BlackBerry, Apple, Macintosh - Some of the most successful product names and company names have unexpected roots.

How do you reconcile the tart sweetness of blackberries picked on a lazy summer afternoon with a multitasking cell phone? At first glance, product names and company names like BlackBerry and Apple have nothing to do with the companies or products they brand. So why do they work? Because strategic naming rarely requires a literal descriptive name. In fact, if you want to set a brand apart and make it fresh and memorable, an evocative name borrowed from another field is often far more powerful. Especially if you dig deep to create a name that’s rooted in the brand’s essence. Here are some rules for successfully “borrowing” a name from an unexpected source-in this case, the garden.

1. Make it relevant.

BlackBerry - At first blush, BlackBerry is just plain fun. Yet look closer, and the connection between RIM’s BlackBerry smartphone and its natural inspiration becomes clear…. The cluster of black keys on the phone is reminiscent of the blackberry fruit itself. On a subtler level, the name also suggests wholeness and life: a nice touch for a device designed to bring all of life’s activities together in one small device. And the moniker stands out amidst more formally named smartphones and similar devices because it’s so friendly sounding and emotionally engaging. Sweet.

2. Make it work for you on more than one level.

Apple - Apple’s unique company name - adopted in 1977, when food names for tech brands were virtually unheard of - shows how willing Apple has always been to “think different.” With five letters, this simple company name humanized a technology that was a scary black box to most people back then, and made it sound accessible and fun. It also went a long way towards establishing the brand as engaging, innovative and refreshingly user-friendly. (Just imagine if Apple had called itself Accessilon, for instance. One shudders to think.) And its allusion to the famous fruit of the tree of knowledge makes this company name a powerful metaphor for a brand that continues to open up a world of knowledge to ordinary mortals. The product name “Macintosh” (a type of apple) was a natural extension, pairing seamlessly with the mother brand.

3. Make it speak to what’s unique about your product or company.

Tealeaf Technology For a software technology that’s all about gaining insight into customers’ online experience - and foreseeing and managing future experiences - Tealeaf Technology is a disarmingly intuitive name. Here, digitally-enabled prescience is linked to a much older practice of gaining foresight and wisdom: reading the pattern of leaves in the bottom of a teacup. And the fact that the name evokes the tranquility of settling down with a hot cup of tea doesn’t hurt either. Small wonder the company has become the leader in online customer-experience management.

Bottom line? Don’t underestimate the power of the unexpected. As long as it helps tell your story, there’s no reason why a juicy fruit can’t be a cool cellphone, or a tea leaf an oracular website solution. In a desert of dry and abstract tech product names, it’s hard to resist the appeal of something truly tangible and alive.

Posted in Brand Naming, Branding, Catchword, Language use, Product Naming | 1 Comment

Here’s another excerpt from our handy dandy naming manual - it’s like a car manual, only about naming! We’ll be posting 10 different sections on a weekly basis, so please come back every Friday for more. If you like what you see, please download a copy of your very own, or write to us and we’ll mail you a paper copy (it has a glossy cover!).

CREATE YOUR NEW NAME
Creating your new name is both the most difficult and most exciting step of changing your flat name. To begin, locate your various naming devices, including your Onboard Naming Navigator, your Rear & Side-view Mirrors, your Creative Fuel-Injection System, your Anti-lock Naming System, and your Theft Prevention System.

Now, in exactly this order, here are the steps you should follow:

Step 1 - Locating Relevance
Step 2 - Avoiding Competition
Step 3 - Developing Names
Step 4 - Avoiding Pigeonholing
Step 5 - Distilling Names
Step 6 - Screening Names
Step 7 - Installing Name

NAMING TIP
Be clear about what makes you unique.
Choose a single point of distinction – not a laundry list.

Step 1 - Locating relevance
Use your Onboard Naming Navigator to locate relevance. Finding relevance may not be simple, and will require a deep understanding of your customers and what’s important to them. If you haven’t done so already, speak with your customers and have them answer the following questions:

• What is important to you about this product or service?
• Why would you choose one product or service over another in this space?
• In what ways are existing products or services deficient?
• How would you describe the ideal product or service?
• What product or service in this space best fits your needs and why?

Once you have answers to these questions, and a solid understanding of what is relevant to your customers, advance to the next step and use your Side & Rear-view Mirrors to locate and avoid your competitors.

