Archive for the ‘Product Naming’ Category

We Let The DAWGS Out! (Naming a Business So It Gets Noticed)

July 6, 2009

Door and Window Guard Systems

When Jim Heagney came to us with a great new product, we knew he needed a great new name to match. Jim and partners manufacture metal security panels that bolt into the windows and doorways of empty, abandoned or foreclosed homes, as well as new construction and properties undergoing rehab. This type of home protection can save tens of thousands of dollars from break-ins, theft and vandalism. With foreclosures at an all time high, there was never a better time to launch… but what to call them? The few competitors in the field had bland, generic names for their companies, and no real brand name for their actual products.

Jim was a big admirer of one of our other company names… PODS, an acronym name (Portable On Demand Storage) that also works as a stand alone word. PODS has become the “Kleenex” of the movable storage industry, and Jim felt that with the right name, he could accomplish the same goal in his industry. So instead of calling them panels, or screens, or grids, we called them…

D.A.W.G.S. (Door And Window Guard Systems)

Like PODS, the name DAWGS works on several levels. It serves a literal function when needed, by providing a built in descriptor phrase (i.e. when asked, they can simply reply “We sell door and window guard systems!”) It also provides a memorable metaphor, a rough, tough, house-protecting “Dawg!” This conjures up a sense of vigilence, protection, guarding, protecting, and defending — without having to invoke all those words. Hence the proverbial mental picture being worth a thousand words. The name also gives the product a “handle” with an imaginative name that aids recall. Getting DAWGS to protect a house is much easier to communicate than “ordering some of those internally bolted metal door and window security panels.”

The word DAWGS, like any good brand name, then acts as a mental computer macro — setting off a whole list of associations that don’t require explanation. (For more on this subject, see “Monster, Amazon, Crocs — Why Creative Brand Names Work Best.”) So if you need a brand name that’s “off the chain” just call the bright minds at Tungsten!

Is BING the new thing? Rebranding Microsoft Live Search

June 1, 2009

Let’s face it… Microsoft has never been the leader when it comes to cool brand names. But that might be changing. This past week, the folks in Redmond, WA announced the new name for their improved search engine… Bing! You might say Bing has a ring to it, and it’s a heck of a lot better than their previous literal/descriptive name, Live Search (as in, “Could you ‘Live Search’ that for me?”) Or Kumo, their stealth code name, which sounded more like an Alaskan sled dog.

Bing is short and (like the cherry) sweet. It has has verb potential, almost like when you “ping” something, as in pinging a server. Whether it can replace the ubiquitous use of Google remains to be seen. It’s never easy when you are trying to unseat the leader, which by the way has a fairly good brand name already. A lot of it will depend on the service itself. Microsoft has improved the name, but have they sufficiently improved the product? Enough for folks to change old, establish search habits? Moving from number two to number one takes some doing… just ask Pepsi.

Here’s what makes that question even more interesting.

According to Advertising Age, Microsoft has $80 to $100 million planned to burn that brand name into just about any brain on the planet. That amount can easily pound a square peg into a round hole. Google has never faced a direct onslaught like this, and so it will be interesting to see how they respond in kind.

Electrasol® Gets Rinsed Away… new name is Finish®

April 28, 2009

It’s tough to give up a legacy product name, no matter how goofy or unrelated it sounds. I saw a TV ad this weekend announcing that Electrasol, the tried and trusted name in dishwasher detergents, is now Finish®. Come to find out, Finish was already the name for the product everywhere outside the U.S. and the company wanted to simply “clean up” their branding hierarchy and have all the dishwashing related products under one unified name. According to their web site, “FINISH® products are the same ELECTRASOL® and JET-DRY® products that you know and trust, now backed by the power of the world’s #1 dishwashing brand.”

I could find no trace of where the original name Electrasol® came from (two partners Electra and Sol? Spanish for “electric” and “sun?”) Regardless, the new name Finish® is much simpler and has an implied promise (to “finish” the job, or to put a “finish” on the dishes.) Some will lament the change just because consumers get attached to the way things are, but overall this is a good move. Fractured branding becomes a nusance at some point, both in terms of time, attention, packaging and promotion.

(Now if the parent company, Reckitt Benckiser, would take it one step further and simplify their own name.)

A “Moving” Example of A New Product Name

November 13, 2008

Tungsten Branding recently completed a product naming assignment for Cerona Networks, a provider of spectrally efficient satellite network solutions. That is to say they know how to connect a lot of people, quickly and effectively. Their new two-way satellite system allows “communications on the move,” something vitally important to first responders and military personnel.

