It was great working with the folks at ZS. They managed to come together as a team and rally behind a powerful new brand name that will help them market and sell their software products more effectively.
(Maybe it’s because of the upcoming Olympic Games, or maybe because Javelin is a great, resonant name — Either way, I just can’t get the old Track & Field adage “Higher Faster Farther” out of my head!)
On Monday Kickfire publicly launched, effectively lighting a fire under the feet of their MySQL query competitors. Kickfire’s product is a database appliance that revolutionizes the way queries are conducted. The small form-factor and industry-first SQL chip make Kickfire’s queries faster and simpler than current industry-standard systems. What’s more, the Kickfire database appliance is more economical than the competition, opening up the MySQL database market to small and medium businesses previously unable to afford expensive database systems.
We had a lot of fun exploring ways to communicate speed and ease-of-use for this high-tech brand. The interesting challenge in this case was to find a name that was appropriate as both a company name and a product name, while also having an available dot-com.
The Kickfire team did a great job taking the name we created and shaping it into a great brand. We think Arami Design created a cool company logo and implemented it quite beautifully throughout the Kickfire web site. Just check out the web site and flash demo, and you’ll see what I mean!
We had a lot of fun developing this new technology name. The client was great to work with and the technology is going to shake things up when it hits the market. We’d love to say more, but Ozmo Devices still hasn’t launched publicly. For now, we’re excited that their new name and the fantastic graphic identity will be helping Ozmo get some well-deserved attention.
We really enjoyed naming Vivaty, the newest 3D virtual world experience that launched today. The product is truly amazing, and we had a lot of fun exploring the creative naming directions inherent in such a rich technology.
Vivaty is like Second Life, but better, much much better! It doesn’t require downloading clunky software onto your computer and therefore it isn’t as slow as molasses (ahem, Second Life). Instead, Vivaty is a lightweight application that can be seamlessly embedded in various web and social-networking sites like Facebook and Yahoo.
We got to see and play with a demo of the product while we were working on the naming project. And rest assured that I, Catchword’s resident social networking fiend, will be signing up for my beta Vivaty account ASAP!
Read the great NY Times article here, or read the PDF here.
Our newest name has just been introduced. Meet Flybridge Capital Partners.
In conjunction with their announcement of a new $280 million fund, IDG Venture Boston has introduced an entirely new identity. Catchword worked with the partners of the firm to develop this new brand name. In the press release, the company had this to say, “As you may know, a flybridge is the open deck above the main bridge on a boat where you go to get a different and better perspective on the water in front of you. It is a vantage point to better see the water, fish, rocks, land and more. The name symbolizes who we are and what we do best - collaborate, partner, and provide guidance and perspective.”
We just love the solid reinforcement of their positioning through the brand name. As a naming firm, this is exactly the kind of fresh creative solution we aim to provide: Distinctive, but relevant.
Who’s next?
I enjoyed Douglas Quenqua’s piece in Thursday’s NYT on the UNCF “name change”. Very interesting dilemma. (For those of you who don’t want to read the article, the United Negro College Fund just announced it was changing its name, at Landor’s suggestion, to UNCF.)
Of course, as a guy who runs a naming company I was particularly intrigued by the solution they chose. While I completely understand *why* they made the name change, I have to question their final decision. I liken it to the recent name change made by AARP (they also tried to avoid an awkward reference by reverting to their familiar initials).
I see two problems with this tactic. First, as is the case with AARP and “retired persons”, everybody knows what the “N” stands for. Just because they use the initials doesn’t mean they escape the reference. Landor’s last attempt at this ploy was to “rename” Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC. No one was fooled, and the company has recently gone back to the longer, less healthy sounding version of the name. It is amazing to me that people continue to pay Landor huge dollars to recommend such inane solutions.
Second, by switching to the initials, UNCF joins the litany of companies swimming in alphabet soup (NCR, ATT, WWE, etc.). While I don’t think a concocted “naming company name” like Accenture or Agilent would have been appropriate (also the work of Landor), I do think they could have found a name that has more warmth and distinction, while communicating some message of relevance (e.g., equality, support, guidance, etc.). Adopting the initials is a cop out, and may hamper UNCF’s ability to raise funds. They certainly have missed an opportunity to excite their audience. I understand they want to keep their heritage, but that heritage can be bridged to a new name (ask the folks at Altria). Now they sound just like any other big, corporate, enterprise with a cumbersome name. They’ve wasted a wonderful opportunity to instill new life, and new messages into their organization. To borrow their phrase, a name is a terrible thing to waste.
