Length of name, 8
Logo and identity design, 82–83
Love, power of, 18–19
Meaningful names
meaningful long name vs. short meaningless name, 8
resonate with audience, 8–9
Misspellings, 22–23, 45. See also Spelling domain names creatively
Movie titles, 65
Mysterious names, 29
Norcal Waste Systems, 8–9
Numbers embedded in name, 23. See also Alphanumeric brain-bender names
Open-mindedness, 57
.org used for for-profit businesses, 48
Personal names, 9–10
wordplay and, 10–11
Pet food names, imagery in, 12
Pop culture references, 65
Product versions, naming, 15–16
Pronunciation, 35–38
as a crutch, 37
names that are hard to pronounce, 35–38
words that can be pronounced two ways, 37
Recognition software used to test spelling, 23
Recology, 9
Restrictive names, 27
examples, 28
lock you in and limit growth, 26–27
SCRATCH
7 deadly sins, 21–38
when to scratch a name off the list, 21
Search engine optimization (SEO), 42, 45
Self-assessment tool, 77. See also Brand name(s): rules for reviewing
Service providers, 83
Siri theory, testing the, 23
Slurls, 49
SMILE & SCRATCH name evaluation test, 2–3, 6. See also specific topics
Spell-checking programs, 23
Spelling-challenged names (not spelled like they sound), 21–23
Spelling domain names creatively, 46–47. See also Misspellings
Spelling name in a non-intuitive way, 21–23
Suffixes that need to be used with caution, 29
Suggestive coined names, 7
Suggestive names, 6–8
inspired by your brand’s personality, 7
Tame (flat, descriptive, uninspired) names, 30–31
examples, 31
Themes that can be stretched, 14
Thesaurus websites, 60–61
Thesaurus.com, 60
Topiwala, Tejal, 10
Trademark screening services, 79–80
Trademark services, DIY, 79
Trademarkia.com, 79
Trademarking, 78
problems with two entities having the same name, 78
Trademarks
domain names and, 48
protecting your trademark to prevent genericide, 80–81
Trust and credibility, how to suggest, 7–8
Universal resource locator
(URLs). See Domain name(s)
Urban Dictionary, names in, 34–35
Visual branding. See also Imagery
strong, 82–83
Visually evocative names to aid in memory, 11–12
Writing down name ideas, 58
ABOUT EAT MY WORDS
Founded in 2005 by Alexandra Watkins, a former award-winning Ogilvy & Mather copywriter, Eat My Words (www.eatmywords.com) works with funded companies to create unforgettable brand names and taglines that make powerful emotional connections and generate revenue. While we started out naming things that make people fat and drunk, now we name everything from robots to racehorses.
Our namedropper clients include Disney, Microsoft, Adobe, Del Monte, Fujitsu, Frito-Lay, TaylorMade Golf, American Licorice Company, Turner Broadcasting, LPL Financial, Guthy-Renker, Hasbro, Safeway, and Wrigley.
Unlike naming agencies and branding firms who butcher the alphabet to create ridiculously contrived brand names that people can’t pronounce, spell, or relate to, Eat My Words creates incredibly likable, catchy, creative names and taglines that make powerful emotional connections and create instant brand affinity.
We develop our names using the Eat My Words SMILE & SCRATCH test, our proven 12-step name evaluation method, which has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Inc. This filter is based on our philosophy: a name should make you smile, instead of scratch your head.
Our love-at-first-sight consumer names include frozen yogurt franchise Spoon Me, robotic vacuum Neato, Colombian language school Gringo Lingo, and Denver’s Church of Cupcakes. And B2B names that we’ve created include Altimeter Group, Tribewire, Lightbox Libraries, and Argyle Data.
Eat My Words is the only naming firm to successfully monetize a client’s name through merchandise sales. Our names are so likeable that consumers want to show them off. You can find Eat My Words’ names on T-shirts, laundry bags, coffee mugs, beer growler jugs, baby clothing, tote bags, underwear, and booty shorts.
