuse for their cartoonish looking Power Trip. Kudos to the Simpsons writers for pointing out that the clothes the branding industry is wearing right now aren't exactly visible. Some can do a lot worse than this example when it comes to destination branding... And they have. Hat tip to Michael for the find.
Okay...
So DC is starting a campaign to attract people to visit the seat of power... and they're doing it with a play on words that points out that we in DC are full of ourselves. I can see this sort of humor working in New Jersey, perhaps, but in our Nation's Capitol? This is a concept that doesn't work on soooo many levels. Yet again we find that focus grouping does not help build a brand. The head of Destination D.C. is heard on the news clip on NBC saying they tested the idea and people liked it. Sure! It's cute. It's a bit funny... but I'll be very surprised if either the slogan or the ads end up bringing anyone to our area. The advertisements are really strange (also viewable on the previous link) - almost ignoring the play on words and showing awkward couples dining and dancing while two dimensional graphics zoom around trying to indicate that there's excitement here. I just don't get it. Who does this connect with? Yes, we're selling the opportunity to see the seat of power in the US - but to execute with a peculiar and unacknowledged humor and flat advertising that could just as well be trying to sell you car insurance seems off. If you want power mentioned - why not use it in a positive sense - like referencing the fact that DC makes power, or suggesting that people can be a part of the power generation. When pairing Virginia is For Lovers and "Create your own power trip" - the latter leaves me flaccid. Does the campaign work for anyone out there?
Our site tends to be a pretty regular stop for Realtors looking for a rebrand (if you look at our greatest hits on the right you'll see our most popular post for real estate types.) But we haven't always been entirely positive about our views of the parent brand or fire-and-forget realty types (as seen here and here. Oh, and here. And here. And maybe here.) so it came as a bit of a surprise when they asked us about Web 2.0 and realty for their national magazine.
We were happy to oblige. Excerpted from the article: Which Real Estate 2.0 tool should you try first? Experts agree you need to take a step back and do some work before you decide. “It’s entirely likely there are real estate professionals out there making a killing using Web 2.0, but I would bet that they have a killer brand behind them,” says Tate Linden, principal with Stokefire, a brand-naming consulting firm in Springfield, Va. “Find a way to differentiate yourself.” Amazing how a 45 minute conversation can be boiled down to a paragraph. John N. Frank did a good job summing up my many stories and asides. And in case you're interested - I did indeed let John know that I wasn't exactly a team player - and he took it very well. We had a good discussion about the sorts of stuff that passes as realty these days and what the National Association of Realtors could do to make it better. (For instance - the National Realtor campaign slogan "Now is a great time to buy or sell a home" from last year is looking pretty bad right now... Perhaps they could have taken a stand that had meaning... and that wouldn't make all the buyers last year look foolish in light of a widely anticipated collapse in the housing markets.) Nice article, John. I look forward to more conversations in the future and perhaps to helping NAR solve some of the more troubling issues we discussed.
Okay, we don't know it for a fact, but we're pretty sure he's a fan.
Why? Because just eight months after we helped Columbia Sussex launch the Blush Ultralounge - an ultramodern night club - Wynn grabbed the exact same name and used it to replace and rebrand Lure - his struggling night club that previously occupied prime real estate in his casino. We're flattered that he noticed our work and saw the potential. Both Blush Ultralounges are doing great business - and while operations and execution play a major role in that, so too does the depth and quality of the brand name. Given that Wynn had less than spectacular success with his original name (Lure) it stands to reason that the new one enabled an approach and experience that Lure couldn't offer. Incidentally, Lure was one of the names our team discussed with the team at Blush - and we ruled it out because we found it less brandable than the winning name. Seems like Steve and the new owner learned the same lesson. So - Bravo to Wynn and Columbia Sussex for their successes! Here's to hoping that Steve will give us a call and get him a name of his own next time. (And if someone paid for the name... well... hats off to the team that got the money. We don't have the Moxie to copy anyone's work quite this closely... Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Anyone think that a company that invests in branding and research two years ahead of a hotel opening would fail to notice a nightclub owned by one of the biggest gaming and hospitality companies in the country? We don't. So... truly, Steve - we like the name and are happy you've selected it. Given your budget and ability to execute, however, we think you could've selected some even more promising brand concepts that a less populous environment (like one in a tertiary market, perhaps) couldn't support effectively. Opening another club? Call us - we'd be happy to talk. Really.
