The Dangerous Game of The Name

Seth Godin has a good post/case example of how NOT to name -- Nintendo's new game, Wii, as its called points to what's dangerous about the naming game.  For one thing, Seth mentions the results of a Google search that shows thousands of results for this "wee" little name. 

Many times I've counselled founders of startups to be careful with their naming.  We still see product names that are the brainchild of an acronym.  You know what I'm talking about -- take the first letter of each technical term and make it into a name.

5 Tips for Creating a Name:
1. Tell something about the product benefits,
2. Be easy to pronounce, spell, and remember,
3. Speak to the target audience (not what you like)
4. Be able to extend across future products (ie. so you can leverage the brand)
5. Be able to be legally protected.

My favourite example these days is iRobot's Roomba(tm).  You know that robot that vacuums your house while you sit outside sipping margueritas.  A great name for all the reasons above -- and they've also got a sister product out now for washing floors - Scooba(tm)!!

Clearly iRobot has spent time thinking through its naming -- not only for its products but for its company name too.  It's a wise investment that pays big dividends, but only when it's done right.

Enjoy your day wherever you are!

Wendy
author/advisor/lady with the flipcharts
So what? who cares? why you?(tm)
 

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