Being responsible – economically, environmentally, socially – is not news. It’s expected. It should be a part of every brand’s business. But how should responsibility be reflected in your brand voice?
How a brand speaks about responsibility, and how it is embedded into its very personality, is more than just a great way to talk about what your brand promises – it elevates responsibility to be an integral part of your brand.
Take PUMA, for instance. Its vision – or PUMAVision™ – promises to be Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative. Great words. But how is PUMA living up to this promise?
Look no further than the Clever Little Bag. PUMA worked with industrial designer Yves Behar, and turned packaging on its head to create “the smartest shoe box ever.” The box became a bag.
According to the video, the statistics on the positive impact this will have on the environment are astounding. And further, Brandweek notes “the sneaker brand may also take its claim as a green innovator in the category and woo some consumers for whom sustainability is a major purchase consideration.”
But it’s how PUMA is talking about the Clever Little Bag that’s really caught our attention. More...
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If there's an app for that, there's a name for that
The 25th anniversary of the advent of Wi-fi got us thinking about names and technology. At the recent Fuse conference, noted inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil talked about the phenomenal leaps in human progress driven by the breakneck speed of evolution in technology.
Kurzweil’s main point to brand managers and marketers: When it comes to technology, don’t underestimate the importance of brand. Because brands – and brand names – help us make sense of the world around us.
This is particularly true of new technology, because one minute it doesn’t exist and the next it does – so we don’t have terms at hand to help us integrate it into our world. It’s why – to the horror of trademark lawyers everywhere (think genericide) – brand names come to be used as part of our everyday language. We Google ourselves, we Bing results, we TiVo that show, we Tweet the latest, we’re Wi-Fi enabled and there’s an app for that. And the list goes on.
And technology naming doesn’t just change our vocabulary, it challenges regulations. Like URLs before them, apps have created a veritable wild west in the area of trademarks. As developers push the boundaries of what’s possible, and companies of every ilk rush to create them, we’re watching a race for names with little heed for traditional claims of ownership. For now, that is, because global trademark infringement rules still apply (see our tip in App-tly Named: Five Tips for Naming Your Mobile App).
Technology changes the way we do things. Brands show us how. Names make it personal.
Paola Norambuena
Head of Verbal Identity
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    Copyright © 2010 Interbrand. All rights reserved.
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It’s ubiquitous, expected – its name synonymous with a kind of freedom we are not-so-gradually taking for granted. Sometimes it’s an unexpected relief to be without it, and we realize we could, occasionally, use a little less connection. For some it’s a basic human right we fight to provide, to aid in education and progress. Its recent availability on flights came, certainly, with mixed feelings. (A blessing when you’re on that deadline, a curse when all you want to do is settle in with that book you’ve been dying to read on your Kindle or iPad).
But this much is certain: 25 years after the FCC okayed unlicensed access to radio spectrum for communications a world without Wi-Fi and all it has enabled would be, frankly, unimaginable.
That FCC decision paved the way for Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies – but its name, for some 14 years after this, remained code. More...
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The meaning of value: Quality and the basics
No matter how much evidence of bounceback there is, the confidence-shaking economic fallout is having a lingering effect on the way we buy – and name – brands. Our optimism may have been tested, but our values have become more solid than ever.
People may be shopping for deals, but that doesn’t mean they’re looking to skimp on quality – they’ll just go out of their way to find it. Some brands are making it easier with digital savings tools – from featuring downloadable coupons on their sites, to mobile apps like yowza!! – that, surprisingly, are used most often by affluent metro dwellers.
But value is not a short-term trend, so such tools are only part of the equation. It’s something we’ve come to expect as a critical part of all the brands we love.
So, what does this mean for naming?
Quality for all
Brand names used to separate the in-crowd from everyone else. Then they became a signal for every individual to create a signature style. Now names need to communicate quality, regardless of price point. It’s an expectation, no matter who you are.
Back to basics
It used to be that brand names could invoke (or invent) a heritage. Then consumers began demanding more transparency, so brands began flaunting any element (new or historic) to prove authenticity. Now, we’re increasingly falling back on the basics – no additives in ingredients or stories – just what we know and trust.
Value is not about price, it’s about benefit. What better way to communicate this than through your brand’s name.
Paola Norambuena
Head of Verbal Identity
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More on Terra Firma
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    Copyright © 2010 Interbrand. All rights reserved.
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Tags: etymology, madewell, five, terra firma, yowza!!, trademarks, value, verbal identity |
Categories: Etymology, Naming News, Verbal Identity, Verbal Identity News
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etymology: your verbal identity source
We all work with words every day, from the simplest task to the most complex of communications. We understand the power of words, and we try to channel their quicksilver power. When we get it right, our words help create brands that evolve at the speed of our world. And they change the vocabulary.
