An acquaintance of ours came up with the name Pixetra for a store that sells digital cameras and related equipment. I love it. The name says it all. It says pictures. It says pixels. It says digital. It says etcetra. It's what a great name should be. It might even get by without the need for a tagline. An almost perfect brand name for the product it is advertising.
Will it work? Ah well, that's a different matter and has much to do with things more than just brand names. Incidentally, the logo for the name is great too. We wish we had come up with it. All this just goes to re-iterate something we've been saying all along about portmanteaus; that they make for memorable brand names. Given the task what would we have come up with? I'll need a little more time for that. It's not that easy coming up with names. Fortunately.
Pixetra
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 7/10
Übertotal: 28/40
Friday, May 25, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
FedEx Kinkos v/s Finkos v/s KinkEx
Before we go on to the next post on this blog, take a little time out for this monstrosity in naming brought to us by The Name Inspector. Proof that not all portmanteaus work. Only the ones that come a lot closer to sounding like actual words. For instance, Pixetra
I believe the reason FedEx and Kinkos chose not to go with a compound word is that doing so would have meant sacrificing the immense brand equity Kinkos and FedEx already enjoy in the North American marketplace. Admittedly, the new name in the form of a compund word might have tried to salvage some of the old equity by going in for a logo design that drew from the colours of both brands. Eventually, I think they just decided to do the easy thing and stick both old names into a new brand.
If you ask me, what they've settled for is not such a bad move. FedEx and Kinkos are in a space where memorable brand names don't count as much as say in a more crowded arena like fast moving consumer goods. (No puns intended.) On the other hand, if FedEx Kinkos were communicating to people other than office managers and the like who want little more than to get their documentation done, they might have had to work much harder.
Let's say FedEx Kinkos have to come up with a brand name for a product they choose to retail under the FedEx Kinkos umbrella. That's when they'll have to think of something far more elegant.
I believe the reason FedEx and Kinkos chose not to go with a compound word is that doing so would have meant sacrificing the immense brand equity Kinkos and FedEx already enjoy in the North American marketplace. Admittedly, the new name in the form of a compund word might have tried to salvage some of the old equity by going in for a logo design that drew from the colours of both brands. Eventually, I think they just decided to do the easy thing and stick both old names into a new brand.
If you ask me, what they've settled for is not such a bad move. FedEx and Kinkos are in a space where memorable brand names don't count as much as say in a more crowded arena like fast moving consumer goods. (No puns intended.) On the other hand, if FedEx Kinkos were communicating to people other than office managers and the like who want little more than to get their documentation done, they might have had to work much harder.
Let's say FedEx Kinkos have to come up with a brand name for a product they choose to retail under the FedEx Kinkos umbrella. That's when they'll have to think of something far more elegant.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Sepia Mutiny v/s India Uncut
India Uncut, run by an internet acquiantance of mine, is a great name for a site that positions itself as a daily source of interesting, Indiacentric and, most of all, independent news.
The India in the name says...well, India and the 'Uncut' qualifier says independent. A perfect example of a simple name that stands out in a milleu where people tend to ignore the simple when choosing names. Like the name, there's not much more that needs to be said about how effective it is. When something is simply effective, it doesn't need an essay-like explanation to tell you why it is. It just is.
Sepia Mutiny on the other hand goes in for the interesting, USA-relevant tactic of colour-type plus aggression.
Sepia (a darker shade of brown) and Mutiny (an aggressive word that blasts into your brain) combine to deliver South-Asiacentric news to a desi audience. I'm not sure how they came up with the name but I suspect it might have something to do with setting right certain misconceptions about brown people in USA. Well, whatever it is, it certainly is an intriguing word combination that does a good job of cutting through the clutter. And no, 'Brown Mutiny' wouldn't have worked. (It sounds too crass.)
Thanks to some smart naming ideas, and good marketing, these two names have established themselves as credible news sources in a space that's very, very hard to make a name in. My heartiest congratulations to them. And for those who'd like to see how the numbers for the two names add up, here are the Übermeters.
India Uncut
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 29/40
Sepia Mutiny
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 29/40
Desi Pundit
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 6/10
Urlabilty: 7/10
Übertotal: 27/40
Adden for the dumb: The first two names are not competing with each other but are beng compared purely from the point of view of how they sound, originality and linguistics that matter. And then there's Desi Pundit, which is kinda like India Uncut without the Uncut and thus not as clutter-blasting as Uncut.
