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Move over BARF dog food–there’s another unintentionally funny brand name out there. Have you heard of Putzmeister? This German company markets machines for pouring and placing concrete, but the name suggests something else. A quick peek in my beloved Joys of Yiddish book explains “putz” rhymes with nuts and is a vulgar slang term for …
Merriam Associate’s client Geomentum is in the news with a new president, Lisa Bradner. Merriam Associates created the Geomentum name a year ago when Interpublic consolidated several large local media-buying and marketing services units including newspaper buying agency NSA Media, Wahlstrom, a specialist in Yellow Pages and local search, and out-of-home expert Outdoor Services. Geomentum …
Splitting Motorola into two companies should have been a great branding opportunity—a chance to create two distinctive, focused, world leading brand names. Unfortunately, the brains breaking up the Motorola brand missed the opportunity. Trying to spread the Motorola brand equity across two companies destroys the brand for both. Breaking up the company makes business sense: …
Creating a great brand name means finding names that fit with products and that generate true and motivating associations. In politics, the opposite is more often true. Politicians of both parties seems particularly attracted to doublespeak. Take note of the new Democratic strategy of replacing the word “Reconciliation” with “Simple Majority”. What is behind the …
A Political Manuever by Any Other Name Would Smell as Rotten Read More »
When we think of brand names, we most often think of companies and products—but the U.S. military is also in the business of branding. The Pentagon has just announced the are renaming “Operation Iraqi Freedom” to be known as “Operation New Dawn.” The Obama administration states the new name will take effect starting September 1st …
Obama and the Pentagon in the Naming Business: Renaming Operation Iraqi Freedom Read More »
Fast growing, innovative companies can sometimes outgrow their brands. The CEO of Proxios discusses the rebranding and renaming process with Merriam Associates. “Our name became constraining,” said Frank Butler, CEO of Proxios, a fast-growing company using cloud computing technology to create affordable and reliable alternatives to traditional in-house information technology and phone systems. “Our old …
Funny brand names work. If you have a pet, you’ve surely dealt with your share of barf. In light of that, would you eagerly feed your dog or cat BARF brand pet food? Believe it or not, the company BARF World has made a business selling raw BARF to pet owners across the country. I’ve …
Unintentionally Funny Brand Names: BARF Pet Food Read More »
Naming your company or product has always been a challenge. In the digital age, the challenge is even greater with URL naming. Now, in addition to being unique, memorable, and relevant, names need to be searchable, make a good URL, and most of all, they be available as a dotcom. Below are some important points …
One of the toughest aspects of naming a company or a product is finding a URL, a domain name for your Web site. You might want to consider the “used” market of recycled names. Every day thousands of perfectly good URLs are abandoned and left to expire—their yours for the taking. If you have ever …
Originally published by Lisa Merriam in ABA Bank Marketing, February, 2005 “A good name is more valuable than great riches.” So says the ancient book of Proverbs. In business, a good name is a prerequisite to great riches. Nowhere is that more true than in a trust-based industry like banking. Your name is the foundation …
Bank Brand Names ABA Bank Marketing–Banks: The Name Game Read More »