3 – Working for your customers

Marketing is all about customers. So, of course you have to assess your different customers, markets and languages in relation to your name. The holy grail for global companies are of brand naming are the names that work around the world. However it’s rarely that simple and many have to adapt to different geographical territories or live with the fact that not everyone will get it in the same way to begin with.

Some brands change to homogenise around the world. Cif was once Jiff. Snickers was once Marathon. And we still buy them both.

It helps if customers can understand the name and are able to pronounce it. Remembering it and telling all their friends about it is another ‘nice to have’ feature in a name.

In western countries many people have trouble pronouncing Korean car manufacturer Hyundai. At one point the company invested in trying to get foreign markets to say it the correct Korean way – Hee-Yun-Day. But it just created more confusion. In the end they relaxed. After all, they are selling lots of cars to happy customers. Why worry?

It pays to be wary about asking customers for their opinions on naming. Like McVities Hobnobs, some of the best brand names have been rejected by customer focus groups. Test the name carefully in conjunction with the product and see how they like it in practice. If they don’t reject it out of hand it’s a good sign they may grow to love it.

Come back soon – our next installment is about Ownability…

 2 – Strategic names

Strategic names are ones that encapsulate the vision and spirit behind them. Virgin and Apple immediately spring to mind as names that are bang on the vision of the founder. Smoothie brand Innocent makes perfect sense as well.

So writing your brand positioning strategy will be the first benchmark for assessing your naming suggestions. Positioning is about articulating what your brand stands for in a few words – its point of difference and the way it engages the hearts and minds of customers.

If you have a clear statement about the rational and emotional promises your brand delivers you’ll soon spot names that hit or miss the mark.

British brands have the advantage of a largely internationally recognised language. Many trade on a sense of Britishness – Barbour clothing and Churches shoes are a hit all over the world. But others like faux-Japanese clothing brand Superdry deliberately disguise their UK credentials. This Cheltenham-based brand attracts so many customers that some shopping malls don’t charge it rent. Great name? Of course, but the branding is equally as clever. And the well-made, well-priced clothes don’t disappoint either.

Many European brands use national names to communicate national values that benefit their product. German electric appliance brand Miele sells Teutonic precision engineering values. Bon Maman preserves has a wonderfully rustic French artisan brand.

Come back soon for the next installment on Working for your Customers…

A great name can make or break a brand. Chosen well, it can be your most powerful and valuable asset. But many organisations struggle with brand naming. Like naming your own children it’s a big responsibility. You want your product to stand out from the crowd but not to get teased on the playground. And if you’ve got big ambitions for your newly christened brand you’ll want to know that the name can travel a bit too. Will it roll off the tongue in other markets or will it have to go abroad under an alias?

Over the next few weeks we’ll give you ten pointers to help give your new widget the best possible start in life. Here’s the first…

1 – Judging names

Before you begin the process of creating names you need to know how to judge them. And for this there’s a few searching questions to ask yourself: Is it on strategy? Does it work for your customers? How ownable is it?

You’ll also need to be aware of how brands work:
/ Brands are helpful – Like signposts for shopping, they make our lives easier
/ Brands nourish our self esteem – They make us feel good about ourselves
/ Brands are original and authentic – They have a point of difference
/ Brands are iconic – They are the shorthand for an experience
/ Brands are memorable – Bland is not an option
/ Brands have a personality – They have a distinct tone of voice
/ Brands are emotional – They connect with our hearts and minds
/ Brands are tribal – They tap into our ancient human need for belonging

Come back soon for the next installment on Strategic Names…

In the meantime, follow these links for some comedic takes on the art of naming.
Armstrong & Miller phone naming sketch
Mitchell & Webb dry cleaning company sketch

At the beginning of 2011 I decided that I would set myself three challenges to carry out during the following 12 months, a skydive in March, the London 10k run in July and then the finale – attempting to summit Kilimanjaro.

After a whole year of training and preparation, on the 1st February this year I set off for Tanzania.

It was a grueling but beautiful 10 days on the mountain. Altitude sickness & loss of appetite was an issue from about day 2 but with the help of our leader, medic & fantastic porters I pulled it together! I’m not sure I will ever be able to explain the mixture of feelings & emotions I experienced on summit night & the sheer elation when I made it to the top.

Climbing Kilimanjaro, as I predicted was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life but has also been the most rewarding. I made some amazing friends along the way – we called ourselves ‘Team Lucky’. Everyone looked after each other & kept spirits high.

It has been strange being back home, I missed life on the mountain & the comradeship of our team but Im enjoying a rest from training and am so grateful for the small home comforts I once took for granted!

I’m delighted to say that my 3 challenges have now raised over £4000 for Brain Tumour UK – the leading, caring charity committed to fighting brain tumours. Their work focuses on providing support, funding research and raising awareness.

I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored and supported me & for anyone who would still like to donate they can at www.justgiving.com/kathrynearl

Would I do it again?……. If you had asked me the same question on summit night, I may well have said no! …. but I HIGHLY recommend everyone to do it, it really was a rewarding life changing experience & I’m already thinking about what my next challenge can be!

We recently came across an old postcard from the mid-sixties featuring Beaconsfield New Town and Milestone’s offices. Just for fun Peter decided to take a photo from the same angle and created this animated gif. The buildings haven’t changed, but the occupants and number of coffee shops certainly have.

With speakers including Thomas Brown – Head of Insights at CIM, Josh Graff – EMEA Marketing Director at LinkedIn and Dara Nasr – Industry Head at YouTube UK, it was a great opportunity to delve deeper into the insights and discussions around how businesses are using social media. It was a great event with lots of stats to bring back to the office.

So, who’s doing what? The CIM’s research shows that 71% of UK businesses are using Twitter, although just over a quarter are saying they are ‘just experimenting’ with social media.

Company investment in social media in 2011 was on the increase with 2012 set to grow even more rapidly. Over half of organisations who took part in the research say they are planning to improve social media skills in 2012 by investing in employee training.

Key points we took away: Experimentation is great, but without using the relevant analysis tools available you’ll never be able to measure your success. Social media is a dialogue – it’s more about listening to customers than selling them things.

Even with the global social media boom going on all around us, brands are only just scratching the surface… #SMBenchmark for more information

Last week I did my Brand and Deliver talk to marketing students at Bucks New Uni in High Wycombe. As you would expect from a bunch of 18/19 year olds they were pretty brand savvy, zipping through my brand challenge in their Superdry T shirts. They really took to my chocolate positioning exercise and were quite at home chomping through value and premium bars alike. They had plenty to say about the brands they liked and didn’t like but were strangely quiet when I asked them about Facebook and social media. Was there a sense of guilt, is social media old hat, or is it really for bored office workers?

Both the book and the film have served to remind me of my love of type. In the days when I used to be ‘hands on’ with the design and artwork process, type was my thing. I would be the font of all knowledge when it came to typefaces (excuse the pun).

I still love type, of course, after all my chickens are named after fonts. My current flock are Helvetica, Futura, Perpetua and Verdana – all classics in their own way. And now, thanks to ‘Just My Type’ I know a bit more about them, and their designers, than I did before.

For more inspiration in this field take a look at work of David McCandless and the original master Edward R Tufte.