The housing crash has hit hard in California, and nowhere worse than areas undergoing aggressive growth in the form of relatively large-scale housing divisions. Brand name creation for these developments has long skewed towards the fanciful (and some say, misleading). But when the houses are sold faster than they can be built no one seems to mind that their new home sits alongside a dozen other identical houses on “Solitude St.” and thus doesn’t really deliver on the name. The names for housing developments have always baffled me and I’ve often wondered at names for housing projects that evoke ocean views in California’s Central Valley (like Villages at Vista del Mar). Why make a promise that is obviously so untrue?

When the economy takes a dive, the strategic naming for these new housing developments rings hollow. Without the optimism of a thriving economy to bolster the promises. “Luna at Terra Serena” for a development near San Jose seems forced in its evocation of Italian estates and “Crossings at Eden Shores” is emptied of its assurance of earthy delights. When you scream a brand promise so loudly, you often run the risk of stirring suspicion in customer’s eyes. Why should Abe need to call his car dealership “Honest Abe’s Used Cars” if he truly were so honest, the customer might wonder.

It’s not an uncommon observation that subdivisions and housing developments often seemed to be named for what was destroyed in the building of the homes; A sort of backhanded homage if you will. Although they’re not professional namers, there is a great parody of naming suggestions for housing developments on the SlowMover blog including “Leveled Hills, Waning Woods and Vanishing View.”

So while we maintain that great names are incredibly powerful, it’s unlikely that Vacaville’s “Villas at Portofino” development will ever live up to its namesake in Italy - one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful ports. After all Vacaville itself does mean “cow town.” We advise finding a happy medium for the product naming of these kind of housing developments. Names that are down to earth (like Garden Walk, Merced Townhouses or Madrone Village), but not face-down in the mud (sorry Vacaville).

Tags: Brand Naming, Branding, Product Naming
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This is the way the founders of Café Gratitude (a SF Bay area restaurant which offers raw, vegan, organic fare) might hope your interaction with the server goes:
Server: How are you feeling today?
You: I am Sensational and Beautiful!

What could happen:
Server: We’re all out of Sensational, could I offer you Dazzling instead? Perhaps some Heroic on the side?
You: Well, how about I am Eternally Blessed.

Here in the world of brand naming we are constantly looking for names that evoke a certain feeling and that are fun to say. Café Gratitude has taken this ideal to the extreme form – where ordering lunch becomes an exercise in self-affirmations. What’s more, mantras for personal manifestation are offered by the wait staff. An excerpt from their menu includes:
I am insightful (spring rolls $10)
I am elated (enchilada special $15)
I am bright-eyed (pecan porridge $8.50)

It can be a struggle to keep a straight face when ordering. The idea is that ordering something like, ”I am lusciously awake” will manifest itself as a more awake state of mind simply through your verbalization and consumption of food product. Yet this sort of strategic brand naming is not unheard of – or even uncommon. We buy a lot of things based on the appeal of their associations, and for the promise of how they might change us. I know I’m hoping to be little more like J.Lo when I buy her fashion and who’s to say there’s not the promise of greater sex appeal when you pick up a copy of Allure?

There is a lot of messaging going on in Café Gratitude, but what the restaurant doesn’t exude is its skillful product and food branding. The pivotal gimmick, although shrouded in New Age-speak, comes down to the marketing and a well-executed naming architecture - “I am insightful” indeed.

Tags: Brand Naming, Branding, Food Branding, food naming
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I am happily addicted to caffeine – until I skip my normal morning dose. There follows an inevitable sluggishness and an afternoon headache. As this is immediately cured by a cup of coffee I haven’t seen much reason in the last few years to quit. Scientific findings oscillate between praise for coffee’s health benefits and the risks or detrimental effects on the body. I usually stick to reading the good findings, but this recent article in the NY Times provides a nice synopsis.

Product branding is starting to pick up on the “good for you” aspects of coffee that attempt to shift the beverage from an indulgent vice into the medicinal cure-all. Some relatively new products highlight coffee that incorporates supplements or that is specially roasted for unique health benefits. The product branding of Caffe Botanica communicates the health of the harvest and is infused with calcium while GanoDerma draws on the Latin name of the Reishi mushrooms that are included in its special recipe (and perhaps unintentionally, that it is good for the skin). Caffe Sanora gets the roots of its name in “sano” which means healthy in Spanish. This Boulder, Colorado roasting company, claims its roasting process keeps anti-oxidants in beans that will help keep you young while getting what you need to get through the day.

For now I’m happy to take my coffee with milk and no mushrooms, but you never know which new branding gimmick is going to catch on next.