Marketers can hide information in pretty unusual places. This post covers just one example of a hidden message you didn't know you knew.
Sometimes marketers can be sneaky. They can get you to communicate something unwittingly about their product just by having you hum a tune. How is this possible? Consider the NBC musical tag - those three notes that rarely have any words to them - and if there's any obvious language at all it's usually just a group of people singing "N... B... C..." in time with the notes being hit. (If you can't remember what the notes are just turn on The Today Show during the opening credits and you'll hear a grand orchestral piece arranged around them. You can read a surprisingly interesting history of those notes here. Also worth a visit? The online museum of the actual instruments used to play the notes in the "old days." Still can't remember the tune? You can download the original sound recording from the US Patent and Trade Office and listen for yourself. It was the very first audible trademark granted. Most interesting to me about these notes is that they contain an Easter Egg of sorts. If you go to your piano and play the tune (assuming you can actually play the piano... and own one... of course) you'll see that the notes are G-E and C. What's important about that? Well, who owns NBC? Their full name? "General Electric Company." (A.K.A. Diiiing Diiiing Diiing.) In summary - Just by humming a few notes you've made a connection between the brand that is actively getting your attention and the one that owns them. And you had no idea... Works great until you try it with a name that starts with letters beyond G. (Pretty sure that an "S"- for Stokefire - is impossible on a piano - though maybe a lightly closed high-hat - second definition - would work.) Are there any other musical (or other) Easter Eggs out there that you know about?
It can if you're Alka-Seltzer.
Back in the day, market research indicated that people knew what Alka-Seltzer was for (stomach upset) but didn't know that you were supposed to take two of them. Enter a great tactical jingle and tagline - "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is" and suddenly everyone knows how many tablets to put in the glass. And they did it without having to tell people that they really should read the directions first. Side note: I'm not suggesting the tagline is perfect. It's not always desirable to have a tagline serve double duty as something kids taunt each other with on the playground when someone messes themselves. Remember, taglines and jingles don't have to be permanent. Alka-Seltzer brings this one back every so often - and even had a contest to update the jingle. Not sure I think that it was much more than a curiosity, but it did get them some press for a product that's been frozen in time. In my humble opinion, the old jingle was more valuable as it was. It would've been a better idea to work on an alternative message that focused on the history of the tablets. A "keeps on ticking" sort of approach - or an approach that reflected the relevancy of something so reasonable sounding in an age where people seem to be swept up with snake-oil sales pitches about magnets, crystals, and the power of positive thinking. "Lost a limb? Think of fluffy bunnies and all will be okay!" And why didn't they jump on the Alka-Seltzer and Coke bandwagon? Hmmm... on second thought... Maybe I don't want people to wonder whether or not their stomachs will explode when they accidentally combine my medicine with a soft-drink to ease their pain... (Though the thought of some edgy commercials shot with a hand-held cam where someone tries to debunk the urban myth that people explode after taking Alka-Seltzer - and the guy successfully proves it is safe only to have the person explode after he turns away... THAT would be awesome...) Next week? We'll cover the musical message you didn't even know you knew...
Can an old chemical term provide insight into the world of taglines and branding? Tune in and find out!