Step 2 - Avoiding competition
Use your Side & Rear-view Mirrors to spot and avoid competitors. Make sure to use all available mirrors and be mindful of your blind spot – competitors have a tendency to get lost in heavy traffic conditions. Knowing where your competitors are and what sort of names they’re driving is imperative, not only to finding an available lane but hopefully to blazing your own trail and creating a truly distinctive brand name. Position your mirrors to answer the following questions:

• Which name constructs are your competitors using?
• What messages are being communicated by your competitors’ names?
• Is there an opportunity to communicate an altogether new message?
• Who’s got the flashiest name on the road? Is it getting any attention? Why?
• What names have already arrived at your customers’ hearts and minds?

Once you have located your competitors and understand their names you can begin to identify places to steer your name that competitors don’t occupy. While open lanes are often opportunities for immediate distinction, the clearest and most enduring path to customers’ hearts and minds is the trail you blaze yourself.

CAUTION/WARNING
To overtake your competition, you need to distinguish your brand from theirs. Don’t be afraid to be different.

Step 3 - Developing names
Now that you’ve found relevance and determined how to distinguish your name on the road, you can begin the process of actual name creation! To do so, start up your Creative Fuel Injection System (CFI). If your system is working properly you will begin to feel inspired. Creative ideas should start to flow and possible new names should begin to emerge. If new names don’t immediately emerge, make sure that your CFI is properly calibrated and running on the following creative pumps:

• Brainstorming sessions
• Free-association exercises
• Metaphor explorations
• Creative relay exercises
• Foreign language exploration
• Out-of-category inspirations
• Visual stimulants

Last week: How to Change a Flat Name
Next week: More techniques for name creation

Tags: brand name, naming guide, naming manual
Posted in Brand Naming, Branding, Catchword, Company Naming, Product Naming | 1 Comment

Here’s another excerpt from our handy dandy naming manual - it’s like a car manual, only about naming! We’ll be posting 10 different sections on a weekly basis, so please come back every Friday for more. If you like what you see, please download a copy of your very own, or write to us and we’ll mail you a paper copy (it has a glossy cover!).

HOW TO CHANGE A FLAT NAME
Your vehicle is very sophisticated, and comes equipped with numerous devices for changing a flat name and creating a new one. Generally speaking, you will need to use all the following devices in order to safely remove and replace your flat name:

1. Onboard naming navigator (to help you find relevance)
2. Rear & Side-view mirrors (to spot and avoid your competition)
3. Creative fuel-injection system (to inspire truly great name ideas)
4. Anti-lock naming system (to avoid pigeonholing your new name)
5. Name exhaust system (for distilling out/expelling undesirable new names)
6. Theft prevention system (to protect your new name)

NAMING TIP
Involve all key stakeholders from beginning to end. If some senior decision makers can’t participate, arrange to have periodic meetings with them to update them on your shortlists, names you plan to screen, and final candidates.

ONBOARD NAMING NAVIGATOR
A brand name should be destined for your customers’ hearts and minds. To make sure you reach your destination, activate your Onboard Naming Navigator before embarking and set a course for relevance.

REAR & SIDE-VIEW MIRRORS
With ever-increasing competition, the naming roads have become incredibly congested in recent years. Fortunately, your marketing vehicle comes equipped with both Rear & Side-view mirrors for spotting and avoiding competitive brand names on the commercial roads. Feel free to glance in your mirrors as often as you like, but avoid changing lanes until you’ve activated your Onboard Naming Navigator and arrived at relevance.

CREATIVE FUEL-INJECTION SYSTEM (CFI)
Your Creative Fuel-Injection System supplies creative inspiration to the name development process. It is your creative workhorse, and the generator of all brainstorming exercises. CFIs are usually more powerful than carbureted systems, though it’s not necessary to monitor output since more creative is always better than less.

Last week: The Parts of Your Brand Name
Next week: Create Your New Name

Tags: brand name, naming guide, naming manual
Posted in Brand Naming, Branding, Catchword, Product Naming | 1 Comment

Here’s another excerpt from our handy dandy naming manual - it’s like a car manual, only about naming! We’ll be posting 10 different sections on a weekly basis, so please come back every Friday for more. If you like what you see, please download a copy of your very own, or write to us and we’ll mail you a paper copy (it has a glossy cover!).

THE PARTS OF YOUR BRAND NAME

CONSTRUCTION
The Construction is the body of your brand name, the shape it takes during manufacturing, including length and ease of pronunciation. While not quite as fortunate as our design brethren, name developers do have several Constructions to work with, including the real-word (e.g., Legend), the coined word (e.g., Camry), the composite word (e.g., Land Cruiser), and even alpha-numerics (e.g., A6). Domestic namers may also consider the non-English word a recognized construction (e.g., Paseo).

