As a namer, one rule I tend to be adamant about when it comes to helping name a particular type of product is that somehow the benefit of the product is communicated to the consumer. While this sounds easy, the trick comes in when you want to communicate the product or service strength without being too heavy handed or descriptive.
Take the continued popularity and growth of green or eco-friendly products. By their very nature (no pun intended) these trendy products call for a particular type of name that strongly reinforces he brand’s benefits, organic qualities, simplicity, “greenness,” etc.
But it's not always that easy in practice, for one thing the "organic" marketplace is already becoming crowded, so be sure to elicit some professional naming help if you are developing a green brand.Here’s an Fast Company post about The Top Ten Worst Green Brands. And some some of these are quite bad. I have this thing about the misplace use of "baby" in brand names so Babyganics? Just say no. (But, I have to say, I’m not entirely in agreement with them about the new Nissan Leaf. Personally, I like Leaf better than Prius.)
Looking for affordable naming help for your organic brand or green product? For more information about our $99 naming packages, visit us at Namelancer.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Are You Inuit to Win It?
If only I were Canadian--I could name a whale! (Namers love naming contests, as you might imagine.)Well, if you are lucky enough to be Canadian, you have a chance enter a name the baby beluga whale contest at the Vancouver Aquarium.
They are suggesting a name honoring the Inuit language. As a namer I love linguistics and Inuit is a fascinating language (or group of languages). I worked with Inuit words several years ago when I worked on an Alaskan food product naming project. As a namer, I love all the letter Qs and Ks and Ys.
For example, Qannik, is snowflake and Kanguyak is daisy, according to one Inuit online dictionary. So the next time you are looking for a name with some unusual linguistic flair check out some Inuit words. And as always, if you need help with your naming project please drop us a line at Namelancer.
(Cute whale photo courtesty of Flickr.)
Friday, November 6, 2009
Naming by the Book
I recently answered a branding question on LinkedIn about the best books on naming and I thought I'd repost that list here. Obviously, as a naming consultant I'm going to recommend that "you don't try this at home" but I also think that a good branding client is well-informed about best practices. And I understand there are many branding folks out there interested in naming.
So here are a few books that I own (and have read obviously) about naming specifically that you may find helpful--Note some are newer and possibly more relevant than others. (All found on Amazon.) Naming practices, just like other branding initiatives, can become dated quickly.
So here are a few books that I own (and have read obviously) about naming specifically that you may find helpful--Note some are newer and possibly more relevant than others. (All found on Amazon.) Naming practices, just like other branding initiatives, can become dated quickly.
- The Naming of the Beast by Neil Taylor
- WordCraft by Alex Frankel
- The Making of a Name by Rivkin
- Names that Sell by Barrett
- Crafting the Perfect Name by Burroughs
- Also Before the Brand by Perry (a short, easy to read branding book) has a decent chapter overview about naming
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Uncle Sam's Tips for Naming
Who knew the government could be so helpful when it comes to naming?
The other day I came across a basic, no nonsense (which I guess makes sense for the government) article about How to Name Your Business on Business.gov. The article include information about business registration by state as well.
I know. I know. Business registration or legal part of naming is not necessarily the glamorous, sexy part of creating names, but it's necessary. And if you're careful about checking the viability of your name candidates upfront you will save a lot of time and money in the end.
If you are on a corporate name selection committee or team, be sure the participants clearly understand that several (or many) names may need to be submitted before one clears legal. Try not to vote for one winner. Think Letterman. It's better to vote for a say a Top Ten List.
I know it's hard not to play name favorites at this point, but I've had many clients very disappointed when their first or second name choice is not available.
The way I look at this is that a good brand name is one you can own and protect outright. Don't feel bad that your "legally-clean" name may not be your first choice. The goal with all naming is to find that perfect name that will help you differentiate your brand, not be a "me too" name.
If you need help with your naming project, please visit Namelancer.
The other day I came across a basic, no nonsense (which I guess makes sense for the government) article about How to Name Your Business on Business.gov. The article include information about business registration by state as well.