Located south of Twittertown and a stone’s throw from Pinterest, Airbnb, Zynga, and Adobe, our office is tucked away in a quiet alley in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. Affectionately known as Candyland, it is full of wall-to-wall eye candy, including a sofa made out of stuffed animals, a 1950s diner booth (Alexandra’s desk), and a retro pink fridge, where we store our “coolest” books. Our colorful digs have been featured in design books, magazines, and television shows, including “Ultimate Kitchens” on the Food Network and “Small Space, Big Style” on HGTV. You can see photos at www.eatmywords.com/about/our-digs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Founder of naming firm Eat My Words, Alexandra Watkins is a recognized expert on brand names with buzz. An animated guest on TV news shows, she is frequently quoted in the press and has been featured in leading business publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Inc., and Entrepreneur. Alexandra is a popular speaker at MBA programs and has been a guest presenter multiple times at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, San Francisco State University, and USF’s School of Management and its alumni association. She has also presented to Procter & Gamble alumni, UnCollege, In-House Agency Forum, General Assembly, and many co-working spaces.
Alexandra first got hooked on naming when Gap hired her to create cheeky names for their first line of body-care products. Soon after, she broke into the business by talking her way into branding powerhouse Landor via a Match.com date. With her fresh, unconventional naming style, Alexandra soon became a go-to resource for countless branding and naming firms around the country. And Landor sent her enough business to open her own firm. Since then, she’s generated thousands of names for snacks, software, sunscreen, social networking sites, sportswear, shoes, sugar scrubs, serums, and seafood. (And that’s just the S’s!) She’s also named lots of things that make people fat and drunk, including a nationally recognized bacon cheeseburger (which, ironically, must remain nameless).
Prior to Eat My Words, Alexandra was an advertising copywriter, working at leading ad agencies up and down the West Coast, including five years at Ogilvy and Mather, where she helped launch Microsoft Windows and learned the language of Geek Speak. In the mid-nineties she jumped on the dot-com gravy train and rode it until it crashed in her SOMA backyard. Alexandra took the money and ran, spending a year in Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Fiji. Upon her return, she discovered her passion for naming things and soon after started Eat My Words.
Alexandra gets her passport stamped as often as possible. She has eaten her way through forty-five countries on six continents where she’s sunk her teeth into local delicacies, including barbequed squirrel in Tanzania, ostrich carpaccio in South Africa, stewed camel meat in Libya, and lobster marinara in Cuba. Her favorite food is Jif peanut butter, which she once survived on for two days on the remote island of Amantani in Lake Titicaca, Peru.
She is currently planning her next adventure.
Ask Alexandra
What is your favorite brand name ever?
Kryptonite, the industrial-strength bike locks.
Why do you have such a beef with the name Xobni?
It’s not just that the name is hard to spell, pronounce, and understand. Years ago I sent Xobni a shiny Head Sc
ratcher of the Year trophy, and they never sent a thank-you card.
Can I send you SMILE and SCRATCH names that I see?
Please do! Tweet good and bad names to @eatmywords.com.
I’m too busy to come up with a name on my own. How much do you charge?
Our fees vary wildly depending on the size of the client, number of decision makers, domain name needs, trademark class saturation, and fun factor. Some clients have paid us in trade with ice cream and chocolate, and others have forked over as much as $50K.
I want to work for you! How do I apply to be one of your namers?
If you think you have what it takes to work for Eat My Words, you can take our namer test at http://eatmywords.com/contact/dream-jobs. Please note that I do not review the submissions personally—my sous-chefs do that, and I see only the tests that get the thumbs-up from them.
Will you review my list of names for me?
While I’m happy to review your names, I have an expensive shoe habit to support, so I do not review names for free. My fee is $1000 to review up to ten names and provide professional feedback and creative direction. (If you tell me you’ve read my book, I will review more than ten names.)
Will you teach my company how to do this?
If you work in a large corporation and would like me to train the troops, you can have me come in for a Spilling The Beans corporate naming workshop where we will name a product in real time. More about those here: http://eatmywords.com/services/workshops
Do you do speaking engagements?
I love an audience, so if you have an event that you think would benefit from hearing me speak, please visit this page for more information: http://eatmywords.com/services/speaking/
Will you talk to my book discussion group?
Providing I’m having a good hair day, I am available to speak to your book discussion group or reading club via Skype, and may even come in person if you are in the Bay Area and will feed me. Shoot me an email at [email protected].
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* Available at www.inta.org/INTABulletin/Pages/PracticalTipson AvoidingGenericide.aspx
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