One of my favourite Gary Larson cartoons is “What we say to dogs, and what they hear. What we say to cats, and what they hear”. (Shown on right. Click to enlarge).
I thought my cat was smarter than that. I was convinced that she responds to her name. But as an experiment I started calling her Bob.
I was dismayed to get the exactly same result. She still knew I was talking to her. She doesn’t care if I call her Muffin or Bob or Cookie Shoes, as long as I call her. She just likes the attention (and the food).
Do you think your customers care about your product name or even your brand name?
Well they certainly don’t care about your brand name or product names as much as you do.
All they care about is what’s in it for them.
So next time you are coming up with a name for your product or service or brand, don’t be a sucker for a name that sounds cool but doesn’t hint at the benefit to your customers.
For example, Telecom is spending millions on advertising for their “XT Network”. I can’t even be bothered wondering what the X and the T stand for.
However, I hear about 2degrees and I “get it”. It’s about helping me to communicate, it’s about making it easier to connect with people because everyone is only 2 degrees of separation from me.
The benefit is embedded into the product name / brand name.
What examples of poor brand names can you think of? What about examples of benefit-embedded ones? Share them in the comments below.
Need fresh ideas for your product names or brand names? Let’s talk.
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i could write screeds on this subject having had 15 years + experience as a branding strategist. naming strategies are critical first of all. naming is a VERY subjective issue and there are so many variables as to the type of naming conventions one can consider. and the naming strategy must be spawned by the brand strategy. i don’t think you can merely say benefit embedded names are necessarily evocative (that seems to be your inference). that may over simplify things if i may say. what about names which are merely aspirational: Apple, Orange for example. and to be honest some contrived names like Kodak sound cool, but mean absolutely nothing. i think you might be surprised just how passionate customers/clients/consumers DO get about brand names. they are perhaps the strongest hint at the DNA of a brand – they are a powerful signature. i leave you with a very good example – iSnack2.0 for the new variant Vegemite.
Thanks for your input Adrian.
Certainly, for consumer brands with millions of dollars for advertising, what you say is true. And in your example “Apple” doesn’t stand for a kind of fruit, it stands for electronics. But it cost them billions to implant that idea in our minds.
My point is, a better option than choosing an abstract brand name which will cost you millions to get the public to remember, choose instead a brand name which does something to describe the product.
Perhaps your iSnack2.0 example is a case where the public doesn’t want to use a brand name that has nothing to do with the product and therefore demanded a name change to “Cheesybite”, which does.
Sheldon
good points. however, i am not sure that millions of dollars are always essential. i can think of examples where, for example, aspirational names have achieved market traction with comparatively little spend. there are many directions one can take. a naming strategy must be aligned to the brand strategy. this is always a hot subject – naming. that, along with colour are, the most subjective issues in working through a brand identity…
good luck with the branding and it is always good to see another person out there waving the flag. and generating healthy discussion.
A
I am not a brand strategist, but I do know how to sell services and products, and help my customers do the same.
Yes, the WIF (whats in it for me) factor is important, but so is clean, clear memorable and relevent when it comes to creating your company identity.
Anyway on a personal note, I am often asked how i cam up with the name Pumpt. Answer: 3 reasons a) That is how I felt as I developed my strategic plan for the business (pumped/excited) b) we intially focussed on direct response advertising which is very much about pumping/priming an audience c) Pumpt is a distortion of the english language, making it easier to protect my IP (it is also handy with our company slogan (lets get business pumping) and when people ask how I am (pumped!
.
cheers, Dom http://www.pumpt.co.nz
That’s great Dom, you are obviously very proud of yourself, and it appears you care very much about your brand name. And sure, it’s clever.
Would your clients care if your changed your brand name?
No.
They care about YOU and what you can do for them.
How many times have you had a phonecall when the person rattles through their name and business name and you miss the whole lot? How often do you ask them to repeat it slowly? Or do you just let it slide because you’ll catch it again at the end of the conversation?
I’ve stopped mentioning my brand name when I call. I just want them to remember my name. My signature in my follow up email to them will do the rest.