METAPHOR (AVAILABLE ONLY ON SELECT MODELS)
Not all brand names come equipped with a Metaphor, but many of the best vehicles possess one. The Metaphor is a symbolic representation of the Messaging, and it can be a real head-turner. It’s not always engineered into the vehicle because it does require a little more thought and naming expertise, but names equipped with Metaphor are often the most sophisticated and sturdy names on the road. Just some examples of names that come equipped with Metaphor are the Ford Mustang, the Honda Prelude, and the Chevy Corvette.

MESSAGING
The core idea or ideas communicated by your name. Not to be confused with the Metaphor (available on select models), the Messaging is usually the most important concept that your brand name conveys. Fast, Comfortable, Luxurious, Adventurous, Environmentally-Friendly, Quiet. These are all examples of Messaging communicated by numerous car brand names. Some brand names come equipped with very overt Messaging, such as the Toyota Comfort (interestingly, 90% of all taxis in Hong Kong are Toyota Comforts) while others boast more suggestive Messaging, such as the Honda Passport. Still others come standard with more abstract Messaging, such as the Volkswagen Touareg.

Next week: How to Change A Flat Name

Tags: brand name, naming guide, naming manual
Posted in Brand Naming, Branding, Catchword, Company Naming, Product Naming | 1 Comment

This post isn’t about Brangelina - I just needed an image and, lets face it, why not use them. They’re a very handsome couple.

Recently, Catchword New York hosted our company’s quarterly retreat here on the East coast. All our California-based colleagues were forced to endure the nightmare that is modern day air travel and fly to New York (gottcha!). Some even had the (dis)pleasure of extended cab rides with clueless drivers and tours of remote New Jersey towns (sorry about that Aaron). But once everyone arrived and the discussions started we were all glad to be together talking about the business of naming.

During one of our discussions (I think we were talking about the crucial distinctions between product naming and company naming, or maybe it was just the 4 key components of good guacamole, I can’t recall) I used the term “stamping ground” to describe a place I used to frequent. It’s a good thing we started off the day with various stretching and relaxation exercises because I’m pretty sure at least half my colleagues would have gotten a nasty case of whiplash at hearing my use of “stamping” instead of “stomping”. Beth Gerber, one of our creative directors, in the most respectful tone, kindly asked: “Don’t you mean ’stomping ground’ Mark?”

To be honest, I wasn’t sure that “stamping ground” was acceptable, and that I wasn’t simply confusing the term with “stomping ground”. But I used it anyway. Partly to arouse curiosity and discussion, and partly to say “ah-ha! I know something about language that even all of you don’t!” (9 times out of 10 my colleagues are right about these sort of language questions, so of course I was taking a pretty big chance here) I went on to say that I had read “stamping ground” in a piece of fiction once (Robert McCammon novel maybe??) and decided then to begin using it in place of “stomping ground”. Figured it made me sound smarter. Gave me an opportunity to correct all those “stompers” out there. Of course it wasn’t until I found myself in that room with all my brilliant, linguistically-trained colleagues that, I, um, started to second-guess my use of “stamping”. Long story short, we agreed to disagree until our meetings broke and we had the chance to look it up, consult a dictionary.

And……..wait for it…….wait for it……they’re both correct. My Webster’s Third International Dictionary (a behemoth of a book and quite authoritative) includes a definition for “stamping ground” but no definition (i.e. no entry at all, not even a redirect) for “stomping ground”. The definition for “stamping ground” is as you would expect for “stomping ground”: a place much frequented; a favorite or habitual resort. Conversely, my partner, Maria Cypher, found that her Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines “stomping ground” as “a favorite or habitual resort,” whereas for “stamping ground” it says “see stomping ground.” But the usage date for Stamping is 1786, whereas Stomping’s is 1854. So it would seem that people stamped before they stomped. Checking online, I found similar inconsistencies, but enough evidence to support that, while Stomping may be the more common modern day usage, Stamping is also perfectly acceptable.

So it was fair for my colleagues to look at me funny, but I can still hold my head up high at our next retreat. What can I say – I’m a stamper, not a stomper.

Posted in Catchword, Company Naming, Fun stuff, Language use | No Comments

In today’s San Francisco Chronicle (by Patricia Yollin):

Nzadi is one of the most obscure tongues in the world. That’s exactly why a UC Berkeley class has embraced it.

“There’s nothing like the joy of discovering a language from scratch,” said Cal linguistics Professor Larry Hyman.

The 10 students in his course, Introduction to Field Methods, are focusing on Nzadi this semester - the first such effort in any college or university to examine this remote member of the Bantu linguistic family.

