I don’t know whether I’ve got to a certain age, or there’s just something in the water, but a large number of my friends have found themselves taking the next step in life and welcoming a new member to their families. Their new born babies.
After observing quietly, I’ve found that after the typical questions of ‘when is it due?’ and ‘is it a boy or a girl?’, the focus is all on the name.
From previous blogs you’ll know how much I like to tie any aspect of normal life to marketing! This really got me thinking about the importance of product and brand names. Too far, or just passionate about what I do? I’ll leave that to you.
Naming a baby, much like naming a product, is an important step. It’s the foundations for the life cycle ahead. In both you find yourself asking so many questions; Will it be liked? How will the audience react? Will it suit the personality? What does it mean in another language? Does it make sense? Does it fit with the family? Should it be named after the originator?
Whichever name you choose you want it to be remembered. And for the right reasons.
Some iconic brands certainly made the right brand name decision. They’ve taken off and they’ve stuck. So much so that their chosen name represents a whole industry product range, and competitor products are often referred to as that name.
Sellotape is a great example. Sellotape is a brand name, not a product type. The product is adhesive tape, yet no matter what brand of adhesive tape I have in the house, I always go for what I call ‘Sellotape’. This brand and brand name is so iconic to the product that often all adhesive tape brands are known as Sellotape.
Hoover is another example. ‘Get the hoover’ is a familiar term. Speaking correctly, unless you have a Hoover product, we should be asking for the vacuum cleaner. Hoover became synonymous with vacuum cleaning industry after dominating the market in the early to mid 20th Century. A century later and it is still a well-known term.
There are plenty of examples and many that I would know the name of the product itself, only the brand name; Brillo Pad, AstroTurf, Dictaphone, Frisbee, ChapStick, and interestingly an abundance in the stationery market; Post-it’s, Biro, TipEx, Scotch Tape, BluTac. The list is endless.
These brands are great examples of just how powerful a brand name can be. Hitting the market at the right time in the right way, and becoming synonymous with a whole product range demonstrates a fantastic market strategy.
A decision about a name is the foundation for your product, your baby. It’s one of the first points of contact with a consumer, just as when we introduce ourselves. What makes a name work? What makes a name stick? What makes a name so iconic?
Emma Dobson is a creative thinker, branding expert and Touch Point guru at Happy Creative, a full service marketing agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