I was going over some old college textbooks recently (mostly to see if I could finally find a way to part with them) and I came across a notation written by someone evidently smarter than myself in the margin. It said "BROMIDE!!!" ...and it had an arrow pointing to an underlined phrase... which was "That is neither here nor there." I remembered reading something about Bromides from my chemistry classes. The original meaning of bromide has something to do with a smelly element used in some printing methods. (Though I think it probably had the name before the printing method was devised...) Bromide also has another purpose - it is a sedative. While I evidently hadn't been interested enough to check this out when it might've helped my grades, I was moved to pull a dictionary to learn how this word was repurposed. Answer: Gelett Burgess used the word in a book published in 1906. The title? "Are You a Bromide?" (Full text of the book can be found here.) To badly summarize the author's point, he views Bromides as the stuff people say that really doesn't need to be said at all. By anyone. Ever. (Incidentally the phrases tend to be overly polite, optimistic, trite, and phony.) He provides examples:
There are things that people say that everyone can recite right alongside. It's a bit like if I walked into a room of first-graders and shouted "Hickory Dickory Dock!" Assuming that they're too young to have listened to Andrew Dice Clay the majority of them would answer my call with something about climbing rodents and timepieces. Bromides aren't worth saying because... well... to use the power of a Bromide... they go without saying. Or to alter the intent a bit... they are better left unsaid. So, how does this all relate to a branding and naming blog post? While it is possible to achieve success using Bromides or even by being a Bromide (just look at IBM - who became their own metaphor that no one ever got fired for using...) it does take a lot more effort. And money. Lots more money. Consider my old nemesis tagline - "Making Your Dreams A..." What's the next word? Is it "Mess?" How about "Nice Set of Felted Slippers?" No, likely it is neither of those things. Making Your Dreams A Reality is perhaps the most trite of all slogans and is one I'd place firmly in the Bromide category. Want to become world famous with that tagline? You're looking at spending tens of millions of dollars - likely more - to get any notice at all. A few Bromide Taglines for you to consider:
I can see that having a predictable tagline might be seen as a positive since it would mean people would always be able to recall your brand - but the predictability comes at a cost. If it is predictable then chances are good the tagline is already attached to something else in the target's mind. Or more likely lots of other things. Worse, the predictability isn't one born out of any particular level of insight - it's a bit like a familiar tune or phrase spoken or sung in another language. We know it because we've heard it before - but when we say it ourselves we don't actually think about the meaning. As a recovering classical musician I am very familiar with this - I'd have to learn songs in Italian and French - two languages I don't know anything about. I can belt out some familiar tunes from The Marriage of Figaro, but I do it out of habit, not comprehension. I'm pretty sure I'm singing about sending some kid off to war and being broke, but the why's and how's aren't known to me. Shouldn't your tagline be more useful than a few noises that remind people of your brand without adding any value? (Especially when everyone else is using exactly the same noises?) C'mon folks. I'm sure y'all have a lot more examples of some popular Bromide taglines. Drop a comment and let's see 'em. (Who knows, maybe we can start a revolution against crappy branding. We can predictably guarantee that "the revolution will not be televised.") (...sorry.)
I've been sent perhaps a dozen free books on branding and marketing in the year and change I've been blogging. I've never written about them - mostly because there's rarely anything about naming or verbal branding in them.
This book doesn't have that disconnect... The Soul of the Corporation by Hamid Bouchikhi and John R. Kimberly is an impressive book. And it is almost entirely related to what I do for a living. I'd suggest that it's one of the more advanced books on the concept of corporate identity, and it is backed by a slew of research (and the Wharton School.) While I didn't read it cover to cover yet, I did read the chapters that discuss the role of identity in situations that matter to naming - such as mergers, acquisitions, the beginning of new brands, and such. All of 'em were spot on - or a least headed in the right direction. As an example - the book identifies the ingredients of Successful identity Change as:
Other interesting tidbits:
Perhaps most refreshing was the near total lack of talking-heads from major branding firms that typically populate books like these. We get to see things through the eyes of employees, stakeholders, and customers - not the guys that developed (and are defending) the brand. Who cares what we, the creators of the identity, think. If the people who live the brand don't say it then it ain't real. Bravo! Many thanks to Wharton School Publishing for the comp. I've dog-eared so many pages that it's beginning to look like there's been trouble at the printer (since most of the upper-outside corners appear to be missing.)
The Utilimetrics team is doing a great job getting the word out about their new name and it seems they're just beginning to try to get traction with their name as an industry descriptor as well. You'll note that the author of the article below keeps referring back to "advanced metering" when referencing the industry. The leaders of Utilimetrics, however, appear to use the "metering" term only when referencing the box on the wall.
Changing industry terminology doesn't happen overnight. But it does happen. We'll post more on this as it happens. Creating new words ain't easy. Just ask Erin McKean over at the Dictionary Evangelist. (Though we're not above trying to bribe her to accidentally slip a few of our words into the next Oxford American Dictionary. Wonder how far a fiver would get us...) News From Utility Automation & Engineering T&D[Click here for original article with more text...]
I actually happen to like the AMA quite a lot... So it is with a bit of sadness and angst that I question the addition of what appears to be a new feature in the Marketing News magazine. In September the acronym was "USP." They give us a friendly hint that it doesn't have anything to do with the Postal Service. And then they tell us that it means "unique selling proposition" and go on to explain what that means. If you know marketing you know what USP means - and if you don't you probably won't be reading a magazine only given to AMA members...