“It’s a chance to study a language that nobody has studied before,” said graduate student researcher Thera Crane. “That opportunity does not come around very often.”

Nzadi is spoken by thousands of people in fishing villages along the Kasai River in Congo, a country with about 220 languages.

When I was a grad student at UC Berkeley, I took this class; it’s a requirement on your way to getting a PhD. For me - and most of the other students, I think - it was one of the most fun and intense learning experiences we had. For the first time, we were actually doing field research: the class sits down with a native speaker and starts from scratch, asking for the most basic words, like “tree” and “nose” and “mother”. You have to transcribe the words, working to build up enough of a vocabulary to make simple sentences. I think this particular class is so lucky to get to analyze a previously “obscure” language (obscure to us in the West, certainly not to its native speakers in Africa).

My class was supposed to study a Tiberto-Burman language, but our informant eloped with her boyfriend right before classes started, and we ended up with Irish. Which was good for me, because Irish has palatalized consonants, and that formed the basis of my Master’s Thesis. I’m still going to prove that palatalized consonants in Japanese, Irish, and Russian are NOT the same. You just wait.

In the meantime, go UC Berkeley Linguistics Program! It’s what got me into naming in the first place.

Tags: African languages, language, linguistics
Posted in Catchword, Fun stuff, In-the-News, Language use | No Comments

And gives it a good review, too. Did I mention we named Didj? It was one of the most fun projects we’ve done for LeapFrog!

Tags: education naming, technology naming, toy naming
Posted in Advertising, Catchword, In-the-News, Name Launch, Product Naming | No Comments

Here at Catchword Interplanetary Headquarters, we pride ourselves on our ability to dispense advice (seemingly endlessly) about naming. We’ve even written a naming manual, which is charmingly disguised as a car owner’s manual - and it’s bursting at the seams with fun, informative tips and counsel about the most important part of your brand: your name.

From time to time we’ll post excerpts. If you like what you see, please download a copy of your very own, or write to us and we’ll mail you a paper copy (it has a glossy cover!).

While owning a brand name can be fun, there are important things to understand about developing and owning this essential marketing vehicle. Please read below before embarking on any name development exercise.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BRAND NAMES
YOU DON’T NEED A LICENSE TO NAME BUT…

It’s just a name, right?
I’ve got a dictionary.
He’s got a thesaurus.
How hard can this be?

Truth is, everyone thinks they can name. But most states probably should require a license to name, because naming is a dangerous activity, and not everyone should be doing it, especially those nerdy guys in engineering (no offense intended).

If you’re going to embark on a naming exercise, make sure you familiarize yourself with the naming basics covered in this Manual, and be judicious in selecting your brand name development team. Of course the safest road… the one with the fewest hazards… is the one that leads to your friendly name development specialists.

FOR BEST PERFORMANCE, ONLY FILL WITH PREMIUM CREATIVITY

It’s important that you only use premium creativity when developing and driving your name. Filling your name with thin or unoriginal ideas may affect its performance and potentially compromise the health of your brand vehicle. A brand name running on thoughtful, high-octane creativity will provide for a much smoother ride.

YOUR BRAND NAME IS JUST ONE VEHICLE FOR MARKETING SUCCESS

A name may be your most important and powerful brand element, but it’s not your only one.

In order for a name to be successful as a marketing vehicle, it will need to be supported by other brand communications such as smart graphic design, a complementary tagline, and unified brand messaging. Combining your name with the proper hardware will optimize your brand’s performance and ensure you get the most out of your brand name.

REMEMBER
You only get out of your brand vehicles what you put in.
Hi-grade creativity leads to hi-grade brands.

Tags: naming advice, naming guide, naming manual
Posted in Brand Naming, Catchword, Product Naming | No Comments

And in financial news today, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 237 points as bargain hunters scooped up ailing stocks following yesterday’s 777 point freefall. Despite the modest snapback, Senator Skoultchi from New York is still aggressively pushing his proposal to rename the index the Down Jonezing industrial average, at least until such time as lawmakers can get their heads out of their Aston Martins and agree on a plan to resuscitate the economy.

Senator Skoultchi acknowledged that he knows virtually nothing about economics or finance (and, quite shockingly, that he’s not even a Senator), but that the renaming makes sense because Americans demand transparency from our political and financial leaders. Never known for his oratory skills, Skoultchi was quoted as saying “Holy crap – did you see what happened in the market yesterday?! They oughta rename that index the Down Jonezing industrial average.”