Moredendum: Abhi, one of the clutch of fine writers in the mutinous bunch, writes back to me with the origins of the name Sepia Mutiny. As is sometimes the case, the truth is far more prosaic than fantasy. Here it comes. The name is not much more than a combination Sepia, which is a kind of ink, and a riff on the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. I got the the Mutiny of 1857 part but I didn't think the Sepia was meant to represent writers' ink. Ah well, I wonder what the audience thinks about the origins of the name. Or maybe they don't. After all, not everyone has time for such trivial obsessions. Thankfully.
Aside from all that: Another thing we can learn from the above comparisons is which names require taglines more than others. And for those who haven't learnt anything from all my yammerings, a name like India Uncut says it all without the need for a qualifier. Sepia Mutiny doesn't.
The India in the name says...well, India and the 'Uncut' qualifier says independent. A perfect example of a simple name that stands out in a milleu where people tend to ignore the simple when choosing names. Like the name, there's not much more that needs to be said about how effective it is. When something is simply effective, it doesn't need an essay-like explanation to tell you why it is. It just is.
Sepia Mutiny on the other hand goes in for the interesting, USA-relevant tactic of colour-type plus aggression.
Sepia (a darker shade of brown) and Mutiny (an aggressive word that blasts into your brain) combine to deliver South-Asiacentric news to a desi audience. I'm not sure how they came up with the name but I suspect it might have something to do with setting right certain misconceptions about brown people in USA. Well, whatever it is, it certainly is an intriguing word combination that does a good job of cutting through the clutter. And no, 'Brown Mutiny' wouldn't have worked. (It sounds too crass.)
Thanks to some smart naming ideas, and good marketing, these two names have established themselves as credible news sources in a space that's very, very hard to make a name in. My heartiest congratulations to them. And for those who'd like to see how the numbers for the two names add up, here are the Übermeters.
India Uncut
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 29/40
Sepia Mutiny
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 29/40
Desi Pundit
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 6/10
Urlabilty: 7/10
Übertotal: 27/40
Adden for the dumb: The first two names are not competing with each other but are beng compared purely from the point of view of how they sound, originality and linguistics that matter. And then there's Desi Pundit, which is kinda like India Uncut without the Uncut and thus not as clutter-blasting as Uncut.
Moredendum: Abhi, one of the clutch of fine writers in the mutinous bunch, writes back to me with the origins of the name Sepia Mutiny. As is sometimes the case, the truth is far more prosaic than fantasy. Here it comes. The name is not much more than a combination Sepia, which is a kind of ink, and a riff on the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. I got the the Mutiny of 1857 part but I didn't think the Sepia was meant to represent writers' ink. Ah well, I wonder what the audience thinks about the origins of the name. Or maybe they don't. After all, not everyone has time for such trivial obsessions. Thankfully.
Aside from all that: Another thing we can learn from the above comparisons is which names require taglines more than others. And for those who haven't learnt anything from all my yammerings, a name like India Uncut says it all without the need for a qualifier. Sepia Mutiny doesn't.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Koolickles v/s Kool-Aid Pickles
The retailers of this new brand launched in USA include Double Quick, a chain of more than 30 stores, which has even applied for "a trademark for Koolickle, a name coined by Rick Beuning, its director of food service, who says: "I'm a white boy from the Midwest ... This isn't my food, but I know a good product when I see one."
Personally speaking, I know a good name when I see one. Koolickles is a good one. Very.
Why do I like Koolickles? Many reasons. For one, it's not as prosaic and simply descriptive as Kool-Aid Pickles, which doesn't even sound appetising. For two, Koolickles makes it sound like a treat of some kind, which it is and which is good. For three, Koolickles leaves a bit to our imagination, which is a good thing to attempt with communication. For four, Koolickles is a neologism, which, like all smart namers, I have a weak-in-the-knees weakness for.
And then some, more. Koolickles satisfies the bare necessities of good naming principles that say Stop-start scale, Story meme, The long and the short cut and Urlability. Check it out in the Übermeters at the bottom of this post. And for your winning Koolickle like name, you can either write to me or Rick Beuning from Double Quick, who seems to have just as fine a mind, and ear, for good names.
Koolickles
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 29/40
Kool-Aid Pickles
Stop-start scale: 5/10
Long and Short cut: 5/10
Story meme: 6/10
Urlabilty: 5/10
Übertotal: 21/40
Personally speaking, I know a good name when I see one. Koolickles is a good one. Very.