This month the acronym is SaaS - standing for "Software as a Service" which the folks at the AMA seem to think "effectively renders the terms ASP (application service provider) and on-demand obsolete." A few points: One - ASP deserves to be rendered obsolete. Why go to the trouble of making an acronym that means something and is pronouncable and then ignore both the meaning and obvious pronunciation? I see the letters A, S, and P and I say "asp." One syllable. Neat. Maybe a little scary. Why make it three? Weren't acronyms meant too save us effort? Two - There's no way SaaS will make ASP obsolete. SaaS is almost impossible to type correctly on the first try. Most word processors automatically switch the last letter to lower case. Mine did so, then suggested that what I really wanted to say was Seas, Sagas, Saabs, Sass, or Salas. At least ASP doesn't violate any word processing standards that I can think of. Three - How would you pronounce SaaS? Does the last letter give it emphasis? Does a double A give it a long vowel sound? It could be "Sass" or "Sayce" or "Says" or "Sayz" or "SaySUH" or something else. Four - If SaaS is the acronym of the month then why isn't it found anywhere on AMA's website? There's more, but I've got proposals to write and clients to serve. This all begs a single question for me. Why would an organization teaching about marketing suggest any acronym as being "of the month"? Acronyms are shortcuts. Acronyms eliminate the message. Acronyms take the oomph out of marketing. Acronyms cost more money in the long run... When was the last time you thought to yourself... THAT is one beautiful acronym? (FCUK excepting...) P.S. - I do know that the feature is meant to be educational... but if that's the case then why suggest that the acronym is good? Ah well. Perhaps I'm just grouchy today.
How do you talk about "metering" without mentioning the meter?
That was just one of the challenges we faced while working on this project. We're proud to announce another of our clients (The Automated Meter Reading Association - or AMRA) has launched their new identity. They needed a name that appealed to their core audience of senior leaders, could double as a new name for the industry as a whole, and avoided the verbal association between "meter readers" and "men in overalls" that seemed to be a bit misleading. UTILIMETRICS was launched on October 2nd after over a year of brand analysis, development, and design. Check 'em out. The AMRA/UTILIMETRICS team really impressed us with their understanding of what was needed to reestablish their brand. It isn't every day that you see an association take such a progressive step. Kudos also go to Bates Creative Group for their work on the graphic identity. Can't wait to see what's next for the organization and the technology they represent.
At an event put on by ASAE last night I heard David Colton, page one editor for USA Today, say the words in the title of this post. Unlike most of the online references to this topic he wasn't talking about how to preserve your singing voice or avoid painful laryngal issues.
He used the phrase to jokingly refer to the way most newspapers write articles. It's the advice he gives to others at USA Today if they want their article to be printed as written. Most newspaper articles start with a convoluted introduction that sets the tone, provides context, or tells the back story to the article before the real reason for the story happens - leading to the reader wanting to scream, "GET TO THE STORY ALREADY!" As you probably know, USA Today just says what happened and leaves the verbal gymnastics to the other papers. I've heard a somewhat similar phrase used in the news industry - "Don't bury the lead." But it has key differences. Burying the lead implies that you miss the point of the story. Clearing your throat doesn't mean the point of the story is missed - it just means that it is delayed. I really like the new phrase, though. It's got a lot in common with something we say at Stokefire all the time - that being "Get the [bleep] out of the way of the message." We often spend so much time in marketing trying to set up the perfect delivery of our message that our audience loses interest before we get the chance to tell 'em why we're worth knowing. I think we may end up stealing "Don't Clear Your Throat." I like it that much. And in case you're wondering how Stokefire lives up to our own phrase - here's how I introduce my team: "Hi - we're Stokefire. We name stuff." And if I'm feeling ornery I might add "...and we do it pretty damn well." Might be worth taking a look at your own messaging to see if you're expectorating a bit much. (No one likes to hear you gargle.) And last - David's discussion was pretty cool. He talked about how the focus of the paper help bring the nation together. To provide common ground - stuff that everyone could talk about over the water cooler. I could really see how this philosophy has to be paired with the no-nonsense delivery of facts without preamble. No one starts a water cooler conversation with "Did you hear? Twenty years ago these two guys started a tech company in their basement..." Zzzzzzzz...
We've named a whopping two whole companies in the "sustainable" or "green" or "eco-friendly" or "tree-hugging" or "Gaia" or "Mother Earth" or whatever other catchword you want to use.
