Name gallery #9: 7/10

More brand name puffery from Al and Laura Ries

If this interview is anything to go by Al and Laura Ries ought to drop the famous surname from their name. Everything they say in this interview goes against the one big reason the Ries' are what they are today: Their old name.

Seeing Red FM

Is it so hard to come up with an orginal name? India Today launched their FM radio service and called it Red FM. Oddly enough, there are six radio stations around the world with the same name? Did they decide to use the same brand name in the hope that they will be bought out by one of the other radio stations and save them the trouble of coming up with another brand name?

Name gallery #8: 7/10

Name calls

Your blog is your brand. If you want the world out there to buy into your blog, you've got to make sure people find it. For people to find your brand, you've got to pick a clever name for it. And that's why you might want to read this long, detailed and well-researched post on the kind of brand names people choose for their blogs. This post was written in 2004. Obviously, some questions never go away.

Name gallery #7: 7/10

Brand name v/s Brand logo

Is a name a logo? Is a logo a name? Do you need a name because you can't pronounce a logo? Would you be better off with just a logo because names can mean so many odd things in different parts of the world? But how does one ask for a logo, if not by name? An interesting thought I say, illustrated by this logo name.

Brand world

Thanks to the Internet and the growing power of the Internet, global is local is blocal is glocal is the breaking down of boundaries between markets. Phew. Discover what that means with respect to brand names in this article that explores the hurdles that crop up when you decide to take your brand name abroad.

Playing with brand names

The following demo, is a web based version of Experiment 2 outlined in Kronlund and Berstein (2006). Kronlund and Berstein (2006) discovered that unscrambling an anagram increased participants recollection and preference for that brand. They go on to suggest that presenting brand words as anagrams or in another degraded fashion could increase the likelihood of impulse purchases. In addition, logic puzzles placed next to an advertised produce may increase brand recognition and preference.

Deconstructed: what this means is if you make buyers feel part of the brand name by encouraging them to interact with it, you've got a better chance of being bought. Bought.

Brand buzz

It is what every advertiser would have dreamed of - brand names have a unique impact on our brains. And that's why you have to be more than just careful when you pick a brand name. You have to be interesting. Now buzz off!

Brands v/s Brand names

An thought-provoking conversation on the difference between brands and brand names.

Name gallery #6: 6/10

Stealnama

Brandnama posted a quick 'thought-bubbled' on brand name stealing and that inspired me to go hunting for an interesting story on stolen brand names. Enjoy. And debate.

Snark Hunting hunting

I love your blog. I love your tone of voice. I love the pot shots you take at other people. All I ask is why IGOR? I'm sure you have a perfectly good expalantion for it. One that will put any Landor or Lexicon to shame.

Name gallery #5: 5/10

Is it better than 'Red Bull'? No.

Gyanamedra #5: Postpositives

These adjectives are called postpositive, but that's not because they're positive words. Rather, the designation "positive" alludes to their position -- they're placed (or deposited) after the word they modify, for example, the adjective extraordinaire in "teacher extraordinaire". We often find these adjectives in phrases, such as "attorney general" or "court martial". Product names often have adjectives placed postpositively, e.g. Miller Lite or iPod nano.

10 biggest naming no-no's

One of my brand blogs is called briefing matters and I think it falls right into this list of 10 things you shouldn't do when looking for a brand name. Guess I'm a quick learner. Learn.

Bread time and other stories

A review of Ever Wonder...Where the first sliced bread and other famous foods got their names? By Evan Morris, from "From Altoids to Zima: The Surprising Stories Behind 125 Famous Brand Names" Wonderful.

Name gallery #4: 7/10

Brandaclaus on Santa Claus

The story of one of the most famous brand names of our time. Merry Christmas.

Googles v/s Google

It takes guts and smarts to take on a behemoth like Google. Or maybe they did it just for the publicity. Hmm. As expected, they lost. Nobody wins against Google. Not just yet.

Naming principles for the new order

In the old strategy, the key to success was in the total graphic image. The name of a corporation was not the key issue, but rather a part of an advertising jigsaw puzzle. All the emphasis was placed on the visuals: logos, specific colors and graphic designs, tag lines and other paraphernalia, to create a total visual-identity experience. Names were treated as a small hip-hop exercise, something to be dragged to success by a big and expensive blowout campaign. Hence branding needed huge budgets.

It's interesting that while we've become more visual in our thinking, a branding expert believes naming techniques have become less.

Brand values

Groupe SEB, one of the world's largest manufacturers of small appliances, came to Ipsos Insight with an interest in answering the following questions:

What is the incremental value of changing the brand name on a small appliance? If a given brand name can generate a price premium, can that difference be used to measure a brand's financial value? For answers and to find out how to use Van Westendorp to determine the value of a Brand Name, go here.

Kelitun and Laiwensiji

A Chinese company honoured ex-president Bill Clinton by naming a new line of condoms after him - along with a companion line of condoms that will be named after his ex-girlfriend, Monica Lewinsky.

