Word Craft by Alex Frankel - An exceptionally written book by a journalist who used to own his own naming firm. His writing style is by far the strongest of the trio, and he does a great job of turning short anecdotes into powerful lessons. Mr. Frankel examines five brand naming processes, RIM's BlackBerry, Accenture, Viagra, Porche's Cayenne, and IBM's e-business. Anyone who wants to know what sort of processes are used by the best in naming should read this book.

Crafting the Perfect Name by George Burroughts Blake & Nancy Blake-Bonhe - more of a do-it-yourself idea book that appears to be out of print. A wide but shallow overview of what goes into naming, including a massive appendix that gives you word roots and possible inspirations for names. Personally I wouldn't recommend it as a tool for naming a company, but I would recommend it as a book that clients should use to keep their naming consultants honest.

Finally, Naming for Power by Naseem Javed - a book from ten years ago that doesn't seem to have aged very well. I'm not sure what the point of the book is, nor what I should learn from it. Many of the examples provided seem to imply that there is a trend in naming but never develop into a conclusion or workaround (e.g., Javed rails against using the word "Gold" to connote quality, notes that some companies have switched to "Platinum" - which he also doesn't like - and then closes the chapter with a joke having nothing to do with either word. The reader is not given any guidance as to how to fix the problem.) Having said this, I still would recommend the book as an excellent snapshot of the problems faced in the Nineties. The Internet boom caused a whole slew of headaches for companies and Javed catches many of them. I would advise that you read this book only after reading one of the previous two, as Javed doesn't tell as complete a story and often leaves out some of the more interesting details. (He mentions that Donald Trump's organization sued Trump Cards for infringement, but neglects to mention that Trump Cards won the suit or that the term Trump existed well before The Donald did.)

Other stuff we've found interesting or helpful in the past few months:

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. A book that I would recommend for people who already have a solid understanding of marketing and branding and are looking for something deeper. The premise of the book is that to excel in the market one must look for ways to eliminate competition by creating new markets, not better products. Interesting, though difficult to apply when one already has a business with established competitors. For startups or pre-startups this is a must-read.

United We Brand by Mike Moser. If you can’t afford a consultant and are willing to put in a lot of leg-work yourself this one may be the answer for you. It won’t be fast or easy, but at least you’ll learn a lot about yourself, your company, and your brand.

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. I was initially turned off by the book, as it seemed to rely on many of the same principles espoused by master networker Harvey Mackay. Keith manages to come through with some fresh insights, and minimaly gives Harvey’s work a much needed brush-up for 2006. If you’re a member of BNI, Toastmasters, or other networking groups this one is worth a read. Note - the author is not a big fan of ‘forced’ networking, so be prepared to have your convictions challenged.

Guerrilla Marketing Handbook by Jay Conrad Levinson and Michael W. McLaughlin. This is one of a very large series of marketing books. I would suggest scanning for your industry and picking the one that best fits your product or service description. The handbook provides some more general tools to complement the specific advice that is given in the career specific books. A book from this series is a must have for anyone wanting to get business without spending a lot of money.

The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier provides a rather shallow overview of branding. Marty spends a few pages on many topics, such as product naming, logo design, customer mentality - but never gets below the surface. For people new to branding this book can help you to understand the lingo and perhaps talk intelligently about it in the work place. This book will not make you an expert. A cut above what I’d imagine an “Idiot’s Guide” to branding would be. (Still, highly recommended if you’re considering taking the plunge into branding your company but don’t know enough about it to jump.)

Pocket Ref compiled by Thomas J. Glover. This little book (about the footprint of a 3×5 card) contains over 500 pages of reference information. Conversion tables, state slogans, populations of cities with airports… basically a lot of random stuff. No one would ever need to know everything in here, but it is a wonderful conversation piece. I often carry it in my briefcase when I’m in between other books. I flip randomly through it, and have had some very interesting conversations (and bar bets. You’ll have a cheat sheet for things like the Radio Alphabet … Alpha, Bravo, Charlie… and other things people think they know, but really don’t…) It’s also a great way to get yourself thinking in a new direction when you’re hitting a mental roadblock. Better by far than any big list of word roots for fuel as naming your company.

Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. This book has been everywhere - in the news, the best seller list, the talk show circuit, you name it. This is was not meant to be a lesson in branding or marketing, but it does provide a unique look at a man that has taken a boring topic and turned it into something new and exciting. He’s created an entirely new market (hey - it’s a Blue Ocean!) where he is the sole expert on weird statistically proven stuff - like how and why most drug dealers live with their mothers. Who knew? A great example of the creation of something new. I look forward to reading more from both authors.

The Prof. Service Firm50 by Tom Peters. There’s some real golden information here, but you’ve got to be able to tolerate some very strange writing styles. He uses color, font size, s p a c i n g, and slang from about a decade ago to communicate his 50 rules, and it truly can give the reader a headache. The points are probably better conveyed verbally. Still, highly recommended if you think you can get past the unusual presentation. (I’m hoping someone can make a grammatically pure version so I can recommend it without reservation.)

Desigining Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler. Alina provides insight into how big companies have dealt with the creation and maintenance of their brands. If you’re in a marketing department at a big firm then this can probably help you significantly. Very few other companies will be able to implement most of the suggestions in here (like a style guide that sets the kerning levels for text fonts - sure, it’d be helpful, but in terms of brand impact the return is probably not there.) Excellent explanation of the processes used to do each of the various parts of a branding effort - from names and logos, to uniforms and signage, to auditing the finished and in-place systems. This may have originally been a text book, but works well in the hands of someone trying to build a branding effort for a large company from the inside. There’s not quite enough detail to do it all yourself, but there is enough here to help you understand the process and ensure you can find the best consultant or resource for the job. No one will pull the wool over your eyes after reading this.

Tate Linden
Principal Consultant
Stokefire Consulting Group
703-778-9925