Two. And we still haven't used a cliche. (We wish we could have said "thirty-seven" or "a hundred twenty four"... but we've gotta start somewhere.) Both "green" brands we've helped to develop are fresh new concepts that convey what is at the core of each company without blending in to the crowded ecomarkets. emPivot is a green media firm that empowers its audience to change their views on issues involving sustainable living (tagline "View green from every angle.) webmeadow is a solar-powered technical development company. Both companies are led by charismatic leaders with great vision - and both work in crowded markets with all sorts of "me too" names. We've helped our clients step outside of the "green" label and establish identities that show there is an alternative to using camo in the masthead. ...and this gets down to what we believe is the role of the professional namer in business. Should a namer just give a client what they say they want? We're going to go out on a limb and say "no." Our job is not to give a client whatever they say they want - because often the client either doesn't know what they want or doesn't know what's possible. (Both emPivot and webmeadow had great ideas to begin with, but the ideas evolved as we went through the generation and evaluation process.) We've had a client say they want "A name like 'Flickr' - you know... with that cool short ending" and we didn't give it to them. We've had a client ask for a name with four letters - and they ended up selecting one with twelve, because it actually met the goals we discovered and developed together. There are quite literally thousands of people in the United States who are qualified to provide lists of names that satisfy exactly what a client says they want. There are hundreds that make a living doing almost exactly that. There are few, however, that help clients understand what identites can do for an organization, how to launch a brand, or what really matters when trying to decide between multiple strong naming ideas (or even a strong one and a weak one.) Our view is that as namers we are responsible for the words our clients choose. If our clients are set on an identity that is going to handicap them in the long run (or short run, for that matter) it's our job to tell them about that risk. If namers were only responsible for the generation of lists of names then namers would be no better than a talking thesaurus - and those already exist. If namers are only responsible for producing letters and sounds for clients to consider then I'd put up my own son, Theodore, as a perfect (if high maintenance) source. (He's particularly talented at words with gargles and raspberries in them - and he'll give you near-infinite variations.) Here it is, folks. Namers don't just make lists. Everyone can do that. If you make lists please don't tell us that your names are more creative, different, or better. Since all you're providing is a bunch of concepts without any guidance or evaluation you can't make any claim other than the number of ideas you provide. While quantity is important during the creative process, quantity is your enemy during the evaluation and implementation phases. Here's the gauntlet: If you're a namer that deals in lists without context (e.g., no evaluation, implementation help, or detailed guidance) we're saying you're not a namer. You're closer to all the people my wife and I tried to ignore when we were getting ready to name Theodore. Even the great man we named him after gave us lists to consider (and oddly enough he didn't put his own name on the list.) So... name listers aren't namers.* Anyone want to pick up the gauntlet and mess with us? Poke. Poke. (Hey, we're Stokefire, after all. We gotta find other uses for this poker.) (* - Note that we aren't afraid to use name listers ourselves on occasion. It's a critical part of the naming process - especially when a project gets a bit stuck - it's just not the whole thing.)
We've long stated that acronyms are one of the fastest ways to anonymize your company. We were this close to being proved wrong recently.
How did it almost happen? Apparently a town near Seattle (named South Lake Union) wanted to bring public transportation to town in the mode of a trolley. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, really... the South Lake Union Trolley is completely innocuous, right? Alas, the South Lake Union Trolley was not to be - even though folks started selling shirts to show their civic pride and publicizing the new service with "Ride the SLUT" emblazoned on 'em. How many other towns would gain a cult following for their public transit systems? Cool, no? One article did have an interesting quote right at the tail end, though... With the streetcar, said Don Clifton, a Cascade resident, "We learned how fun it is to change the name of things."Amen, brother. (Though it'd have been even more fun to leave it!)
What would happen if Saddam's "Mother of All Wars" fell in love with Putin's "Father of All Bombs?"
