Name Awards Blog

 

Once upon a time there was a very interesting research project in Palo Alto to make a small portable run anywhere object oriented language. The engineers thought they had a solid long lasting foundation to build on, so they looked out their window and named the product "Oak".

Others did not like this name, so it was changed to the supposedly more positive "Green".

As time went on, this project went through a number of iterations and incarnations, until Sun Microsystems finally realized there might be some real potential in this small separate project. So they appointed Kim Polese to be Product Manager, to drive the product to market. Stories differ as to how much effect Kim had on the product, but none are in doubt that she was the cheerleader behind changing its name to JAVA!

And the rest, as they say, is history. Java has become one of the most powerful languages in worldwide computing. The product has often become more famous than the parent, to the point where Sun has had to reclaim rights in it by ensuring you visit java.sun.com and not just java.com! And the word has generated great imagery and roots for all its component parts. Yes, there is good science and engineering behind it....but it never would have been the same with a stodgy old name like Oak or Green.

And despite repeated pleas from Sun management, Kim has moved on to bigger and better personal things, at companies like Marimba and SpikeSource. Kim is one of the few execs who does not seem to need help from outside naming agencies.

 

Motto: Oh the power of a name change - when championed by someone who has an intrinsic knowledge of the power of branding.