On the 12th of July, Emma Peto, Managing Director of NOMEN UK naming consultants, will be running a 10K race in aid of children’s communication charity I CAN.
Emma strongly believes in the importance of good communication, and that passion easily lends itself to a career in brand naming. Nomen UK is a company with a 15-year history of successful brand naming.
Branding is all about communication – your brand tells people who you are. In the world of branding, words are all-important, as well as visual elements such as logos.
I CAN provide a crucial role in helping children with communication difficulties. Communication is an essential life skill, the foundation on which children learn and relate to others.
Emma says, “Our challenge as namers is to communicate key brand messages in just one name, sometimes using a single word. Yet there are children who cannot communicate or make themselves understood at all, no matter how many words you give them. This is why I CAN seems to be a very worthy cause for someone like me to support.”
http://www.ican.org.uk
http://www.justgiving.com/emmapeto
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Friday, 19 June 2009
A taste of originality at Ascot
Fashion trends are ever-changing, but let’s be fair, they normally last more than one day. Frederick’s Ice Cream have taken fashion “flakiness” to the next level with their edible hat, worn at Ascot by Freya Berry. The hat, made by Judy Bentinck, was the shape of an ice-cream cone and contained real chocolate flakes.
OK, so the whole hat wasn’t actually edible. But once you’ve eaten the chocolate, the rest loses some appeal, surely?
OK, so the whole hat wasn’t actually edible. But once you’ve eaten the chocolate, the rest loses some appeal, surely?
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Untapped sources of naming ideas ?
Is a floor littered with discarded clothes, a student’s bedroom or is it a clothing storage system known as a floordrobe?
Is the manipulation of photographic or video images to convey a false representation of events, an admirable skill or is it fauxtography?
Is this just an excuse to list some examples from the Macquarie Online Dictionary Word of the Year competition or is it highlighting an untapped source of naming ideas?
Slang words rarely feature in naming because of their informality, their potential to become uncool very quickly, and their failure to fit into corporate branding protocols. But the point here is they should not be ignored.
They represent a rich source of inspiration because, of course, they are names themselves. Names created by public opinion and trend leaders; names which reveal public attitudes, behaviours and crazes; names which show how people think about things. All this can be fed into the naming of other product and services.
One would hope that the essence of innovative products and services is that they are of the moment and looking to the future. So what better way to start thinking about a name for them than by considering those street–based “names” that reflect the true zeitgeist of the moment?
Is the manipulation of photographic or video images to convey a false representation of events, an admirable skill or is it fauxtography?
Is this just an excuse to list some examples from the Macquarie Online Dictionary Word of the Year competition or is it highlighting an untapped source of naming ideas?
Slang words rarely feature in naming because of their informality, their potential to become uncool very quickly, and their failure to fit into corporate branding protocols. But the point here is they should not be ignored.
They represent a rich source of inspiration because, of course, they are names themselves. Names created by public opinion and trend leaders; names which reveal public attitudes, behaviours and crazes; names which show how people think about things. All this can be fed into the naming of other product and services.
One would hope that the essence of innovative products and services is that they are of the moment and looking to the future. So what better way to start thinking about a name for them than by considering those street–based “names” that reflect the true zeitgeist of the moment?
Whatever...
New products and services are continually being created on the basis of a combination of customer knowledge, technical innovation and a desire to gain increased market share. The naming process comes later and seeks to capture the essence of the product or service as determined by this market analysis. The name tells the potential customer that this is the product or service for them and their specific needs.
But, in Singapore, the process has been uniquely reversed. The managing director of a media company became bemused by the most common reactions he received when offering to buy a drink.
Noting also that one response corresponded to a word that was very prevalent in the vocabulary of the local youth, he realised that it already possessed the attributes of familiarity and hipness which are so often the goals of the naming process.
With admirable audacity he decided to create a product around the name and he succeeded. So now, in Singapore, if you ask someone what they’d like to drink and they reply say “anything” or “whatever”, you don’t have to feel frustrated, you just buy them a can of Anything or Whatever.
Gimmicky you think? Maybe, but first month sales of 3.5 million cans suggest otherwise
But, in Singapore, the process has been uniquely reversed. The managing director of a media company became bemused by the most common reactions he received when offering to buy a drink.
Noting also that one response corresponded to a word that was very prevalent in the vocabulary of the local youth, he realised that it already possessed the attributes of familiarity and hipness which are so often the goals of the naming process.
With admirable audacity he decided to create a product around the name and he succeeded. So now, in Singapore, if you ask someone what they’d like to drink and they reply say “anything” or “whatever”, you don’t have to feel frustrated, you just buy them a can of Anything or Whatever.
Gimmicky you think? Maybe, but first month sales of 3.5 million cans suggest otherwise
The Discipline Of Naming
Naming projects tend to be singular affairs. They come to the fore when the need to find a name for an umbrella brand or a new product/service comes across the relevant executives’ desks. But it is crucial not to view them in isolation because, in the absence of an overall strategy, confusion can reign.
