The truth about naming
View this email in your browser (|ARCHIVE|) Pink Floyd is a dumb name for a band.
So is The Beatles.
When they announced the iPad, Apple got plenty of flack for their product naming choice.
Google is just bizarre. I mean, it’s oogle with a G in front of it.
But here’s what these examples also have in common: each evokes a well-defined feeling.
That’s what branding is really about, |NAME|: defining how you want people to feel about who you are, what you do and what you offer.
Not an act, but a feeling.
This is what so many businesses and organizations get wrong when it comes to naming things. They assume that the right name will solve a business problem.
They waste days in meetings debating the merits of how to name something but relatively little time in defining the experience they want to provide or even the value that they want to deliver.
D.O.A., one of the greatest punk bands ever, has a motto that resonates here: “Talk minus Action equals Zero.”
A strong name without a sense of purpose (http://ctt.ec/ld33a) is nothing more than a promise that doesn’t deliver. (Click to tweet this)
So, |NAME|, if you are in the middle of launching a business or building a new product, let me give you one bit of advice.
Spend less time worrying about what you’re going to call it.
Sure, there are some common-sense rules you should follow: don’t make it too long, be sure to choose words (or sounds) that are easy to pronounce and that don’t say something unintentionally embarrassing.
People will forget why they didn’t care for–or even hated–your name.
But they won’t forget how you make them feel.
Very best, Patrick
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