He went on to say that prior to becoming a fake senator, he worked for many years as a name development specialist at a brand name development firm named Catchword, and that in all his years of consulting for Catchword he had never seen an easier target than the words “Dow” and “Jones” for a market index that was spiraling ever downward and in desperate need of a cash fix.

“I mean, c’mon, it couldn’t be any easier if the index was named the “Halp Mead industrial average. Alright, that’s not the best, but you get the point.” he was quoted as saying.

Tags: bank naming, economic naming, finance naming, financial naming
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Without getting into a debate about the merits of Anthropic principles, lets just assume for a second that we’re not the only intelligent life in this or other universes. Let’s also assume that we’re being watched, evaluated if you will, by a group of much smarter, hopefully more compassionate, possibly brand-savvy beings. For the fun of it, lets also say they’re fleshier, like Tim Allen at his fleshiest, and that they speak through a hole in their chest instead of their mouths, which they prefer to use only to chew space gum.

There. Now we have our aliens. Why did we create aliens? Like I said, because they’re watching us. And why are they watching us? Well, because our solar system is very interesting to them. It’s the perfect addition to their product portfolio. These aliens have been buying up planets for years and turning them into resort destinations for all their 12-toed customers. But they’ve never come across a solar system with such an interesting mix of planets, with so many different climates, day lengths and gravitational properties. It could easily become the crown jewel in their resort portfolio. Or so says Kyle in business development.

So, of course, they’re planning a hostile takeover of our solar system (in the, um, non-hostile, more corporate sense of the words, not with melt-your-face ray guns or anything). And chances are they’ll be successful. They’re very persuasive. Something to do with bigger brains and thought control. Anyhoo, the only question really is how they’ll organize their new resort brands, and whether they’ll rename any of the planets. I can imagine the conversation going something like this:

Saturn’s great! I love it. Cool name for a cool looking planet. And the reference to the god of agriculture could provide really interesting marketing tie-ins – you know, a natural resort destination, healthy-living, fresh food, all organic, etc. Mercury? Also cool. Slick name. Wasn’t he one of the gods of abundance? – we could definitely work with that. Jupiter? King of the gods. C’mon guys, that’s a no-brainer – we’re not changing Jupiter – you can’t find available intergalactic trademarks that good anymore. Venus, Mars, Neptune…fine, fine, fine. Like the others, named for Greek or Roman gods or goddesses. Gotta love the brand consistency, the systemization, the thematic cohesiveness. Christ - how did we miss this solar system before?! And Uranus? Another god? Amazing. Can’t you just see the tagline: Uranus. When you’re really pooped out. I love it.

Wait. Earth? What the hell does that mean?? I’m pretty sure that’s not a god. Someone look that up. Bob - check it out. Yes, you Bob! Waiting….waiting….waiting. What’s that, Bob? It’s an English/German name that just means “ground”?? What?? Comes from the Old English words ‘eor(th)e’ and ‘ertha’?? Oh, that’s exciting. Very sexy. Visit Earth, the ground planet. Great. Well, I think we found our weak link, fellas. Gonna need to call in the naming folks at Catchword Branding and get them workin’ on a new “god” name……..what’s that Bob? Oh, you think the name has merit? That we don’t need to develop a new name?? Oh really? Guys, get a load of this. Bob thinks the name “Earth” ain’t so bad. And why’s that Bob? Please, enlighten us. Yeah, yeah, I get the association with things natural and organic. Right, I know, it’s one syllable, and yes, I get that it references the terrestrial nature of the planet, that it’s not a gas giant like Jupiter. And true, it’s distinctive among the other planet names, but we’ve got the opportunity to create a naming system here, Bob. It’s not a system if only 7 out of the 8 planets are named for gods. Don’t you get that?? If there were something particularly unique about Earth, about our plans for that brand, sure, maybe we’d want to give it a special name. But I’m not seeing it. Look, I’m not gonna sit here an debate this with you all day, Bob. Let’s call in a naming expert to provide an opinion on this. Like I said, give the guys at Catchword Branding a call. For Pete’s sake, Bob, I don’t know the number off the top of my head! Get it off their website. And be quick about it. We’re already 4 weeks behind in our planning and I wanna explore alternative name options for Earth concurrent with the solar system negotiation. Which reminds me, if the guys at Catchword Branding ask, we need this name like yesterday, assuming they agree it makes sense to change Earth’s name. No, Bob, don’t tell them why we’re inquiring, just get a quote. Man, why did I ever go into management?

Of course no real point to this post other than to raise awareness about the Earth name, where it came from, and that, of the major planets, it’s the only non-god name in the solar system. Astronomy’s cool.

Tags: naming architecture, naming system, planet naming, Product Naming
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