Why do I like Koolickles? Many reasons. For one, it's not as prosaic and simply descriptive as Kool-Aid Pickles, which doesn't even sound appetising. For two, Koolickles makes it sound like a treat of some kind, which it is and which is good. For three, Koolickles leaves a bit to our imagination, which is a good thing to attempt with communication. For four, Koolickles is a neologism, which, like all smart namers, I have a weak-in-the-knees weakness for.
And then some, more. Koolickles satisfies the bare necessities of good naming principles that say Stop-start scale, Story meme, The long and the short cut and Urlability. Check it out in the Übermeters at the bottom of this post. And for your winning Koolickle like name, you can either write to me or Rick Beuning from Double Quick, who seems to have just as fine a mind, and ear, for good names.
Koolickles
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 29/40
Kool-Aid Pickles
Stop-start scale: 5/10
Long and Short cut: 5/10
Story meme: 6/10
Urlabilty: 5/10
Übertotal: 21/40
Apple v/s Big Blue
An old classic in naming strategy is being debated over at Thingnamer and I can't help but attempt a deconstruction.
When Apple was introduced, Big Blue ruled the roost. Steve Jobs and his Gang of Blue-busters needed to come up with something so memorable that people would make an instant connection with the new product without having to be told about it time and again; Apple, you see, would never be able to match Big Blue in terms of marketing muscle.
Before that path-breaking 1984 commercial directed by Ridley Scott, Apple did something very elementry and very brilliant by deciding to call themselves so. Apple, in terms of colour, is diametrically opposite to the cool blue of blue. Apple is red. Apple is warm. Apple is fresh. Apple is very different. Apple is...well, Apple Computer. It's a different matter that Apple chose to, very smartly, go with a rainbow coloured symbol.
A red Apple logo for Apple would have been too common. Instead, what they did was choose something else with a very powerful story meme and own the Apple meme by rejigging the colours of the common fruit most inventively and most inclusively. The Rainbow, you see, has an equally powerful story meme, which they combined with the Apple story meme to communicate different and inclusive; again, most unlike Big Blue.
More about Apple: Apple draws positive memory cues from The Big Apple. Apple is a biblical symbol of universal recall. Apple is the oldest, the most tempting and the most basic fruit known to the human race. The Rainbow Apple is most emphatically not Big Blue. That's why deciding to call the new entrant Apple was less an abstract and more a simply brilliant naming move.
Apple
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 9/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 31/40
Adden for myself the dumb: Steve Jobs says he decided to go with Apple because he admired The Beatles. Ah well, maybe the credit should then go to the naming expert in The Beatles who chose the word Apple for their records. Sir Paul, take a bow.
When Apple was introduced, Big Blue ruled the roost. Steve Jobs and his Gang of Blue-busters needed to come up with something so memorable that people would make an instant connection with the new product without having to be told about it time and again; Apple, you see, would never be able to match Big Blue in terms of marketing muscle.
Before that path-breaking 1984 commercial directed by Ridley Scott, Apple did something very elementry and very brilliant by deciding to call themselves so. Apple, in terms of colour, is diametrically opposite to the cool blue of blue. Apple is red. Apple is warm. Apple is fresh. Apple is very different. Apple is...well, Apple Computer. It's a different matter that Apple chose to, very smartly, go with a rainbow coloured symbol.
A red Apple logo for Apple would have been too common. Instead, what they did was choose something else with a very powerful story meme and own the Apple meme by rejigging the colours of the common fruit most inventively and most inclusively. The Rainbow, you see, has an equally powerful story meme, which they combined with the Apple story meme to communicate different and inclusive; again, most unlike Big Blue.
More about Apple: Apple draws positive memory cues from The Big Apple. Apple is a biblical symbol of universal recall. Apple is the oldest, the most tempting and the most basic fruit known to the human race. The Rainbow Apple is most emphatically not Big Blue. That's why deciding to call the new entrant Apple was less an abstract and more a simply brilliant naming move.
Apple
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 9/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 31/40
Adden for myself the dumb: Steve Jobs says he decided to go with Apple because he admired The Beatles. Ah well, maybe the credit should then go to the naming expert in The Beatles who chose the word Apple for their records. Sir Paul, take a bow.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Neue Haas Grotesk v/s Helvetia v/s Helvetica
Helvetica is a font that has been used to communicate some of the biggest brand names in the world. Thankfully, the people who decided to call Helvetica, Helvetica chose well. Imagine if they had decided to stick with Neue Haas Grotesk.
For many obvious reasons, Neue doesn't make for a smart naming choice. Helvetia (The Latin word for Switzerland), on the other hand, is certainly a simpler naming idea, but not quite as mindpacting as Helvetica or, even, Neue Haas Grotesk. And why is Helvetica better than both? Think about it. Those who decide they'd rather hear my thinking on it are directed to the Übermeters.