Consider Microsoft where, in the past, names have originated at the individual product group level rather than centrally. All its online services now fall under the name Live, but that is a group name also used for their Windows products for small enterprises – and on top of this there is the whole range of MSN services.
There are many ways to avoid this. Google keeps things simple and uses a “Google plus product name” construction – for everything. BMW chooses to use numbers as names and by doing so emphasises the technical nature of the product and eliminates any international complications.
IKEA bathroom items are named after Scandinavian lakes, rivers or bays while all their chairs and desks have male names. The reason - the founder of the company is dyslexic and allegedly believes that proper names and words are easier to remember than product codes.
That may be eclectic but like all the other examples it maintains the key naming elements of distinctiveness and consistency. Without this, you run the risk of confusing both existing and potential customers and your own staff.
Consider Microsoft where, in the past, names have originated at the individual product group level rather than centrally. All its online services now fall under the name Live, but that is a group name also used for their Windows products for small enterprises – and on top of this there is the whole range of MSN services.
There are many ways to avoid this. Google keeps things simple and uses a “Google plus product name” construction – for everything. BMW chooses to use numbers as names and by doing so emphasises the technical nature of the product and eliminates any international complications.
IKEA bathroom items are named after Scandinavian lakes, rivers or bays while all their chairs and desks have male names. The reason - the founder of the company is dyslexic and allegedly believes that proper names and words are easier to remember than product codes.
That may be eclectic but like all the other examples it maintains the key naming elements of distinctiveness and consistency. Without this, you run the risk of confusing both existing and potential customers and your own staff.
Zen and the power of positive naming
Today, a small supermarket stocks over 30,000 items. It’s harder than ever to get noticed. In fact, according to Saatchi and Saatchi’s Kevin Roberts, you have three seconds in which to attract, interest and inform and then, finally, get a consumer to act.
In-store promotions and point of sale offers may help but only if you can draw attention to them. And that’s a big if.
Creative product naming can make the difference. It is the medium of first impression which grabs both instant attention and the mind-space that stimulates recall. It is one of the most inexpensive and effective ways to differentiate your product, to engage your customer and to grab a significant share of marketing voice.
A Nomen-named fermented dairy drink called Zen firstly evokes a sense of physical and spiritual wellness. Secondly, it conjures up the spirit of calm relaxation – something that is promoted by Zen’s high magnesium content. Finally, it suggests the end of the day, a time of rest, reflection and rumination which fits with the fact that Zen is innovatively a night-time drink.
Thus a single name delivers a message of healthiness, an impression of relaxation and a suggestion of a new category characteristic. Not in three seconds, but in three letters.
In-store promotions and point of sale offers may help but only if you can draw attention to them. And that’s a big if.
Creative product naming can make the difference. It is the medium of first impression which grabs both instant attention and the mind-space that stimulates recall. It is one of the most inexpensive and effective ways to differentiate your product, to engage your customer and to grab a significant share of marketing voice.
A Nomen-named fermented dairy drink called Zen firstly evokes a sense of physical and spiritual wellness. Secondly, it conjures up the spirit of calm relaxation – something that is promoted by Zen’s high magnesium content. Finally, it suggests the end of the day, a time of rest, reflection and rumination which fits with the fact that Zen is innovatively a night-time drink.
Thus a single name delivers a message of healthiness, an impression of relaxation and a suggestion of a new category characteristic. Not in three seconds, but in three letters.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
The Persuasive Power Of Names
Sceptical about the persuasive power of names? Well the work of University of Buffalo behavioural scientist Brett Pelham might change your mind.
It suggests that people:
1) are more likely to agree to requests from people with similar names
2) are attracted to professions in the same way - US dentists are 82 per cent more likely to be named Dennis than expected
3) live in cities that match their birthday number – Three Forks, Montana has a disproportionate number of residents born on March 3 (3/3).
4) live in states/counties/streets that have names like their own
5) marry others who have first or last names similar to theirs (which may explain why Jack and Jill were on that hill).
They also generally prefer products with names that begin with the same letter as that of their own name.
This doesn’t mean that you need to have 26 differently named versions of every product/service to ensure total market coverage.
This doesn’t mean that your product name must start with one of the more popular letters in order to ensure success.
But it does mean that your choice of name can directly and indirectly generate the emotional engagement between consumer and product that is the holy grail of marketers.
It suggests that people:
1) are more likely to agree to requests from people with similar names
2) are attracted to professions in the same way - US dentists are 82 per cent more likely to be named Dennis than expected
3) live in cities that match their birthday number – Three Forks, Montana has a disproportionate number of residents born on March 3 (3/3).
4) live in states/counties/streets that have names like their own
5) marry others who have first or last names similar to theirs (which may explain why Jack and Jill were on that hill).
They also generally prefer products with names that begin with the same letter as that of their own name.
This doesn’t mean that you need to have 26 differently named versions of every product/service to ensure total market coverage.
This doesn’t mean that your product name must start with one of the more popular letters in order to ensure success.
But it does mean that your choice of name can directly and indirectly generate the emotional engagement between consumer and product that is the holy grail of marketers.
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