A fun video about English names in China. When I was taking Japanese with the Name Inspector, I nicknamed him Tako-san. Which seemed funny at the time. My name is impossible in Japanese!
Posts Tagged ‘food naming’
Once upon a time there was an energy drink named Cocaine. Highly caffeinated, it was pulled in 2007 by its maker, Redux Beverages, due to an FDA ruling that Redux was “illegally marketing their drink as an alternative to street drugs”. But it was only off the market for a short while, reappearing a year later, first under the product name “No Name”, and then back to “Cocaine”. It comes in a two flavors, Spicy Hot and Mild. Apparently the FDA doesn’t care enough to actually enforce their ruling, or maybe by adding “Energy Supplement” to the name, Redux has found a way to mellow the buzz kill.
Meanwhile
This light chestnut, slow motion roller coaster of a beer perfectly balances out a vicious cocktail of active ingredients, who said equilibrium has to be boring?
Combined in the bottle are the natural stimulants guarana and kola nuts with natural depressants Californian poppy and hops, all blurred together by the audacity of Scottish heather honey.
I don’t know – guarana is a pretty strong stimulant, as I previously discussed in relation to 7-Eleven’s Fusion coffee. High-energy drunks – just what we need!
According to the Daily Mail, Speedball, like Cocaine before it, got pulled from the shelves:
BrewDog, which makes the 7.1 per cent beer, was yesterday accused by a drinks’ industry regulator, the Portman Group, of ‘profiteering from the scourge of illegal drugs’.‘The blurring of alcohol and illicit drugs fosters unhealthy attitudes to drinking and trivialises drug misuse,’ said the group’s chief executive, David Poley.
‘The company is seriously misguided in its claim to be educating and preventing people from misusing drugs. We are taking urgent action to protect the public from exposure to such negligent marketing.’
At BrewDog’s website, Speedball is listed as “out of stock”. Well, at least you can get their other beers, like Hop Rocker, The Physics, Punk IPA, Hardcore IPA, Rip Tide, and Paradox.
I think it’s unlikely that anyone would expect Speedball to have actual coke or heroin in it – consumers are savvy enough to know a marketing ploy when they see one, especially when this kind of shock product naming is common for energy drinks and alcohol. One wonders where they’ll go next to get the market’s attention. Catchword has always recommended that companies use code names for their products that are so off-the-wall that they’d never make it to market – like cheese, or fish, or maybe surgical procedures or infectious diseases. Could we see a new beer on the market called Dogfish, or perhaps Hepatitis?
*This sounds horrible-tasting to me.
As I was browsing the Huffington Post earlier today, I came across this juicy little tidbit announcing that PETA wants to change the “name” of fish to sea kittens (after all, who would want to eat “sea kitten sticks”?). At first I thought it was a joke, but then I saw the post on the PETA site too.
Ah, to be a fly on the wall at the morning roundtable at The Onion: “How did we get scooped on this?!”
Wow. This could go down in the annals of name development. I mean, plenty of naming consultants can brag about naming a company or naming a new product, but can any of us lay claim to naming a whole animal group? Heck, I’m not sure there are even any scientists who could make that claim. If PETA can pull this name change off, they would really be in a class all by themselves. Again. Still.
A few questions come immediately to mind:
1) Are all fish sea kittens, or just the baby fish? “Sea Cats” don’t sound nearly as warm and cuddly. And I’ve already met a few sea lions — they definitely have some bite in their bark.
2) Once we rename fish, are we expected to tackle cows, pigs, and chickens? Maybe they all fall under the new moniker “Farm Kittens”. Do vegetables become “Soil Kittens”? More thought needed on this topic.
3) How do “real” kittens feel about all this? Did PETA bother to ask them about the emotional ramifications of all these new “siblings” joining the family? Talk about some strange in-laws.
4) And while we’re on the subject, don’t “land kittens” like to eat “sea kittens”? Does this renaming exercise turn all felines into cannibals?
Hats off to PETA for tackling such an enormous renaming opportunity. I know I, for one, will be checking the PETA site more often for reports on future naming initiatives. Who knows, maybe they might even have room for a pitiful “normal” naming consultant like me. I know I’ve only named a few dozen companies, but I could name a new animal group, I swear!
I was in a 7-Eleven over the weekend and got some coffee. The store near me has a huge self-service coffee station with all kind of cups, flavors, creamers, sweeteners, and additives like cinnamon and chocolate (they know to whom they must cater). I ignored the hazelnut-flavored coffee (ick) and the decaf, since I had a list of errands to run, and instead decided to try the new coffee with the bright yellow handle on the coffeepot (see image, courtesy of the Cruft blog).
FUSION! it practically screamed at me. OK, I figured, it’s some kind of bean blend – that sounds good. I sniffed it to make sure there was no chocolate in it (I’m allergic). I poured a big cup, added my normal pint of half and half, and was out the door. One hour later I was amped beyond belief and only then did I decided to find out what was in that coffee:
Their Exclusive Blend coffee is infused with all-natural herbs including guaraná, ginseng, and yerba maté, which they believe will boost your energy and sharpen mental alertness.