If you'd like the meters on the matter on hand elaborated to you in lovingly explained terms and a detailed case study, please do write to me. Right now, though, we'll all have to settle for a quick take on the issue.
Neue Haas Grotesk
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 6/10
Story meme: 5/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 18/30
Helvetia
Stop-start scale: 6/10
Long and Short cut: 6/10
Story meme: 5/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 17/30
Helvetica
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 6/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 20/30
Adden for the dumb: Yes, I believe Neue Haas Grotesk makes for a, slightly, better name than Helvetia. Hmm...right, write to me.
For many obvious reasons, Neue doesn't make for a smart naming choice. Helvetia (The Latin word for Switzerland), on the other hand, is certainly a simpler naming idea, but not quite as mindpacting as Helvetica or, even, Neue Haas Grotesk. And why is Helvetica better than both? Think about it. Those who decide they'd rather hear my thinking on it are directed to the Übermeters.
If you'd like the meters on the matter on hand elaborated to you in lovingly explained terms and a detailed case study, please do write to me. Right now, though, we'll all have to settle for a quick take on the issue.
Neue Haas Grotesk
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 6/10
Story meme: 5/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 18/30
Helvetia
Stop-start scale: 6/10
Long and Short cut: 6/10
Story meme: 5/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 17/30
Helvetica
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 6/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 20/30
Adden for the dumb: Yes, I believe Neue Haas Grotesk makes for a, slightly, better name than Helvetia. Hmm...right, write to me.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
iGoogle v/s iApple?
No, how about iGoogle and iApple? Don't be surprised if this mini-renaming move ends up being the first in the many small steps these two Microsoft enemies and personalisation giants will take in their war against the evil empire.
They may not become one giant company, but they most likely will end up as partners in the near future. (As the great strategic thinking saying goes, "Your enemy is my enemy.") For now, though, let's restrict ourselves to evaluating how the new name adds up.
iGoogle
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 8/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 22/30
They may not become one giant company, but they most likely will end up as partners in the near future. (As the great strategic thinking saying goes, "Your enemy is my enemy.") For now, though, let's restrict ourselves to evaluating how the new name adds up.
iGoogle
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 8/10
Urlabilty: NA
Übertotal: 22/30
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Fossil v/s New
In a world of 'New this!' and 'New that!', it's so refreshing and memorable to come across a brand name that strives to be known as not just old, but very, very old.
Fossil: Now that's what you call new thinking. For a detailed dissection of the brand name and a white paper on how to come up with names like this that work, write to me.
Fossil
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 10/10
Übertotal: 31/40
New
Stop-start scale: 4/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 4/10
Urlabilty: 0/10
Übertotal: 15/40
Fossil: Now that's what you call new thinking. For a detailed dissection of the brand name and a white paper on how to come up with names like this that work, write to me.
Fossil
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 10/10
Übertotal: 31/40
New
Stop-start scale: 4/10
Long and Short cut: 7/10
Story meme: 4/10
Urlabilty: 0/10
Übertotal: 15/40
Mental Floss v/s Pundamentals
A name like Mental Floss demonstrates the importance of playing with words to come up with a unique brand name.
Now, more than ever, brand names need to be urlable. Since all the usual words have been squatted on, you need to play with the extraordinary to come up with a unique brand name. Or else, you're going to be stuck with a name that's already long 'gonline'. And if you're not online, you're going nowhere into the future.
The other great thing about the Principle of Pundamentalising is it allows you to riff on the equity built by two things instead of one.
'Pundamental', for instance, combines the story memes people associate with Fundamental and Pun, which is better, more memorable and more impressionable than just fundamental or just pun. Good fun.
Mental Floss
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 6/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 28/40
Now, more than ever, brand names need to be urlable. Since all the usual words have been squatted on, you need to play with the extraordinary to come up with a unique brand name. Or else, you're going to be stuck with a name that's already long 'gonline'. And if you're not online, you're going nowhere into the future.
The other great thing about the Principle of Pundamentalising is it allows you to riff on the equity built by two things instead of one.
'Pundamental', for instance, combines the story memes people associate with Fundamental and Pun, which is better, more memorable and more impressionable than just fundamental or just pun. Good fun.
Mental Floss
Stop-start scale: 7/10
Long and Short cut: 6/10
Story meme: 7/10
Urlabilty: 8/10
Übertotal: 28/40
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