[Cache – #45]
Names have jobs to do. Vote on who does them best.
There are alot of bad names out there – but whether we “like” them or not is irrelevant, because ultimately, naming is not a matter of personal preference. The fact is that names have jobs to do – and our judgement as to whether a name is good or bad should rest wholly upon how well they perform those jobs, being:
1.Communicate the brand’s essence
2.Be distinct
3.Be memorable
4.Inspire and attract stakeholders
5.Leverage an existing naming system, or create a new one
6.Be workable into a suitable domain name
7.Pass linguistics
8.Pass legal
Starting today and on the next several Fridays, I’ll elaborate on these jobs (today we’ll cover Job #1). Each week I’ll critique some names, and then you get to vote on who does the jobs best.
Job #1: Communicate the brand’s essence
The name should clearly convey the unique value of the organization, business line, product, service or program.
This week’s names
Doggie Doo
Brand essence score = 4/5
A toy dog. Pull his tail and he poops. Yep, “Doggie Doo” pretty much sums it up.
Eataly
Brand essence score = 4/5
An Italian-themed supermarket with restaurants. Enough said.
Loverdose
Brand essence score = 3/5
A new perfume from Diesel, an apparent play on “Love Overdose”. A “beautiful but deadly weapon of seduction”, made to “ignite passions like never before… Loverdos eallegedly possesses molecules that stimulate hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for attraction and lust.”
Flipside
Brand essence score = 3/5
A showerhead from Kohler with “Flipstream Technology”: “Four unique sprays, one unique action.”
Edgetch
Brand essence score = 1/5
A gas detection company with a name that’s a complete mystery.
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