Naming The Company
Disclosure: I'm the number-one name plagiarizer.
Because I'm bad at naming, I steal and tweak good names for my own purposes. Case-in-point: While thinking of a name for a website 2-3 years back, I just took Sean D'Souza's PsychoTactics.com as my template. And came up with BizTactics.com.
A year and a half back, while thinking of a name for a Marketing newsletter, I stole Dien Rice and Michael Ross's newsletter name. They called their newsletter "Entrepreneurs Hotsheet." I called mine "Marketing Hotsheet." (When I emailed Dien Rice and asked him if I could steal the term Hotsheet, he said he himself had stolen the term from Gordon Jay Alexander. Hehe :0)
While naming my new marketing agency, I started searching for the BEST name out there.
And in my opinion, that is: Guerilla Marketing. That one term launched an entire empire for Jay Conrad Levinson.
When people hear the term "Guerilla Marketing" - they instantly recognize that it means low cost irregular marketing ideas. Yet, the term "guerilla" surprises people when it is associated with marketing instead of warfare. And thus its instantly memorable with a deep meaning associated with the memory.
My idea was to replace Guerilla with some other cool term. Came up with "Neuro" (because I've been researching the depths of neuroscience and how people are motivated, how to gain their attention, how to seep into their memories...).
But Neuro Marketing had already become a "generic" term as a few articles had used it to describe the new and controversial brain-scanning-for-marketing-purposes topic.
So switched to "Neuro Branding".
(btw, chatting up with a few people in the last few days, I find that biz owners in Bombay like the term "branding" more than "marketing." So it might be a stroke-of-genius after all! Or maybe its just that I'm finding proof to back me up now that the name is finalized! Ha!)
Because I'm bad at naming, I steal and tweak good names for my own purposes. Case-in-point: While thinking of a name for a website 2-3 years back, I just took Sean D'Souza's PsychoTactics.com as my template. And came up with BizTactics.com.
A year and a half back, while thinking of a name for a Marketing newsletter, I stole Dien Rice and Michael Ross's newsletter name. They called their newsletter "Entrepreneurs Hotsheet." I called mine "Marketing Hotsheet." (When I emailed Dien Rice and asked him if I could steal the term Hotsheet, he said he himself had stolen the term from Gordon Jay Alexander. Hehe :0)
While naming my new marketing agency, I started searching for the BEST name out there.
And in my opinion, that is: Guerilla Marketing. That one term launched an entire empire for Jay Conrad Levinson.
When people hear the term "Guerilla Marketing" - they instantly recognize that it means low cost irregular marketing ideas. Yet, the term "guerilla" surprises people when it is associated with marketing instead of warfare. And thus its instantly memorable with a deep meaning associated with the memory.
My idea was to replace Guerilla with some other cool term. Came up with "Neuro" (because I've been researching the depths of neuroscience and how people are motivated, how to gain their attention, how to seep into their memories...).
But Neuro Marketing had already become a "generic" term as a few articles had used it to describe the new and controversial brain-scanning-for-marketing-purposes topic.
So switched to "Neuro Branding".
(btw, chatting up with a few people in the last few days, I find that biz owners in Bombay like the term "branding" more than "marketing." So it might be a stroke-of-genius after all! Or maybe its just that I'm finding proof to back me up now that the name is finalized! Ha!)
3 Comments:
Ankesh,
I think the name depend on What Purpose the name is to serve and What Purpose the company serves.
I no sooner look at the company name behind the books in the bookstore, than I look to see who makes the plastic jewel cases I buy in the office supply store. I either case, I do Not care what their name is. I am buying their Product.
On the other hand, if the company is the product, then a good name could aid in its marketing.
I see this as more of a 'depends' thing than something cast in cement.
Michael Ross
Thanks Michael for your comments. I always love reading your views.
I however think its a shame that we no longer care about the publishers name when we buy books. A publisher could have marked a territory with its name.
Its the same with studios who make movies too. We no longer care who they are. Except if its a Pixar movie. Then we care. Then we go see the movie only because Pixar made it.
Anyways, maybe a publisher can't attract more buyers to buy the books they print just by their name. But could a good name have attracted more authors to a decent publisher? I think so.
Imagine a publisher called "Tiny Tots" or something. Now, everything else being equal* - would a children's book writer go to Tiny Tots press or McGraw-Hill press with her new children's book? What do you think?
* the money she receives for her book, the distribution strength of the co. etc.
Ankesh,
Thanks for asking.
Certainly, if all things are equal, then the budding children book author will go to Tiny Tots Press.
However, what if MacGraw-Hill is a children's book specialist? Then the name doesn't mean anything again. As word on the publishing street would be, if you want to publish a kids book you go to MH.
Again, it's more a matter of what is considered the product, what the business creates and sells, or the business itself.
And you also need top consider Service Business vs Product Businesses - manufactures, wholesalers, distributors and retailers.
Michael Ross
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