SEVEN REASONS WHY A NAME NEEDS CHANGING FAST
To check on the health of a name here are some key reasons and if not corrected, a sick name will endlessly shout and eventually die.
HIT OR MISS:
This is when a name sometimes hits the target or misses it entirely.
Potential customers end up going to the competition in error, because
the name looks like and sounds like dozens of others. Or it is so
restricted in its access by having twisted spelling, making it
impossible to find it on the web, directory, search engines, etc. So
why create mass confusion, and let mail come with new and different
spellings of the same name every day. e.g. enonymous.com dead, by
starting the name with an 'e' rather than an 'a', they guaranteed their
anonymity and died; geotele.com dead, is it geotel? The 'e' may have
cost them their survival; 2way.com, too many ways to spell the name;
fastv.com dead, fas-tv? or fast-v?; csonet.com dead, twisted spellings!
DIFFERENT STROKES: When a name means one thing to one
group and an entirely different to others and customers. This can
seriously blur the image of a corporation and a great deal of
advertising is wasted in harnessing the marketplace. e.g. mcsleep.com
dead, is this supposed to be confused with McDonald's, or not?;
thinktankworldwide.com dead, what the hell is this?; headstrong, an
e-commerce company or headache pills, but why?; concrete, once again an
e-commerce company with cement? Too much confusion; B2E, what the hell
is B2E? We are still trying to figure out BtoB and BtoC!
EVOLUTION CRISIS:
When a good old name doesn't tell the customer anything at all of its
evolution, new ventures, new ideas. e.g. accipiter.com, figure it out!;
mesomorphosis.com dead, no wonder; CIT and what is this?; efdex.com
dead, it's neither Purolator nor FedEx; zixit.com, what for?;
revenio.com, no, its not revenue just an expense; peek-a-booicu.com
dead, are they a religious organization or a bunch of perverts?;
eBreviate, twisted spelling; i2, too many ways to spell and no clear
message.
EDUCATING THE UNIVERSE: When you start
advertising and telling people how to spell your name, remember it,
it's cute meaning and some strange origin, say it differently because
it has a different pronunciation etc. Rather than promoting business
you are educating the population on how they should behave when it
comes to using your name. This method never works. Gekko v/s Gyco; Atto
v/s Auto; Xerox v/s The Digital Document Company; Clarity v/s Clarica.
e.g. equipp.com dead, extra 'p' puts too much burden; bellzinc.com, is
it telephone or a metal company?; eWanted.com, by whom and why?;
eOnline is this advanced thinking, or what?
GLOBAL CRISIS:
When there are serious translation difficulties, or the name is obscene
in foreign countries. e.g. phocuswright.com, what an intelligent way of
spelling; clickmango.com dead, don't say this in Thailand; justp.com
dead, are you sure, only pee?
OWNERSHIP CRISIS: If
you don't own a trademark or you don't own a solid domain name and
sometimes neither, this is the most ridiculous situation to be in. All
your money is being wasted to promote your competition. e.g.
snowball.com, living.com dead, thirsty.com dead, go.com dead; eve.com
dead, ONYX, eLink, Rational.
APOLOGIES: Executives
are embarrassed presenting business cards and to have to explain the
name confusion, and competition starts making fun of the names. .e.g.
ebolavirus.com dead, how contagious; wetnose.com dead, no thanks, I
don't need your business card!; wwwrrr.com dead, aren't you glad
they're gone?
To avoid jumping from the pan into the fire,
follow the three golden rules: Do not copy other famous or trendy
names. Do not get too wild and too creative and do register for the
Global Markets. If you need help, only a professional, with many years
of solid experience, with dozens of successful naming projects, can
help you and do not try out your name with ad agencies or design firms,
they rely on casual freelance naming which can be the most dangerous
thing, when a creative person, without a full-time commitment, spins
out 1000 names for $1000, which is the going rate in most agencies;
then you end up with a name on which your corporate destiny, and a
large ad budget, is left hanging by a thread. Shout as loud as you can,
a poor name eventually dies and no amount of branding tricks can save
it.
Global Identity can only be achieved by following the
new naming rules of the new millennium identity. One must now
understand and have knowledge and strategic perspective on global
naming for e-commerce, understanding of naming issues and rules of
corporate nomenclature, alpha-structures, alpha-dynamics, marketing
needs, global translation and language issues, name modeling and
hierarchy of naming, overall naming ideas, global naming registrations
and global maintenance and so many other things to fully tackle a
naming project.
Branding comes in all shapes and sizes,
vertical to horizontal, internal to external and mental to spiritual,
but when it comes to naming it is entirely a very different issue.
Naming is something like magic and branding is something like
witchcraft. If you have a magical name then with some witchcraft you
really capture the attention and mesmerize the audience. If not, then
you are left with some odd-shod tricks and no sizzle. Because naming is
a black and white process and you should not be confused with design
and packaging, or other branding exercises.
For more information, contact:
Naseem Javed
Toronto, Canada
T: +1 905 794 0055
E:
W: www.naseemjaved.com
About Naseem Javed
Naseem Javed is a world-renowned authority on corporate nomenclature,
author of Naming for Power and an outrageously hilarious speaker on the
conference circuit.