The article also references the struggle faced by the NAACP (maybe they can hire Landor to tell them that they should use their initials too). As a namer, all this name changing is a very poignant reminder not to tie a name to any current buzzword, technology, or (in the case of UNCF and NAACP), politically-correct reference. Names must be able to stand the test of time. What is politically correct today may not be tomorrow.
I almost forgot to mention this great coverage that one of our recent clients received in the New York Times. Check out Stuart Elliot’s write-up on our new name Daptiv. (For a PDF, click here.)
Enterprise IG’s recent rebranding to The Brand Union has created quite a stir in the naming and branding community. The general perception seems to range from “yawn” to “those idiots”. And really, who can argue? It’s just another “brand___” name in a sea of “brand___” competitors.
But to evaluate their choice, I think you really have to break it down into two components: the naming strategy and the naming execution. IMHO, the naming strategy actually makes sense. I’m all for coming up with distinctive names that stand out in the competitive landscape, but a company the size of BrandUnion, with the pedigree it has, doesn’t really need to stand out. Does IBM stand out? Does Southwest Airlines? How about General Motors? Folks who stand out just for the sake of standing out (um, does anyone remember MarchFirst?) often end up following the dodo bird.
The strategic issue this rebranding work is designed to solve is that Enterprise IG was spending too much energy convincing people it was a branding company. Their previous name was generic, irrelevant, and downright awkward. The new name, while not perfect, at least puts them in the right competitive set. The end result should be that the company can now spend less energy telling people it should be considered along with Interbrand and more energy telling people why it is better than Interbrand. Of course, we all know the real truth: Catchword is better than either firm, but that is for another blog entry …
However … and this is a really big “but” … the new identity certainly suffers from a few major execution problems. Consider the following issues that any good naming consultant would have pointed out:
1)Which is it, “THE Brand Union” or just “Brand Union”? The logo says “Brand Union” (at least I think so, it’s awfully hard to read — another ding against the execution) while the URL is “thebrandunion.com”. It looks as though “brandunion.com” is for sale — I’m shocked they haven’t tried to procure the easier and more intuitive domain. Regardless, it seems silly to launch BOTH names at the same time. Pick one and run with it. Changing names is confusing enough with out clouding the waters this way.
2) While I laud their effort to join the competitive set by using the word “brand” in their name, I would have expected something more from a firm of this stature. When we named our company, we explicitly ruled out names that included the word “brand” because the term was so cluttered and downright overused. The name development team at EIG/TBU could have placed the company in the right competitive set while still being more distinctive. The old name was generic, irrelevant and awkward. The new name is just generic. I guess two out of three ain’t bad.
3) If you’re going to use “brand”, at least pair it with something exciting. Union sounds so … Jimmy Hoffa. Not exactly a cutting edge creative association. Very blue collar. Very “soon to be on the missing persons list”. I wouldn’t even know where to start digging.
4) I’m not from New York, but even I’ve heard of Grand Union. Quite the retail hot spot in the Big Apple. Not a trademark issue, but certainly a mindshare issue. Maybe they don’t have any customers in New York. Riiiiight.
All in all, I’d give them a B+ on strategy and a C- on execution. Not exactly the best testimonial for the kind of work they are likely to provide their clients. But you didn’t hear it from me.
We were so thrilled to see a product bearing our newly-created name - Corning’s ClearCurve fiber optic cable - named one of the best inventions of the year at Time magazine!
Fiber-optic cable has to lie fairly straight to carry a strong signal, so it’s difficult and expensive to install in apartment buildings. Corning’s ClearCurve works out this kink by adding a protective rail around the skinny glass core, so you can bend, twist and turn the lines in and out of tight corners without degrading the connection. The innovation has Verizon and other telecoms—ever eager to expand their data services to new addresses—jumping for joy.
We loved working on this new product name, in conjunction with the fine folks at Doremus. The technology is exciting and the potential for this unique product is unlimited. Finding a distinctive way to describe the properties of this fiber optic cable in a consumer-friendly way was a challenge, but we were delighted with the final result. We’ve been there and we got the t-shirt too!
Naming a business is no easy task. Renaming a business is exponentially more challenging. Thus, it is with great excitement and pleasure that we announce yet another Catchword success in corporate branding: Daptiv.
Formerly known as eProject, this project management client approached Catchword to help them rename their company. Their need was straightforward: a new name and identity to help position themselves as more than just a project management software firm.
Once the client had defined the goal, we put on our strategic naming caps and presented a selection of unique company names. The name “Daptiv” conveys the ability to be more flexible and adaptive in an ever-changing, fast-paced business environment. After the brand name was finalized, our good friends at Michael Patrick Partners completed the corporate branding process by creating a catchy visual identity.
Congratulations to Daptiv on a successful relaunch of its company name and identity.
CatchThis RSS Feed
Catchword's Twitter
