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In business, you cannot underestimate the value of a good name...one that triggers the right emotion with consumers. Marketing savvy companies like P&G know this and spend hundreds of thousands annually on naming, testing, and renaming products to attract consumers and build brands. So then, why do so many otherwise intelligent smaller business owners often have such a frivolous attitude when it comes to naming?

Case in point. Recently, a potential client asked me my opinion of the name he was considering for his company. After offering my tempered opinion I inquired about the name's genesis - something that sounded as if it could've come from a 10-year old kid.

"My 10-year old kid came up with it" explained the client. "I kinda like it," he added.

Another case involved a European manufacturer who asked me the same thing about his product name: MiaManna. Any guesses what MiaManna is? Something Italian or Spanish? Pizza bread maybe? MiaManna is a crispy, snacky German fruit-chip product much like potato chips, but healthier. It's a great product that deserves a better name than MiaManna. So, when I suggested that he rethink the name it was as if I'd just insulted his wife. I never heard from him again.

One of the more catchy names I've heard recently is "Guzzle". Great name, right? Well, that depends on what you're guzzling. Instead of a sports drink, soda, or beer targeted to frat boys, Guzzle is ketchup. That's right, ketchup. Obviously, this cocky entrepreneur thinks his ketchup is good enough to ... um, guzzle. Gross! Sure it's important to have a memorable name and trigger an emotion with consumers, but it has to be the right emotion. I don't care if Guzzle is the best friggin' ketchup in the universe, the image of guzzling ketchup is not a good one.

The thing about any name is that once you decide on it, you don't want to have to change it. It's not like an ad campaign that can easily be changed if it's not working. Therefore, it's key to realize that a good name is much more than something personal or catchy. It's an identity and a brand that should help build your business and last a lifetime.

I must add that there's an irony here. It's the irony of a client who justifiably demands a grounded, strategic explanation for even the smallest creative decision and yet, left to his own devices, will make a huge branding decision based on personal whimsy or even that of a 10-year old child. If a company is truly interested in the best name and/or marketing for their product they'd serve themselves well by asking the advice of a qualified, trusted creative marketing firm or expert - and listening to it.


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(For more specific marketing help, go to http://follisinc.com/therapy.htm)




(c) 2004 John Follis. All rights reserved.


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