Blog Archives

What does a naming agency cost?

Years ago when I was researching naming agencies and what they charge, I went to that awesome fountain of knowledge, Wikipedia and looked up Naming Firms (as they call them). Immediately I saw it was dominated by the big guys

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Posted in Branding, Domain Names, International Naming, Naming News, Naming Resources, Trademarks

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

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

+ 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

When one letter is sufficient in compound names

Take for example the name : Impulsports. We read at such great speed these days we don’t often notice good spelling or bad spelling. In our minds we do not even notice the phonology – let alone the correct morphology

Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Domain Names, International Naming, Name Origins, Naming Education, Strange Names, Trademarks

Worldwide Trademark Clearance

Do your names work in other countries?  How about worldwide?  Well that is a very daunting task for most product managers to achieve – in fact almost impossible to achieve guaranteed clearance without a lot of money. But you can,

Posted in Branding, International Naming, Name Origins, Naming Education, Trademarks

Confusing drug names are alarming!

Recently I was within earshot of Paramedics in the UK repeating the incorrect drug type over the phone to the awaiting Accident and Emergency department. They announced Clobazam  instead of Clonazepam. Thankfully, I was still with the patient and jumped

Posted in Biotech Naming, Branding, International Naming, Strange 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