Monday, January 29, 2007

Hungary v/s Bulgaria

And Bucharest v/s Budapest. Any name is a brand name minus the brand and that's why I'd like to spend a few minutes trying to understand why people confuse Budapest with Bucharest and Hungary with Bulgaria. I have a friend from Bulgaria whose country of origin I sometimes confuse with Hungary. Ever wondered why? I did. And no, it has nothing do with bad Geography. I rock in Geography. Ask me the capital cities of most countries in the world and I'll reel them off within and without the blink of an eye. So what makes me confuse Bulgaria with Hungary? The same things that you should keep in mind when picking a brand name for your product. Take a closer look at the cities and countries I have mentioned in this post. Look at where the 'G' in Hungary and Bulgaria is. Look at where the 'R' is. Look at where the word Bucharest stops for the first time. Look at where Bucharest and Budapest come to rest. See the connections? No? Look again. Look long enough and you'll learn a few valuable lessons in brand naming. Clue: Good brand names are about stop-starts and strong consonant sounds. End of this lesson.

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