How to invent a name for a new product or project
No, I will not exaggerate boring theories. I am sure that all of us need a very simple and transparent criteria to launch a new product or service.
So, I decided to remind readers of the criteria formulated by Guy Kawasaki in his already turned classic book The Art of the Start
(or simply - "Startup").
For many years working in corporate marketing, I have not seen simpler and more effective criteria.
Therefore, they were used to develop the name of my current startup.
')
I am sure there are still people here who are not familiar with this approach and it will be useful to them.
In order not to reinvent the wheel, just give an excerpt from there.
DO NOT SAVE ON NAME
With a good name for a company, product or service - as with pornography: it is difficult to define, but if you see it, you will not be confused with anything. To come up with a good name is easier than creating a product or service - although, seeing a fantastic amount of nightmarish signs, you inevitably doubt it.
Spend time and effort and come up with a good name for yourself - it will noticeably facilitate positioning. Here are some helpful tips:
- The name must begin with the letter at the beginning of the alphabet . Sooner or later, your company, product or service will fall into some alphabetical list. And in this list it is better to be closer to the beginning than to the end. Imagine, for example, an industrial exhibition with a thousand exhibitors. Where do you prefer to be - in the first or last third of the catalog?
You should also avoid at the beginning of the names of letters, from the sound of which it is not clear their spelling. For example, if you hear the name “Zilinks” - how do you record it: Xylinx or Zylinx?
- Avoid numbers . Using numbers in the title is a bad idea, because people will confuse how it is spelled: numbers (123) or words (one-two-three).
- Choose a name with “verb potential” . Ideally, your name should enter common usage, become a household word and form a verb. So, we have not photocopied documents for a long time, but xerim them. We later learned to google words instead of searching them on the Internet. The verbal potential is in the names of short (not more than two or three syllables) and not breaking the language.
EXERCISE
Check whether the name you have invented is inserted into the following sentence:
"It must be __________."
NOA (Some Acronyms):
Multi-word names should be avoided. The exceptions are cases: a) when the first word has a powerful verb potential (for example, the name Google Technology Corporation would still sound normal), b) when the acronym is a talented word-play. For example, the Hawaiian Islands Ministry, an inter-church organization that trains pastors and priests, is abbreviated as HIM - simultaneously the homophone of the word hymn (“hymn”) and the homonym of him (“Him”, i.e., “Lord”).
- Sound original (cf. “Go your way”). Your name should sound so that it can not be confused with anything. Bad examples are: Claris, Clarins, Claritin and Claria. Go remember that from this software, what is cosmetics, what is an antihistamine drug, and what is online marketing. And even if a person remembers them, most likely, all four names will be associated with the same category, - and this, of course, is not beneficial for any manufacturer ...
- Sound logical . Your name must match what you are doing. From this point of view, the best examples of successful naming are the names of Pokemon. What are, for example, Geodude ("stone dude") or Lickitung ("licking tongue"). Ask your children about characters like Beautifly, Delcatty, Flygon and Huntail - and you’ll understand what I mean by a logical name and good positioning.
- Do not chase fashion . With hindsight, I understand that choosing a name for Garage Technology Ventures in 1997 (when we first opened), we made two mistakes. First, we first called the company garage.com. Unfortunately, later. com acquired negative connotations when the internet market collapsed due to the fact that it entirely consisted of enterprises deprived of a business model and led by people lacking a business acumen.
Our second mistake was to write the name with a lowercase letter. Idiotic pseudo-modesty, but what now to say. It soon became clear that the name with a small letter is difficult to distinguish from the rest of the text. And the fact that the garage - in this case, a proper name, was also completely unobvious (to whom, if not a guy named guy, know this). In addition, it was not clear what to do in cases where garage.com is at the beginning of a sentence - to write it in capital letters or not to write with a lowercase letter?
Summing up (again with hindsight) the results - you need to choose a name that will serve you for decades, and save up all sorts of trendy chips for your products and services.
On the other hand, take the name Krispy Kreme (“Crisp Cream”). The first letter of the name is not from the beginning of the alphabet; In addition, both words are written with errors. Moreover, donuts produced by this company do not crunch and do not contain cream. What does this prove? And the fact that if you have a really cool product, then you will not be afraid of any mistakes.
And finally - another example. Once in the toilet of Calgary International Airport, I saw the great name of the company.