That’s why we’re bringing etymology to you.
In every issue of our newsletter we’ll trace the arc of that evolution, and we’ll seek out the source – the point of creation where brand and word meet and catch lightning in a bottle.
We’ll look specifically at cultural, market and industry trends – but most importantly we’ll discuss how language is evolving to meet them. We’ll break down the information, and highlight what to look for as we name and write our brands every day.
Etymology is your source for all things naming and verbal identity.
Here, in our first issue, we start with a look at our tried-and-true 10 Most Common Naming Mistakes. When it comes to brands, the name is critical – it’s often the first thing your customers get to know about you, and from there it becomes the single most used identifier to represent your brand.
However, many organizations often take a very haphazard approach to naming. Want to know why? Take a look at the most common mistakes made when creating or choosing a name – and some tips to avoid them.
Looking forward to exchanging words,
Paola Norambuena
Head of Verbal Identity
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    Copyright © 2010 Interbrand. All rights reserved.
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For as long as songs have had lyrics, there have been opportunities to misunderstand them—comedically. Whether it’s the hilarity of breaking it to your friend that the chorus of that Van Halen song is “Panama” and not “Animal,” or one of the more classic blunders, like mistaking “Smoke on the water / fire in the sky” for “Slow motion Walter / the fire engine guy,” misheard lyrics are a rich source of amusement. There are more than a few books on the topic, including Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy, Hit Me with Your Pet Shark, and When a Man Loves a Walnut.
And for a long time we were able to believe in—and insist on—our personal versions of our favorite songs. But thanks to extensive and (usually) accurate song lyric sites, we never have to be wrong again. That’s gotta be worth something to someone, right?
Song lyrics, like the songs they come from, are subject to royalty payments. Our desire to know every word of Wreckx-n-Effect’s “Rump Shaker” has created a profit-making opportunity for lyric sites. But what stands between musicians and the revenue generated by our clicks is that publishers need to make licensing deals with each site individually. And the internet is so darn unwieldy, making it tough to navigate the landscape of lyrics sites. More...
Tags: interbrand, verbal identity, music, music lyrics, extreme, wreckx-n-effect, van halen, rump shaker, panama, animal, m&ms |
Categories: Verbal Identity, Verbal Identity News
AriZona Iced Tea is the brand everyone’s talking about, and they’re making sure it’s in a good way.
A couple of weeks ago, the popular tea company became part of the heated conversation about Arizona’s harsh new immigrant law, which allows police officers to demand citizenship papers from anyone who looks like they might be in the country illegally.
It all started when comedian George Lopez referenced their brand on Twitter, saying: “Went to buy a AriZona Iced Tea—they asked me for my documentation. So I bought HORCHATA instead!" More...
Tags: arizona iced tea, arizona, arizona, u.s., new york, iced tea, horchata, cold stone creamery, dial soap, pf chang’s, us airways, best western |
Categories: Verbal Identity, Verbal Identity News
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Eight-year old Harry dreams of being an airplane architect. He recently sent Boeing an original design explaining, "You never really see these in the airport…cause it's really weird." Boeing responded by sending him a form letter on the cautions of Intellectual Property rights. More...
Tags: twitter, boeing, kids, airplane architect, the psychology of apology, brand message, todd blecher, communications, harry, social media, human, 8-year-old-boy |
Categories: Verbal Identity, Verbal Identity News
Remember when you were a kid and you started to realize Coca-Cola had a mystical force that store brand cola lacked? If you were a Jell-O fan, plain old flavored gelatin wouldn’t do. If you were getting new canvas high-tops, they had to have Converse’s signature blue star.
Back in the day, being a true die-hard fan of a brand meant clipping an order form out of the back of a comic book to join the fan club and receive promotional gear like patches, T-shirts and hats. This was a signal that you knew about the mystical forces of brands. It was a way to spread, say, Etch-A-Sketch awareness around your elementary school, and maybe even grab the attention of a couple other Etch-A-Sketch enthusiasts in your neighborhood.
Today’s social media has rocketed fan brand ambassadors, or fanbassadors, of all ages to a whole new level. Coca-Cola has 5.5 million fans on Facebook. This means that 5.5 million people are promoting Coca-Cola with a link on their Facebook page. More...
“We are Miracle Whip and we will not tone it down” is the current tagline thought up by the self-proclaimed “bold marketing team at Miracle Whip.” And they’re pushing back on mayonnaise fans everywhere, declaring Miracle Whip a far superior condiment.
It all came to a head yesterday, May 5, which Miracle Whip declared not Cinco de Mayo but Cinco de Miracle Whip. “After all,” the brand said on Facebook, “What’s so festive about boring ol’ mayo?” More...
