I'll just admit it: I am just as excited about the Apple Tablet as Steve Jobs wants me to be. However, like many people, I was a little put off by the name "iPad." I didn't make the connection to Kotex right away, but I was disappointed that they didn't go with the other rumored name, iSlate.
The sleekness of the name is far more suited to the sleekness of the
product. Yes, iPad follows the trend of "iP" names in the Apple
line--iPod, iPhone--but iSlate just sounds better. And yes, I had a
good laugh over the MAD TV skit from 2007:
But Apple isn't the only company guilty of not thinking through its naming conventions. There are plenty of historical examples.
The Chevy Nova: sadly, Snopes has debunked this one,
but the story still lives on as a lesson of lost in translation.
Technically, "No Va" means "doesn't go" in Spanish, which (supposedly)
made the Chevy Nova unpopular in Spanish speaking countries. If you're
selling internationally, make sure you know what your product name
means in the local language. What message do you send your potential
customers when you sell a product called "bite the wax tadpole?"
WTF? Wisconsin Tourism Federation changes name after internet jokes
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/6242687/WTF-Wisconsin-Tourism-Federation-changes-name-after-internet-jokes.html
Shared via AddThis.com
Just last month, a longtime Canadian magazine changed its name from The Beaver to Canada's History. Publisher Deborah Morrison, president of Canada's National History Society, explains:
"To be perfectly blunt about it, 'The Beaver' was an impediment on the Internet. Unfortunately, sometimes words take on an identity that wasn't intended in 1920, when it was all about the fur trade."
Oh my. I better leave that . . . ahem, untouched.
@DonJ: Comcast is probably changing its name to make up for lost brand equity. I dumped their "service" in August for DirecTV and haven't looked back. A relative works in the cable industry and apparently pros there refer to Comcast customers as "Comcast-aways."
@Osiris: I'm not a huge fan of acronyms unless the shortened version adds value, or has its own brand integrity--like AT&T. I work for American Student Assistance, but we build our brand on ASA. I like your idea of naming the production company after the location--that makes it easy to find too.
Wow..that skit is hilarious. I've had a couple of experiences branding and naming initiatives that ended with less than spectacular results.
Several years back, I worked for a small company that was transitioning from delivering AV services to video production. The original name was Virginia Audio-Visual Services. Of course, that was truncated to V.A.V.S., or as some referred to us, Vavs. The employees wanted to update the name to reflect our new focus, video production, and perhaps present a more professional image. We suggested 64 West Video Productions (location). Owner of the company almost pulled the trigger but backed away in the end, wanting to maintain the brand value he'd established with VAVS. So we continued as VAVS Video Productions....or VAVSVP!
More recently, I've been working for an economic incentive program in the State of Virginia. Our program was called Workforce Services and our reputation was (and still is) sterling. However, more and more local workforce development organizations began using the same or similar names. So we got together to come up with a more distinct name to separate ourselves. Several very good options were presented, but the Director of the program decided to go in another direction, The Virginia Jobs Investment Program....VJIP!