"Mother of All" has become a trendy way of saying "best" or perhaps "will redefine the meaning of" (though the latter doesn't feel particularly prone to trendiness.) How does this relate to naming? Well, there's the obvious fact that both Saddam and Putin used these lofty words to refer to important things (okay, so they weren't really products, but they still needed names...) And there's the more relevant fact that "MoA" has been used thousands of times in products and services since it was coined. MoA appears to be more commonly used in commerce than FoA - at a ratio of about four or five to one. Of particular interest to me is the fact that (as far as I can tell) there are exactly zero products that use the phrase "Mother of All" in their names that have become wildly successful - other than the originally referenced war, of course. I predict that we'll see similar results from "Father of All" in the coming years. We may even see it become more popular than MoA for a while. But I'd be willing to wager that no product with FoA or MoA in its name will ever crack the top 100 spots on Amazon or any other reputable mass retailer. Could it have something to do with the fact that the terms are typically used tongue-in-cheek? Or that they're too closely linked to pop-culture and prone to becoming dated too quickly? Or is it that the logical impossibility of something becoming the mother or father of anything *after the thing is already born* is just too goofy to consider seriously? I'll leave you with this thought. How is it that "The Father of All Bombs" could be invented more than a half-century after the nuclear bomb (a much more powerful weapon) was dropped? It seems that the FoAB is more like the smaller, better behaved nephew of the atom bomb, doesn't it? But "The Nephew of All Bombs" just doesn't have much oomph... So much for truth in advertising....
We talk to many marketing, branding, and graphic design firms in our area and frequently ask about where they got their name. Typically the answer is something like "It sounded cool" or perhaps "we kept searching until we found one where the website was available and made a bit of sense."
Today I spoke with Bruce Gemmill, president of Campbell and Associates - a marketing firm located in Herndon Virginia. In addition to being an all-around good guy who is involved in the local chamber and other organizations, he had a nice story to tell about his firm. I was curious how a guy with the last name of Gemmill might end up becoming president of a boutique marketing firm with the name Campbell. I was guessing he'd bought it from someone. I was wrong. As Bruce told me, he'd spent years leaving messages and talking with administrators for his clients - and invariably people would respond with "Thank you Mr. Campbell." As noted above, that is not his last name. His last name, Gemmill, is a name not many people have heard of - and it sounds awfully close to Campbell when heard over the phone - or even in person. Rather than spend the remainder of his career correcting people on his last name, Bruce went with the flow. He named his firm "Campbell and Associates" and in the process ended up with a name that is highly memorable even though it appears on the surface to be common. Sometimes it isn't the name itself that lends character to the company. Sometimes it's the story. Okay, often it is the story. (In fact, we tend to prefer the story behind the name to be at least as powerful as the name itself. It lends strength to the brand.) Bruce's selfless act of removing his own last name from his firm showed a lot about the company's core values. And it gives him a nice story that helps people remember who he is, what his firm's name is, and even provides a peek at his own persona. Kudos, Bruce. Thanks for taking the extra thirty seconds to tell me your story. Hope others enjoy it as much as I do.
I'll be the first to admit that naming your kid takes a lot of effort, thought, and in most cases comprimise. I would even go so far as to talk with someone - perhaps a historian or psychologist - about whether or not the name has any negative connotations. You could even open up any one of hundreds of naming books that tell you what every name means - or one of dozens of websites that allow you to search for names by their meaning.
One should also take the thirty seconds necessary to ensure you're not creating a catastrophe down the road when little Albert Sammy Smith is asked for his initials. For me, naming was an intensely personal thing when it involved my own son. The question of who we wanted to honor (a great grandfather and both of his grandpas), how we wanted him to have options as to what he would use (Ted, Teddy, Theo, Theodore, TJ, etc...) to express his own personality... Now that you know my views - read this article. Yes. People really do that for a living. Once you close your mouth (or stop laughing - if you're a corporate namer) I'd love to know what you think. Is there a place for people who offer a baby naming service where the names "Liz" and "Doug" are seen as first and foremost pertaining to fat kids? (Our new intern, Liz, would prove an exception to this rule, by the way.) Sure, almost every name is going to have connections for people - but if you know a Doug from decades ago who was the brightest and skinniest kid in your 3rd grade class aren't you going to have different thoughts about the name? For me, I'm hoping that little Teddy doesn't select Theo as his preferred name. People in generations before and after mine don't understand why. But ask a Gen-Xer and you'll get the same answer every time: "Oh yeah - that's way too Cosby." If you only know one person with a name, then that name will be inextricably linked to that person in your mind. I only know one Theo - and though I did think he was pretty cool in the eighties - I don't really want that in my mind when I think of my son. I'll make my question more clear. Is there a reason to pay $350 to get someone else's prejudices and experiences applied to your own flesh and blood? Whaddaya say? Are you going to hire self-named "Nameologist" Maryanna Kowitts?