The Guangzhou Haokian Bio-science company has registered their names as trademarks for the contraceptives.

The condoms will display Chinese spellings: Kelitun and Laiwensiji.

A 12-pack of Clintons is expected to cost $5.00, with Lewinskys selling at a discounted price of just over $3.00.

The manufacturer's general manager, Liu Wenhua, told Sky News that naming his condoms for Clinton was perfectly legal, explaining that "trademarks of two foreign surnames and can't be seen as a violation of rights."

Clinton is the only U.S. president to be honored with his own condom brand line.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was unavailable to comment on her husband's latest achievement.

Name gallery #3: 5/10

Eggnog to Tom and Jerry

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, this litle factoid on a brand extension of eggnog called "Tom and Jerry". Over to Robert Sietsema, who writes the weekly column "Counter Culture" for The Village Voice and is the author of "The Food Lover's Guide to the Best Ethnic Eating in New York City."

How did the hot version come to be called a "Tom and Jerry"? When I was a kid in Minnesota, the eggnog my brothers and I furtively gulped right from the carton contained plenty of rum flavoring, but no actual alcohol. We couldn't help noticing our parents sipped a warmed and considerably more alcoholic version, called Tom and Jerry, out of pressed-glass punch bowls at their Christmas parties. Naturally, we thought the name was a tribute to the animated dog and cat who chased each other across our black-and-white TV -- and it seemed a fitting one for a drink that made adults act as silly as cartoon characters.

In fact, the notion of spiking warmed eggnog dates at least to the mid-19th century. The cocktail itself was a turn of the 19th century American invention, whose greatest proponent and popularizer was professor Jerry Thomas, a bartender at New York's Metropolitan Hotel in the years before the Civil War. Thomas (who also invented the martini, which he called the martinez) penned the world's first mixed-drink formulary, "The Bar-Tender's Guide, or How to Mix Drinks." Prominent among his recipes was one for eggnog, and theorists believe a heated version of the recipe, which became popular around that time, was dubbed Tom and Jerry in tribute to the "Professor." Others say Thomas actually invented the drink himself, though that prompts the question: Wouldn't he have called it Jerry and Tom, in observance of the proper sequence of his own name?

Wikipedia, that unimpeachable source, claims the hot nog was named after two characters in Pierce Egan's monthly newspaper journal (an early forerunner of the blog) titled "Life in London," and subtitled "The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom." That literary masterpiece engendered a famous 19th century expression: Whether used as a noun or verb, "Tom and Jerry" meant a violent altercation between drinkers.

Name gallery #2: 7/10

American Indian

The two Harvard Business School classmates who resurrected Chris-Craft have a new plan to bring Indian Motorcycle back from the brink. Can this icon be saved?

Lost in translation

After discovering what Zune alludes to in French-Canada, here's another reminder for those who believe global is the new language of brands.

Randall Frost reports on what companies should watch out for when taking their brand names into different cultures and countries: Microsoft’s new operating system, Vista, turns out to be a disparaging term for a frumpy old woman in Latvia. And Motorola’s Hellomoto ring tone sounds like “Hello, Fatty” in India. More.

Note: HelloMoto is not "Hello Fatty" in India. "Hello Fatty" would be Hellomota (for male) and Hellomoti (for female.)

Name gallery #1: 7/10

Star wars

An interesting article on why, even, Bollywood has always taken branding and rebranding quite seriously. So the next time you don't think about branding, think about whom you should think of.

Kit chat

Bet you know exactly which brand name I'm alluding to in the headline. All the more reason you should read this short case study on how one of the classic brand names of our times has stayed on top of things.

Taste duds

The one thing you don't want is a brand name that's in any way misleading. Obviously, these people didn't think so. Interestingly enough a misleading brand name may not be such a bad way to get some free publicity. Still, why mislead when you can start off the right foot with a good brand name from Brandaclaus.

Dicking around with Zune

When French-Canadians think of Zune, what do they think of? They think of sex. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Come to think of it, French-Canadians are always thinking about sex and a music player that alludes to it might not be such a bad idea.

Naming Arizona

Why towns in Arizona have names like 'Why'.

10 brand names that just won't die.

I don't quite agree with Paul McNamara on this one. Which is probably why he wrote it. Nothing like stating something extreme to get a brand going. Especially, when you have a boring name like Paul's. (The surname though, is a good one.)

5 myths about brand names

Steve Rivkin says: A good brand name is golden. As a Kraft Foods executive says, "Kraft has thousands of trademarks and they are among our most treasured assets. To the outside world, they represent who we are and what we do."

But over the years, lots of false notions and fuzzy thinking have crept into the naming game. Let's clear up five major misconceptions.

Brand values

When brands created as a joke, and for a lark, get snapped up by people who see potential in them, it's a fair indication of how valuable brand names are. Which makes me wonder, is it that easy to come up with a brand name? Read this article and draw your own conclusions. (Along the way, you might also be inclined to discover what brand you are.)