Blog Archives

Of Country and Crackers

California – July 30, 2020. I don’t usually lead off with a dateline, but stay with me… Around this time of year, I’m reminded of several things, one of which was a conversation I had with one of my young

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Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Famous Quotes, Food Names, Name Origins, Retail, Trademarks

A Virus by any other name ….

As the world’s first major pandemic in over hundred years rages on, consumers and the press have adopted two popular shorthand names for it: Corona Virus or Covid Virus. Nowadays the two names are used interchangeably, but which one is

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Posted in Biotech Naming, Consumer Goods, International Naming, Naming Education, Naming News, Rotten Names, Strange Names

Great British brands of the 1800’s

Cadbury (Year Founded: 1824) Cadbury was founded in 1824 when John Cadbury opened his grocer’s shop in Birmingham. Being a Quaker, he sold only tea, coffee, cocoa, and drinking chocolate. Cadbury’s little shop grew in popularity so much that only seven years

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Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Food Names, International Naming, Name Origins, Retail, Trademarks

Trademarks can last a long, long time thanks to Mickey Mouse

When people ask me how long a registered trademark is good for, my glib reply is often “How old is Mickey Mouse?” Unlike patents, which typically expire after 17 years or so, trademarks can be renewed every few years. How

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Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, International Naming, Naming Education, Naming News, Naming Resources, Retail, Sustainable Brand Names, Trademarks

Great old British Brands from the 1700’s that are still going strong

 Coutts (Year Founded: 1692) Coutts was founded in 1692 by John Campbell. It started life as a goldsmith’s shop in Strand, London. By the time of Campbell’s death in 1712, it was an operational bank. After his death, his son-in-law took

Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, International Naming, Name Origins, Naming Education, Retail

Brands that grew out of adversity

As the world goes through some tough times right now, it is interesting to see which major brands grew during depressions and wars. Surely there are some lesson to be learned here – not the least of which is press

Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Drinks, International Naming, Name Origins, Naming News, Strange Names, Trademarks

Premade Packaged Pizza Names

How do these things start and progress? This post began by sharing a link to an article on the health benefits of canned seafood, which led to the observation that you can no longer order sardines on your pizza. The

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Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Food Names, Name Origins, Naming Education, Retail, Sustainable Brand Names

Corona beer branding nightmare. Our suggestion.

Great Moments in Naming History This one started out when my colleague Greg sent me a link to an article titled “No, It’s Not the ‘Corona Beer Virus.’ Lawd.” I replied “Damn they must be fuming…what marketing spin would you

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Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Drinks, International Naming, Sustainable Brand Names, Trademarks

This is not the way to create lasting branding prestige!

Hotix(TM) or Hiitox or maybe  even Hotix-Pro(TM) – these product names have been flying across my screen all week. All pertaining to be the latest Swedish small wall heater plug-in the socket. All with the same photo image. Why would

Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Industrial Products Naming, Name Origins, Naming News, Retail, Rotten Names, Strange Names

+ Names are often a -ve

Just as we happily bid farewell to a bad me too product called Google+, new video services come online called Disney + and Apple +.  Walt Disney and Steve Jobs must be turning in their graves. Doesn’t management get that

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Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Domain Names, International Naming, Name Origins, Naming Education, Naming News, Rotten Names, Sustainable Brand Names, Trademarks

Recent Naming Articles

Brand insider articles from an experienced marketing team.

Mar 2023: Pricing your naming project

Oct 2021: The devil is in the trademark details

Mar 2019:The Power and Value of a Trademark

Jan 2019:4 common branding mistakes

Oct 2018: You named it What?

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See his industry naming commentary (where he takes a critical look at names) via the blog on this site