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When The Las Vegas Sun interviewed us about the new NHL team that needed a name, I warned them about trademark infringement that would mean certain trouble. Calling the hockey team the Golden Knights was a terrible, terrible choice for many reasons (see expanded Las Vegas hockey team naming mistake post here). You cannot build …
Rose hybrid brands demonstrate how branding something turns a commodity into a valuable asset. I took a beautiful fall Friday afternoon off work to visit the New York Botanical Garden, thinking I was playing hooky on my branding business and enjoying the company of some members of my grandmother’s garden club. Yet walking through the …
Rose Hybrid Brands — Turning a Commodity Wild Flower into a Profit Powerhouse Read More »
The BBC called to interview me for a piece entitled: “Why Do Some Companies Ban Certain Words?” The question was: “Can banning some corporate terms and replacing them with buzzier or more positive-sounding alternatives do any good? The short answer was: “No.” While branded language is important, using it has to be done with care. …
BBC Interview: Why Do Some Companies Ban Certain Words? Read More »
I am pleased to announce that the American Marketing Association New York has launched its new website, www.amanewyork.org along with a new name. The new site has been the primary focus of the Communications Committee of the Board of Directors for the last several months. As chairperson of that committee, I commend the tireless work …
New York Chapter of American Marketing Association Name Change and New Website Read More »
NBC News interviewed me about the trolling of the Ivanka Trump brand. Seems like “fake reviews” are joining “fake news” as a thing. The consumer is savvy enough to tell the difference. As I told NBC, the trolling of all Trump brands is likely to continue as a dissatisfied segment of the electorate works out …
Amazon Review Trolling Ivanka Trump Brand–NBC Interview Read More »
Sports team naming is a high stakes job. Doing it right makes creates millions of dollars in brand value. Doing it wrong leads to low recognition and low fan engagement, leading to low revenue and value. Naming the NHL expansion team in Las Vegas the “Vegas Golden Knights” is a missed brand opportunity. (Read part …
Sports Team Naming: Las Vegas Sun Interview on NHL Expansion Team Brand Read More »
Renaming Yale: An Orwellian committee in the “Ministry of Truth” model at Yale is hard at work scrubbing historical names from the campus, according to Roger Kimball in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. The article The College Formerly Known as Yale, details how Yale University is creating a Committee to Establish Principles on Renaming (Wow! So …
Renaming Yale: “Ministry of Truth” Impact of Brands and Politics Read More »
The American Marketing Association has a great blog entry on brand names that became more than household words; they practically entered the dictionary. In my naming consulting practice, I am constantly advising clients to stay away from descriptive names. Such names can never really be owned as brands. The classic example is Amazon’s once mighty …
“Make your brand memorable!” Brand experts earnestly offer this vague advice at every turn. But what is a memorable brand? How can you tell if your brand is or will be memorable? You can’t spot memorability simply by looking at your brand elements. I’ve worked on many naming and design projects where perfectly good brand …
Choosing a brand name is an early and difficult step when starting a company or creating a brand. Getting hung up on all the wrong issues can turn a tough task into an impossible one. “I’ll know it when I see it” Without defining your standard for a good name at the outset, you can …