This company sells space for poster advertising in toilets and is called Flushmedia. Brilliantly.
So, I decided to remind readers of the criteria formulated by Guy Kawasaki in his already turned classic book The Art of the Start
(or simply - "Startup").For many years working in corporate marketing, I have not seen simpler and more effective criteria.
Therefore, they were used to develop the name of my current startup.
')
I am sure there are still people here who are not familiar with this approach and it will be useful to them.
In order not to reinvent the wheel, just give an excerpt from there.
DO NOT SAVE ON NAME
With a good name for a company, product or service - as with pornography: it is difficult to define, but if you see it, you will not be confused with anything. To come up with a good name is easier than creating a product or service - although, seeing a fantastic amount of nightmarish signs, you inevitably doubt it.
Spend time and effort and come up with a good name for yourself - it will noticeably facilitate positioning. Here are some helpful tips:
- The name must begin with the letter at the beginning of the alphabet . Sooner or later, your company, product or service will fall into some alphabetical list. And in this list it is better to be closer to the beginning than to the end. Imagine, for example, an industrial exhibition with a thousand exhibitors. Where do you prefer to be - in the first or last third of the catalog?
You should also avoid at the beginning of the names of letters, from the sound of which it is not clear their spelling. For example, if you hear the name “Zilinks” - how do you record it: Xylinx or Zylinx?
- Avoid numbers . Using numbers in the title is a bad idea, because people will confuse how it is spelled: numbers (123) or words (one-two-three).
- Choose a name with “verb potential” . Ideally, your name should enter common usage, become a household word and form a verb. So, we have not photocopied documents for a long time, but xerim them. We later learned to google words instead of searching them on the Internet. The verbal potential is in the names of short (not more than two or three syllables) and not breaking the language.
EXERCISE
Check whether the name you have invented is inserted into the following sentence:
"It must be __________."
NOA (Some Acronyms):
Multi-word names should be avoided. The exceptions are cases: a) when the first word has a powerful verb potential (for example, the name Google Technology Corporation would still sound normal), b) when the acronym is a talented word-play. For example, the Hawaiian Islands Ministry, an inter-church organization that trains pastors and priests, is abbreviated as HIM - simultaneously the homophone of the word hymn (“hymn”) and the homonym of him (“Him”, i.e., “Lord”).
- Sound original (cf. “Go your way”). Your name should sound so that it can not be confused with anything. Bad examples are: Claris, Clarins, Claritin and Claria. Go remember that from this software, what is cosmetics, what is an antihistamine drug, and what is online marketing. And even if a person remembers them, most likely, all four names will be associated with the same category, - and this, of course, is not beneficial for any manufacturer ...
- Sound logical . Your name must match what you are doing. From this point of view, the best examples of successful naming are the names of Pokemon. What are, for example, Geodude ("stone dude") or Lickitung ("licking tongue"). Ask your children about characters like Beautifly, Delcatty, Flygon and Huntail - and you’ll understand what I mean by a logical name and good positioning.
- Do not chase fashion . With hindsight, I understand that choosing a name for Garage Technology Ventures in 1997 (when we first opened), we made two mistakes. First, we first called the company garage.com. Unfortunately, later. com acquired negative connotations when the internet market collapsed due to the fact that it entirely consisted of enterprises deprived of a business model and led by people lacking a business acumen.
Our second mistake was to write the name with a lowercase letter. Idiotic pseudo-modesty, but what now to say. It soon became clear that the name with a small letter is difficult to distinguish from the rest of the text. And the fact that the garage - in this case, a proper name, was also completely unobvious (to whom, if not a guy named guy, know this). In addition, it was not clear what to do in cases where garage.com is at the beginning of a sentence - to write it in capital letters or not to write with a lowercase letter?
Summing up (again with hindsight) the results - you need to choose a name that will serve you for decades, and save up all sorts of trendy chips for your products and services.
On the other hand, take the name Krispy Kreme (“Crisp Cream”). The first letter of the name is not from the beginning of the alphabet; In addition, both words are written with errors. Moreover, donuts produced by this company do not crunch and do not contain cream. What does this prove? And the fact that if you have a really cool product, then you will not be afraid of any mistakes.
And finally - another example. Once in the toilet of Calgary International Airport, I saw the great name of the company.
This company sells space for poster advertising in toilets and is called Flushmedia. Brilliantly.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/136744/
All Articles