YES IT DOES ALL THOSE THINGS AND ADDITIONALLY MAKES YOUR HANDS SHAKE WHILE YOU’RE DRIVING!
I was not aware of this trend in fortified coffee. Since ephedrine became a controlled substance, it seems like the beverage industry is constantly developing new and innovative ways to deliver metabolism boosters in every kind of drink (including Stampede Beer, which we had the pleasure of naming). Cocaine is a highly caffeinated energy drink distributed by Redux Beverages. It contains three and a half times the caffeine of a more popular energy drink, Red Bull Aside from caffeine the label boasts 750 milligrams of taurine, another common ingredient found in many energy drinks, as well as guaraná (also in Fusion). Cocaine got pulled from US shelves in 2007 because the FDA decided that Redux was “illegally marketing their drink as an alternative to street drugs”. After a brief name change to “No Name”, Redux decided to go back to the Cocaine name. I’m not sure how they’re getting away with it now.
Fusion tasted OK, but not great. While looking online for a gift for my coffee-obsessed boyfriend, I came across this totally-illegal looking brand: Meth Coffee. I wonder if the FDA will have something to say about this.
It’s interesting that the same concept gets executed in such different ways. 7-Eleven chose to go with a name so abstract that despite the word “energy” on the handle, I didn’t realize it was amphetamine-flavored coffee, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. “Fusion” sounds so smooth and sophisticated, with a little bit of technology behind it. Meth, on the other hand, is in-your-face direct and practically dares you to drink some and sit still. I suppose it’s a comment on the culture that “meth” is the well-known slang for “methamphetamine”.
I also saw something called Muscle Milk when I was at 7-Eleven. I was too scared to buy any.
Farms can reap big dividends in profits and consumer loyalty with strategic naming.
Sierra Schlesinger smiles easily while selling two pounds of shelling beans at the farmers’ market in Berkeley, California. “People know us as the dirty girls – even Joe (the farmer) gets tagged as one although he bristles a little at that….They remember us,” she says. The farm gets its name from the original owners, two women who tried to call it Fan Tan Farm in 1995. Local farmers nicknamed them the “dirty girls” and the name stuck. Today Dirty Girl Produce and its Early Girl dry-farmed tomatoes have become legendary in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. “Sometimes people don’t even bother to look at the signs,” says Dirty Girl worker Steve Wright, “but they know what they’re looking for and ask you: ‘Are these the Dirty Girl tomatoes?’”
The recent movement to eat local and organic has people thinking a lot more about where their food is coming from and how it’s grown. And distinct, creative farm names help smaller farms differentiate their produce from that of their industrial agribusiness competitors (whose produce usually isn’t labeled in the supermarket). Agricultural brand naming also makes it easier for consumers to feel connected on a personal level with the people who grow their food, “putting a face” on what’s often seen merely as a commodity.
Bay Area farmers’ markets are a heaven of fruits and vegetables in summer, showcasing a kaleidoscope of luscious produce from farms along the state’s central coast. A walk down the line reveals some of the farms’ intriguing brand names: Ella Bella (named after the owner’s daughter, Ella), Full Belly (need we say more?), Blossom Bluff, Gospel Flat. And while the names may be branding products that are worlds away from commercialized big business, they follow principles of brand name creation that are familiar to those of us from professional naming firms. Unique company names like Frog Hollow Farm, (whose yellow peaches are indescribably delicious) and Flying Disc Ranch (where the fresh, soft dates are more delectable than fine caramel) suggest superior produce, grown with great care. They draw you in for a taste and make it easy to remember the brand later.
Such company names also pique your curiosity and make you want to know more about the farms themselves. And the farms are enthusiastic about sharing. The family that owns Gospel Flat Farm-named after the four churches that once stood on the property-regularly invites students from the nearby middle school to see sustainable agriculture in action. (Here the farm looks more like an enormous garden than an actual commercial farm, with organic crops thriving next to rows of flowers.)
Bottom line? People remember engaging names and when the produce is consistently good, they develop a fervent loyalty to those farm brands.
On the drive home from backpacking near Yosemite the other weekend, my friends and I had the good luck to catch a glimpse of this creative example of brand name creation. Unfortunately, we weren’t quite hungry enough to be convinced.
Pizza joints (and coffee shops for that matter) fall into this sort of naming with remarkable ease and seemingly endlesss variation. In that respect, U-Kneada Pizza’s got it all – a pun and a play on an exaggerated Italian accent in the tagline.
This is the way the founders of Café Gratitude (a SF Bay area restaurant which offers raw, vegan, organic fare) might hope your interaction with the server goes:
Server: How are you feeling today?
You: I am Sensational and Beautiful!
What could happen:
Server: We’re all out of Sensational, could I offer you Dazzling instead? Perhaps some Heroic on the side?
You: Well, how about I am Eternally Blessed.