Quite a few of our clients often call into question one of the most basic assumptions we tell them to make. The assumption? If a name can be shortened in any way - via acronyms, dropping syllables, or just using the first portion of the name - your customers will find and use it.
(The companion parable to this - that you should never try to create your own abbreviated name from your full length name unless your clients force the issue - is something I'll address another time.) Most recently a client protested that I was being overly pessimistic and that people aren't that lazy. Here's what they said in as close as I can get to an exact quote: That's an overreaction, Tate. You should have more faith in the human race, nyo? We're not that lazy.Perhaps you can guess which word I'm going to point out as proving my point. No, it isn't the apostrophe-"s" of "That's". It's "nyo." If we can't take the time to pronounce a two syllable thought ("You Know") then how can we expect ourselves to say the long version of anything? If you examine where this particular example of truncation and shortening comes from I think you'll find that it traces back something like this:
I'm sure there are linguists out there that would be upset about this for all sorts of reasons. And I'm certain there are others that show this as proof that our language is healthy and adapting. My only reason for bringing it up is to show that we're always going to try to make things easier for ourselves. It isn't General Electric, it's GE. It isn't Kentucky Fried Chicken - it's KFC. And Stokefire? You'll never see us call ourselves "SF" or any other shortening. It's one of the reasons why we don't use mid-Caps in our name. Midcaps promote the use of acronyms and abbreviations. We figure if we're going to go to the expense of creating a name for ourselves and printing it on business cards we probably shouldn't be using a name that begs to be abbreviated. After all - we try hard to get our name in front of our prospective partners and clients... why would we want to double our effort by putting two names out there? (The real one and the abbreviated one.) We endeavor to have a name that doesn't go the way of "Do You Know What I Mean" and instead begs to be sounded out. Maybe even emphasized. And we endeavor to create those for our clients. Sure, there's power in GE, KFC, and IBM - but those names have millions of dollars of marketing to keep them in the minds of prospective clients. For companies that wish to be a bit more economical with their marketing dollars it makes sense to get a name that doesn't break down into an acronym. Seems to be working well for Google, doesn't it?
I received a letter in the mail from one of my representatives yesterday. It contained a newsletter with the title "Whippletter."
As you can probably guess (since you're one of our highly intelligent readers) the esteemed Senator's last name is "Whipple" (First and middle names are Mary and Margaret.) My question: Does this cramming together of words actually do anything positive for the Senator's brand? My follow-up question: Since no guide is given to how to pronounce this munged word what would you think the pronunciation should be?
When looking for creative ways to conjoin two terms you should consider the impact to more than just the way the words look on the page. Show them to people and ask how they'd pronounce it. If people stumble (as most did when I asked around the office) then consider getting rid of the confusing bits. (This is related to a widely accepted concept - that the human brain will look for familiar patterns when trying to figure out how to pronounce something. But sometimes the model identified doesn't provide clear guidance - like the brand "Vild" - is it pronounced like "Wild" and "Mild" or like "Sild" and "Gild". Interestingly most people hit on the latter pronunciation even though the former is more common.) What do you think?
But we have a fun idea for taking over the world. And we're looking for an intern who can both draw and build websites who wants to build what could be one of the coolest non-traditional marketing campaigns aimed at marketers... ever.
What we're offering:
What we're offering is a killer idea that you can execute on and add to your portfolio of projects. If it works we'll be pointing to you as the guy/girl that got it done and we'll happily send business your way. Maybe even some of our own. If it doesn't work? Well, you can still put it on your CV - it just won't be quite as cool to do so. If you know about the old Enormicom.com site and you appreciated the humor - you'll love this project. We'll need a bit of e-commerce and page layout - actually a lot of it, so if you've got those skills let us know (and if you "don't got" those skills you probably shouldn't be writing to us...) And truthfully we have no idea what to ask for in terms of technology. We're not techies, so hopefully you'll bring that tech knowledge with you - or else we'll be stuck trying to find interns for our interns. The more ridiculously high-tech we can make this thing the better off we'll be. Interested? Send us a note with links to your online work. And be sure to tell us a bit about who you are. But NO RESUMES. Period. Based on responses to previous notes like this we can't guarantee that we'll respond to everyone, but we'll do our damnedest. Maybe we can find an intern to be sure we get everyone? Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to send this to anyone you think might be interested.