The goal was to capture a sense of the product’s attributes in the name itself. It’s ability to operate “down range” in real time, combined with it’s ability to function “on the run,” made Range Runner a natural fit. The new name not only provides memorable alliteration with the two “R”s, it also conveys mobility and responsiveness. And to cap it off, the matching .com was available as well (and for anyone trying to find available urls, you know what a challenge that can be.)

For naming solutions that move you forward, just flip our switch!

Crystal Light Bulb Award — Brilliant Brand Names That Shine

October 22, 2008

I’ll confess… not every great brand name comes from Tungsten. Ouch! There, I said it. It seems to be good sport these days to make fun of the names that other naming firms create, and with good reason. Some of them do seem a bit on the dim side, probably due to client, trademark or legal constraints we never hear about. But what I notice most are the really great names, the ones that make us light up and take notice. I always recognize when I see or hear one of these high wattage names because my first thought is “Wow! I wish I had thought of that one!” Creating one of these names requires the naming trifecta of skill, opportunity and good fortune.

So I’m going public with my naming jealousy. As to completely purge myself of these inner naming demons, I am going to openly confess and list some of these names for all to see. Perhaps you’ve also come across great, clever, original and witty brand names that were blindingly brilliant. If so, feel free to add your suggestions to the list. Perhaps we’ll send the top nominee a Crystal Light Bulb in honor of the recognition. Here’s my list…

FireFly - A mobile phone for kids. Not only does this name have awesome alliteration, it’s also evocative and engaging. It engenders a sense of carefree summer nights, running barefoot through grassy meadows, and the glowing illumination of these mysterious wonders. Kudos to whoever came up with this one. I wrote to the company to provide proper credit but have not heard back.

Spoon Me - This one was coined by my good friend Alexandra Watkins at EatMyWords.com. Alexandra and her team do a great job, especially with food and product names. And this fun loving name for a fast growing frozen yogurt franchise simply tastes great. It provides the perfect double entendre for scooping up dessert while snuggling your significant other. The owners of this company should fork over a bonus for dishing up this winner.

PODS - Okay, so I cheated. I added one of our own names. But it’s not very often that an acronym name actually works. Portable On Demand Storage proved to be a hit with the client and their customers, helping to define the category. This type of branding opportunity doesn’t come along often, so we did our best to think “inside the box.”

Roomba - How often does a name work on this many levels? This round little vacuum made by iRobot moves all over a “room” in dance-like fashion (as in the Cuban rhumba) sweeping debris right off it feet. This is one name that does everything but suck.

So that’s the start of the list. Add on, disagree, vote, or groan. Just send in the best and the brightest and we’ll see if there’s a clear winner.

12 Steps to Overcoming Brand Dilution

October 6, 2008

Laura Ries makes a compelling case for the addictive quality of creating line/brand extensions. In her view, the temptation to increase market share, by borrowing on the equity in a well established brand, is just too great for many business owners and brand managers. In many ways it parallels the way we Americans have tapped the equity in our homes, like giant ATM machines. Brands are much the same way, containing monetary worth, but only to a point! By borrowing on the strength of an exisiting brand, it often weakens it, so these decisions have to be weighed carefully.

In some instances brand extensions can make sense. Diet Coke is a good example. It’s close to being the same tasting product, minus the cup of sugar. So that line extension opened the market to those on a diet, without changing the basic flavor or delivery method. Where brands get goofy is when they stretch it too far. At what point is Diet Vanilla Cherry Coke no longer Coke? I advise clients that brand extensions work when they are built on the same axis, or piviot point, as the orginal product. By that I mean that the extension has to deliver the same end benefit.

Example?

For Rolex, a brand extension needs to deliver prestige. A cheaper Rolex watch would fail that test. But a luxury Rolex interior in a Mercedes might work well. So it’s not that brand extensions don’t work at all, it’s just that they need to be firmly rooted in the product’s core promise. Apple has extended its brand into the music arena by staying consistently small, cool, innovative and user friendly. Apple took the same brand attributes and applied them to their iPhone. A cheap computer would fail as a line extension for Apple, but a small, cool, innovative GPS system might work well.

So take a look at what you’ve been slapping your name on. If you have been reckless with brand extensions, I would suggest you come out of denial and practice Laura’s 12 step program. It works if you work it.