Insights & Tips on Company & Product Naming

Naming a business is a lot like laying the cornerstone of a new building. Once it’s in place, the entire foundation and structure is aligned to that original stone. If it’s off, even in the slightest, the misalignment becomes amplified.

The tougher it gets out there, the more important it is to put your marketing money where it will do the most good. Coming up with the right name for a company or a product can make a huge difference in building a brand and even in determining it’s future success. Too often companies jump straight into designing a logo and then spend the rest of the marketing budget trying to explain to people what they actually do and what their difference is.

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Comments (1) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Jon

Tags: 10 tips on company naming, @ThinkTank_, Advertising, Big Idea, Brand Positioning, Brand Strategy, Branding, Company Naming, Cork, differentiation, Fishy Fishy, Innovation, Ireland, Irish Patents Office, Jonathan Amm, Kinsale, Logo Design, Marketing, Product Development, Product Naming, Start-ups, Strategy, Trade Mark Agents, Trademarks, Twitter

Demanding inclusion in the boys’ club is a long and arduous path. Nowadays, smart women are building their own instead……

Get your sunglasses, grab your beach towel and imagine the following scene of children playing in the sand:

Seven boys, ages five to eight, are engineering an intricate series of dams and rivers by the water’s edge. They even build a small hot tub and are enjoying their time in this mini spa when along come the girls – first one, then two. As the third attempts to find a seat in the tub, two boys protest. “No girls allowed.” The girls argue but eventually move along. Minutes later the mothers arrive and demand equal rights for the girls. The boys protest, but the mothers stand guard as the girls are begrudgingly allowed in the tub.

Clearly everyone is having less fun. As soon as the guards leave, the chanting begins anew, “No girls allowed.” The scene repeats several times. Eventually, the mothers become distracted and the girls grow tired of trying. Then one lone girl starts to dig a short distance from the boys. She is far enough to maintain respect for the rule of separation but close enough for the engineers and construction workers to see her. Other girls join in. They build elaborate scenes creatively using beach flora, fauna and debris to make bridges, houses, trees and people.

A curious boy inches his digging project closer to the girls’ scene. Within minutes he connects his trench to their landscape. Other boys take note and edge closer. They build connecting roads as well. Soon the groups’ combined engineering and creative talents result in a complex and ingenious landscape filled with people, cars, pets, trenches, dams and a bigger coed hot tub!

This thought provoking story of boys and girls at play on a summer’s day is an excerpt from an article written by Dr. Anne Perschel which features in the Huffington Post. Anne is the founder and president of Boston based Germane Consulting and is a highly respected leadership and organizational psychologist.

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Comments (5) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Lisa

Tags: @TTStrategy, CIT, Cork, Dr. Anne Perschel, Enterprise Ireland, Entrepreneurs, Femtrepreneur, Going for Growth, Ireland, Leadership, Lisa Murphy, Management Consulting, MBA, Start-ups, Twitter, Women in business, www.irishwomeninbusiness.ie, www.networkcork.com, www.networkireland.ie, www.nwed.ie, www.sceb.ie, www.think-tank.ie

Comments (0) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Jon

Tags: South Africa, Vuvuzela, World Cup Soccer

Soccer’s governing body FIFA recently saw red, but mostly orange – during the Holland Vs Denmark game at the Soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Thirty-six blondes, wearing orange mini skirts gate crashed the game at Soccer City in Johannesburg causing a major brouhaha. The offense wasn’t so much a fashion faux pas but a carefully orchestrated ambush marketing attack by Dutch brewer Bavaria, against its bigger rival Budweiser. The spectacle created a frenzy as photographs and video footage went viral as the story was picked up on social media networks and newspapers around the world.

The reaction of FIFA was swift and ruthless. The authorities immediately evicted the women from the stadium and two were arrested on charges of organising “unlawful commercial activities”. Under pressure from FIFA, South Africa passed laws in the run-up to the World Cup that made ambush marketing a criminal offence. The women face charges of contravening the Merchandise Marks Act (unauthorised use of trade mark at a protected event), and some sections of the Special Measures Regulations Act (entry into designated area while in possession of prohibited commercial object).

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Comments (0) | | Digg This | Save to Del.icio.us | Posted by: Jon

Tags: @ThinkTank_, Advertising, Ambush Marketing, Bavaria, Bavaria Girls, Branding, Budweiser, FIFA, Guerilla Marketing, Holland, Jonathan Amm, South Africa, ThinkTank, Twitter, World Cup Soccer, www.think-tank.ie