I know. I know. Business registration or legal part of naming is not necessarily the glamorous, sexy part of creating names, but it's necessary. And if you're careful about checking the viability of your name candidates upfront you will save a lot of time and money in the end.
If you are on a corporate name selection committee or team, be sure the participants clearly understand that several (or many) names may need to be submitted before one clears legal. Try not to vote for one winner. Think Letterman. It's better to vote for a say a Top Ten List.
I know it's hard not to play name favorites at this point, but I've had many clients very disappointed when their first or second name choice is not available.
The way I look at this is that a good brand name is one you can own and protect outright. Don't feel bad that your "legally-clean" name may not be your first choice. The goal with all naming is to find that perfect name that will help you differentiate your brand, not be a "me too" name.
If you need help with your naming project, please visit Namelancer.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Having Fun with Random Name Generators
You can finds lots of different free random name generators online. In general, these tools are just for fun, and it would be unlikely to find a great match for your project. And obviously, many are "sponsored" by domain registration site.
However, you can use random name generators as stepping stone for different ideas and brainstorming. Here's one I came across this week Make Words.
Of the 12 available dot com website domain names that generate on the home page, many are tricky to spell and/or pronounce. My favorite? Nostrato. (Though my linguistic instincts tell me to check that out in Italian before using it.) MakeWords also features a bulk name search feature which can save time checking a longer brainstorm list for dot com availability as well.
Another cool random domain generator is Radomainter (not that easy to say, but I get it). Type a noun, for example (or you can use a random word), into the tool and immediately get a long list of available dot com domain names that include that word.
Since I love Las Vegas and the ocean, let's try "whale" and see what we get for available dot com names...
However, you can use random name generators as stepping stone for different ideas and brainstorming. Here's one I came across this week Make Words.
Of the 12 available dot com website domain names that generate on the home page, many are tricky to spell and/or pronounce. My favorite? Nostrato. (Though my linguistic instincts tell me to check that out in Italian before using it.) MakeWords also features a bulk name search feature which can save time checking a longer brainstorm list for dot com availability as well.
Another cool random domain generator is Radomainter (not that easy to say, but I get it). Type a noun, for example (or you can use a random word), into the tool and immediately get a long list of available dot com domain names that include that word.
Since I love Las Vegas and the ocean, let's try "whale" and see what we get for available dot com names...
- CityWhale
- LoveWhale
- EasyWhale
- WhaleTop
Monday, November 2, 2009
Back in the Naming Saddle
Whew, it was a bit quiet in this summer and I took a brief hiatus from naming to work on some other projects. This week I'm happy to say that I'm working on a real estate development naming and brand identity project, which is perhaps my favorite type of naming project.
Over the summer, I continued to participate (for practice if nothing else) in a variety of crowd sourcing naming websites like NameThis. Some seemed better than others. Unfortunately, one of my favorites, NameThis has gone on "a break."
While not perfect, NameThis gave clients with limited budgets the chance to get a variety of ideas in a short time frame. In the end, I'm happy to report that I won quite a few projects on NameThis and am proud of my work there.
(Note I'm not affiliated with NameThis in anyway and am not pleased to see though that a number of participants are claiming they were never paid. I never like to see this in the creative consulting community.)
That being said, affordable namers like myself are still out there and willing to do great work, so drop me a line at Namelancer@hotmail.com if you need help with a naming project.
Over the summer, I continued to participate (for practice if nothing else) in a variety of crowd sourcing naming websites like NameThis. Some seemed better than others. Unfortunately, one of my favorites, NameThis has gone on "a break."
While not perfect, NameThis gave clients with limited budgets the chance to get a variety of ideas in a short time frame. In the end, I'm happy to report that I won quite a few projects on NameThis and am proud of my work there.
(Note I'm not affiliated with NameThis in anyway and am not pleased to see though that a number of participants are claiming they were never paid. I never like to see this in the creative consulting community.)
That being said, affordable namers like myself are still out there and willing to do great work, so drop me a line at Namelancer@hotmail.com if you need help with a naming project.
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