Managing expectations is one of the hardest parts of developing powerful names. We work hard at the beginning of a project to ensure that expectations are set correctly. There's a misconception that names can do absolutely everything for a company. For example, here's a (slightly modified) list of things a client wanted from their name on a recent contract - before we helped them pare it down.
Let me be very clear: Names are the starting block, not the finish line. A good name can help set you apart from your competitors - and can perhaps help with a couple other goals as well... but it cannot get you repeat customers in most situations. You cannot, I'm afraid, have a name that does absolutely everything for your company. You also cannot have a name that doesn't have at least a few drawbacks. All the best names in the business have flaws - Google sounds like baby-speak, Caterpillars are squishy and eat crops... But the names set them apart - allowing them to get noticed and position themselves versus the competition. From there the companies can take over. Memorability, evocativeness, pronunciation, strategic fit... these are things we can work on with a name. (We have twenty-six other variables we throw in there too... but you can't have a name with all thirty variables pegged at "10.") For anyone out there struggling to find the perfect name... just stop. Perfection is not attainable. When you break a name into its constituent variables some will be strong and others won't. Just ensure that the portions that you're leveraging the most for your business are associated with the strong aspects of your name and you'll be set. Forget the All-Everything name. Just try to get one that is good at something while avoiding any major pitfalls. You'll be so far ahead of most other companies that you'll forget you ever wanted anything more.
Best. Jingle. Ever.
Please note that I am made unjustifiably happy by the idea that there's a company out there with this name. Or at least it appears that there was a company with this name. I can't find any website for them (but of course I can't speak or write in Japanese, so this isn't surprising.) Sometimes a name (and jingle) can be so bad (or badly translated) that it becomes almost endearing. This seems to qualify. And before you ask - Stokefire doesn't plan on developing names for translation into Japanese and back to English any time soon. You'll just have to wait for us to expand before you can get gems like National Rich You Grow Corporation and such. The following text is the only information I can find on the company (and it isn't from a reputable source): At the dawn of the 21st century and a small Japanese demolition company by the name of Nihon Break Kougyou (Japan Break Industries) tried to come up with an edge to compete in a very difficult arena. They decided to release their corporate theme song to the general public and lo and behold and it became a top ten hit in Japan!And here's the full lyric just in case you'd like to read ahead while listening... Break it down! Break around. We're coming to your town. To destroy, if you employ! We'll work without a sound.
Yep. I'm addicted to The Office - and am not quite sure what I'll do to recreate those uncomfortable laughs I've become accustomed to for the off season.
But this post isn't about my love for the NBC show, it is about the website and company names mentioned on the show's season finale. The website mentioned? Try: www.creedthoughts.gov.www/creedthoughts. Yeah - it doesn't go anywhere. But you wouldn't believe the number of hits that "creedthoughts" is getting all over the internet. Someone had the foresight to register creedthoughts.com a week before the episode aired (one can only assume someone on the production staff did it to prevent someone else from profiting) but the .net and a few other sites were snapped up shortly after the line was spoken. As far as names go - I actually quite like "Creedthoughts". I imagine that for lovers of the show the site would speak directly to those who wonder "what the hell is he thinking?" and it would attract quite a crowd of regular readers. Much like schrutespace, I suppose. UPDATE: There IS a creedthoughts blog. It is here. The show did have a rather uncomfortable naming-related moment when Michael Scott wraps up his interview with David Wallace (CFO of Dunder Mifflin): David: What do you think we could be doing better?What scares me the most is that this sort of thing really does happen in conversations with prospects and clients. I'll be the first to admit that client-submitted ideas often do quite well and we can build strong identities around them. However... In this case I just was made uncomfortable on every possible level. Wonderfully so, but... still... And if anyone is interested, both www.superduperpaper.com and www.papergreat.com are available for immediate camping and opportunistic exploitation as of 11:47 EDT on Friday, May 18th. Imagine the peaks in traffic you'll get when the DVD launches!
No... not with Stokefire. (We're done hiring until we find a bigger space.) Try Landor - the Grand-daddy of the industry. I received this in my in-box this morning with no mention of copyright or non-distribution policies. So I'll help a competitor out... (They're not competing in my space at the moment so I'll play nice.) If I were in New York and didn't have my own firm I'd consider talking with them about it... But I'm not and I do, so there shall be no talks. Landor isn' |