Beer Name Not so Sunny

I have a general cautionary rule about naming ideas that I tell my clients, if it sounds too obvious or too good to be true, proceed with caution. With the Internet and social media connections it's going to be harder than ever to use well known names and if you do be sure to do your homework.

Along those lines, I'm noticing in today's ultra competitive business environment that companies are becoming more aggressive about about protecting their brand names.

Case in point. Here's an article from the Phoenix Business Journal about a local brewery that probably thought "Sun Devil" was the perfect name for one of their new dark red ales, but alas, ASU said no go. So now the San Tan Brewing Co. is having a beer naming contest instead if you'd like to participate it runs through Feb. 28, 2010.

When A Good Name Goes Bad

It happens everyday in the naming business. There you are with your perfectly good brand name. You've had it a while and it's a name you like quite a bit for some very good reasons. Then BAM out of the blue a GIANT brand decides they like the name too. What do you do?

You have some tough branding naming decisions to make. Do you keep your brand name and ride along on what's likely to be a big budget wave? Of course, you might get towed under the ground swell or lost in the shadows. (Of course, you may also have adequate legal grounds for cease and desist, but this fight may get expensive and complicated.)

I was reading the other day that just this scenario happened to marketing agency (formerly) called Bing. Sound familiar? Here's their renaming story. Need help with your renaming project? Please drop us a line at Namelancer@hotmail.com. We name to please!