Here in the world of brand naming we are constantly looking for names that evoke a certain feeling and that are fun to say. Café Gratitude has taken this ideal to the extreme form – where ordering lunch becomes an exercise in self-affirmations. What’s more, mantras for personal manifestation are offered by the wait staff. An excerpt from their menu includes:
I am insightful (spring rolls $10)
I am elated (enchilada special $15)
I am bright-eyed (pecan porridge $8.50)
It can be a struggle to keep a straight face when ordering. The idea is that ordering something like, ”I am lusciously awake” will manifest itself as a more awake state of mind simply through your verbalization and consumption of food product. Yet this sort of strategic brand naming is not unheard of – or even uncommon. We buy a lot of things based on the appeal of their associations, and for the promise of how they might change us. I know I’m hoping to be little more like J.Lo when I buy her fashion and who’s to say there’s not the promise of greater sex appeal when you pick up a copy of Allure?
There is a lot of messaging going on in Café Gratitude, but what the restaurant doesn’t exude is its skillful product and food branding. The pivotal gimmick, although shrouded in New Age-speak, comes down to the marketing and a well-executed naming architecture – “I am insightful” indeed.
I don’t know about yours, but my neighborhood is suddenly covered in ads for Grape-Nuts. The marketing slant is one of bold refusals of common euphemisms and descriptions that have found their way into our vernacular. A billboard near my house reads, “I hope we can still be friends,” which is crossed out with red ink with “goodbye,” scrawled below. In the bottom right is a picture of a box of Grape-Nuts and the tagline, “It is what it is. NoGrapesNoNuts.com”. But what exactly does breakfast cereal have to do with the sugar-coating of the break up with my ex-boyfriend?
The product branding for the cereal was coined so long ago no one is quite sure where it came from. One thing is certain: since its creation in 1897, the product has never contained grapes or nuts, as the name would suggest. Over a hundred years later the company has decided to capitalize on this discrepancy. The domain name says it all: NoGrapesNoNutscom. And, as the amusing billboards would like you to believe, no bulls#@*. Just the whole grains implied by the image of a branch of wheat laid across the front of the box.
In this time of hyperbole and euphemism, these ads push a style of marketing that speaks to we folks who are tired of all the fluff and positive spin. Kudos to you, Post. We at Catchword salute you.
Just goes to show you: sometimes, even weird product names can succeed (if you spend enough on the ad campaign, that is)
Chips are awesome. I love chips. Salty, crispy, with the fat fried right in. Rarely buy the baked variety, or anything reduced in fat. If I’m chippin’, I’m chunkin. That’s what I say. So you can just imagine my frustration when the entrance to the carb aisle at Kings was blocked by a sample table covered in, oh my goodness, BAKED VEGGIE CHIPS. Wholly healthy, batman! My first instinct was to egg the table and the cheery representative, grab the nearest bag of Fatitos, and make a run for the check-out. But then something caught my eye – the brand name: Flat Earth. Flat Earth? Yeah, Flat Earth – that’s pretty cool. I slowly put down my carton of extra large, inched toward the table with that “I’m not looking for a free lunch, I really am just curious” look, and sampled a few of the flat, earthly treats. Actually quite good. Course I’m not in the business of reviewing snacks, I’m in the naming business, and I thought this one was worth highlighting. I really love the way it communicates both the style of the chip (flats) and its healthful formulation (specifically, a 1/2 portion of fruits or veges in every once, depending on the chip). Not easy to find a memorable way to tie those two messages together, but using the familiar flat earth theory is pretty effective. Seems “Earth” and every other term suggesting an organic, healthful product, has been used. Kudos to the folks at Flat Earth for finding and adopting a name for their brand that makes sense for the product, is distinct from other “Earth” names, and is also highly memorable.
As a naming consultant, I know coming up with new product names is hard. But still, I have to pick on a new one I saw advertised recently: Smart Taste (a new pasta product from Ronzoni). It’s not that the name is horrible; I’m sure plenty of people will still buy the product. It’s that the name doesn’t have any charisma. This is exactly the kind of name I would expect to perform well in a poorly-designed naming research study. “Which of these names best describes the product you see here?” Ugggh. Such a silly question to ask.
We know naming research can be done well. It’s just that so often, it is not. It isn’t about what the name describes. It’s not even about what name respondents *say* they like the best. It’s about the associations that each name candidate evokes. When you ask associative questions, you get answers like “This name feels energetic” or “This name sounds friendly.” If you want your new name to communicate ease of use, associations like energetic and friendly are close to perfect. Too few marketers ask the right question when testing names.
Had typical research methodologies been applied when Jobs and Woz were launching their company, we might have EduComp or GraphiComp instead of Apple. And instead of Yahoo, we might have SearchSmart or InfoSeek (oh, wait …). Instead of Nike, we might have QuickFoot or SportKix.
YAWN.
Please people: If you’re going to test your name candidates, do us all a favor. Ask the right questions, and don’t let respondents steer you away from the truly great naming solution. Charisma and style count for just as much as semantics when naming a new product or company.