Tags: Brand Naming, Branding, Company Naming, Food Branding, In-the-News, product branding
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Not long ago, it would have been far-fetched to consider a Safeway brand synonymous with “certified organic.” But the last few years have seen a mainstreaming of organic products across the board, and in-store brands are finally getting a little panache – right down to brand name creation.

Two of Safeway’s store brands, O Organics and Eating Right, found immediate success from their debut. These product brands speak to people who are looking for healthier foods that are still good deal. (And who isn’t these days?) O Organics sales reached $150 million when it launched in 2005 and increased to $400 million in 2008 while Eating Right is expected to bring in $200 million this year. In a highly unusual move, these brands soon will be showing up in competitive supermarkets, as well, in the hopes that Safeway can further expand revenues.

In-store brands are generally cheaper than outside food brands, because of lower marketing overhead. But in this case, a little added branding focus has gone a long way. O Organics, for example, is an excellent product brand name. The O, like the numeral for zero, is a transparent communication of purity, telegraphing natural, unprocessed food. Eating Right is also effective in its straightforwardness. We all know that we’re supposed to be “eating right” and the name for this line of products communicates an easy way to follow this common advice.

It will be interesting to see if other grocery stores follow in Safeway’s footsteps — increasing their naming and branding efforts, more effectively competing against national brands, and then broadening their sales scope to include other grocery chains.

Tags: Advertising, Brand Naming, Food Branding, naming
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Tea for what ails you. Tea to help you fall in love (no promises here, at least not in that potential-lawsuit false advertising way). Tea for relaxing in the evening and getting wired in the morning. Tea that makes you (seem) spiritual. Product branding has converged with poetry in the exploding tea market, and I’ve been noticing names that fall far beyond what the creators of “Constant Comment” ever dreamed. Specialty teas are making sure to separate themselves from the fray with names that stray far from simple descriptive naming. Care for some “Iron Goddess of Mercy” or Temple of Heaven”?

The Bay Area’s own Numi Tea can offer you an evocative cup of “Moonlight Spice” (White Orange Spice) and maybe later you’ll meet the “Monkey King” (who tastes like Jasmine Green Tea). “Indian Night” is meant to transport you from your kitchen – under the power of a single teabag. These names speak to us in terms of interesting and exotic associations, but also of the quality of the product.

Celestial Seasonings is the classic cardboard box found in cupboards across America, a company name that is familiar and comforting. In an attempt to update its image new trademarked teas have been introduced with product names like “Morning Thunder”, “Fast Lane Black Tea” and “Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai”. These tea names get at an American sweet tooth and driving need for caffeine, but they are also catchy and evocative.

Unique company names are the first step in conveying that the product is much more than some plants you pour boiling water on. I’m a fan of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, a company name that momentarily includes me in a romantic take on gypsy life. (They make “Love Tea” blended with tiny rose buds.) Mighty Leaf, another producer of fine teas, presents the juxtaposition of a diminutive tea “leaf” with the image of mighty muscles. This appealing and unexpected combination draws you in with the expectation that the tea will also be out of the ordinary and packs a punch that its competitors don’t.

Tags: Brand Naming, branding company naming, Food Branding, Product Naming
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As the Beijing Olympics draw closer China is back in the forefront of the world’s consciousness. Western companies have been drawn to the promise of China’s enormous market potential for decades but there are complicated issues to consider when launching your brand in this incredible country. Checking in with some naming experts will definitely wade through language and cultural obstacles. Here’s a piece published recently about the nuances of brand naming in China by our very own Burt Alper. Click here to read Burt’s article.

Tags: Beijing Olymics, Brand Naming, Branding, China, international naming, naming
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Ten years ago this spring, three youngish whippersnappers, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, opened the doors at Catchword Branding. Since then, we’ve gone from a small startup working with a handful of up-and-coming firms to a full-service bicoastal naming agency with a roster of blue chip clients.

In honor of our 10th anniversary, we’d like you to have a copy of our first ever Brand Name Owner’s Manual. It’s a driver’s guide for that most critical marketing vehicle: your name. We hope that it tickles your funnybone (and even proves useful from time to time).

Now this manual isn’t meant to be a serious how-to guide for creating names. (For that, we recommend an accomplished name development firm.) But there are plenty of tips for avoiding common perils of naming—and steering towards a name that will give your brand traction. (Check out our tricks for evaluating names and screening names, among other lessons we’ve learned over the years that have helped us to help brand stewards like you.)

Of course, if the last decade didn’t offer us an opportunity to collaborate with you we certainly hope this next one will!

Warmest regards, and happy birthday to us! It’s been a great ride…

The Catchword Team

Click the image above (or click here) to read our Brand Name Owner’s Manual.

Tags: Brand Name Owner's Manual, Brand Naming, naming advice, naming guide
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