Thinkology Newsletter - Winter 2008
The Science of Branding
By: Erin MillsEver wonder how companies come up with such powerful brand names as Kleenex, Kodak or Prozac? Although many product and company names may seem like they were plucked out of the air, most brand names are created through a highly structured development process. In fact, some branding and naming firms can charge hundreds of thousand of dollars and take up to six months to develop a single product name. Granted, most of us don’t have the luxury of paying someone six figures to create a name. So how can you begin to develop one for yourself? Here are a few of the most popular name generation methodologies to consider:
Combining / Clipping: combining words.
Federal Express ›› FedEx
Alliteration: the repetition of the same sounds.
Coca Cola
Mimetics: a word formed in imitation of another word.
Ogl ›› Google
Eponymy: derivation of a name.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Poetics: using rhyme and rhythm.
USA Today
Acronym Adaptation: using initials of a full name.
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. ›› 3M
Naming is not just a science but an art. The strength of a brand name relies on how people emotionally respond to its audible sound or “phonology.” Good product names, of course, focus on benefits important to the target, stand the test of time, easily cross cultures, but most importantly, sound good! Using letters that have a “hard-edge” like T, P and K to produce a dynamic sound can be a good start. The audible sounds they create conjure up a sense of strength (think Tyvek, Pepsi, Kenmore). Other consonants can produce a strong sound as well (think Boeing, DuPont, Procter & Gamble). Using X can help your product sound scientific and using Z can help imply speed.
If your company or products are intended to be global, then an added layer of consideration should be applied in coming up with a brand name that works phonetically in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Keeping your brand name simple is always important because it makes it easier for people to remember, and when considering a global brand, it becomes even more critical in developing broad cultural acceptance. A good rule of thumb is to keep the total letters to less than nine and have a maximum of two to three syllables.
In the end, great brand names are nothing if the products behind them aren’t stellar and their marketing programs are ineffective. However, having a great name can help drive brand building and name recognition.
DARREN’S DESIGN TIPS - Getting the Most Out of PowerPoint
Are your PowerPoint files too
big to email or eating up your
hard drive space?
Whenever possible use PNG,
JPEG or GIF image files that use
compression rather than EPS,
BMP or TIFF files which are
usually much larger in size.
Did you know you can compress
the images in your presentation
to reduce the file size?
First - Right click on any picture in
the presentation and click on
“ Format Picture”.
Then - Click on the “Compress”
button in the lower left-hand
corner.
Next - Under “Apply to” select “All pictures in document”, under “Change resolution” select “Print” and under “Options” select both “Compress pictures” and “Delete cropped areas of pictures” then press “OK”.
Finally - Make sure to save the presentation. If it is going to be used exclusively for computer screen or projection viewing you can choose “Web/screen” to further reduce file size.
Having trouble aligning text or
an image because it snaps to a
grid point?
Hold the “Ctrl” key and use the
arrow keys to nudge the object.
This will move your text or image
o bject a few pixels at a time.
Want to draw a perfect square
or circle or a perfectly
horizontal or vertical line?
Hold the “Shift” key while dragging
and drawing.
Need to quickly make a copy of
an object or text?
Hold down the “Ctrl” key while
you drag on the object. This will
‘ d rag off’ a new copy.
Need to insert the copyright
symbols?
Enter, “(c)” for the copyright ©
symbol.
Enter, “(tm)” for the trademark™
symbol.
Enter, “(r)” for the registered ®
symbol.
Want to know a couple of
helpful function key shortcuts?
F1 - Launches the PowerPoint
help pane.
F5 - Opens the file in presentation
mode, “View Show”.
F7 - Launches spell check.
Project Highlights: Website Design
Over the past three months, Think Marketing has designed and developed three new websites, including our very own, www.thinkmktg.com. Each website underwent major design, navigation and functionality upgrades that enhanced brand identity, improved usability and provided much more compelling reasons for site visitors to lengthen their stays and revisit the sites.
The first website we redesigned was for Rhyme University at www.rhymeuniversity.com. The main reason for this redesign was to reengineer their e-commerce functionality to provide a better shopping experience to their customers. The entire ordering process was deconstructed, evaluated and rebuilt to best accommodate their complex product packages and simplify the ordering process. Additionally, we developed a new, yet still familiar, look to the site that gave their branding an updated feel without alienating their longtime customers. The site was also optimized for search engines which provided Rhyme University with significantly improved search engine ranking results.
Launched at the beginning of February, www.pasadenamarathon.org is another website we helped design and develop for our client, the Pasadena Marathon. The main objective of the site was to get online registration up for their inaugural November 2008 marathon. The secondary objective was to help establish the Pasadena Marathon as a major sports event in a way that would drive excitement and build their brand. Working with our development partners, we created a new navigational structure, an entirely new look and feel, as well as got the all-important registration process up and running. All of this was done in a little over six weeks.
Lastly, we completely redesigned our own Think Marketing website. The site now features a new portfolio section, a more complete “About Us” area, a weblog and a newsletter sign-up. Most importantly, it includes work examples and quotes from some of our clients. After all, having our clients speak on our behalf says more about the kind of marketing firm we are than all of the talking about ourselves we could do. We’re proud of our work and client relationships and are happy to have them now featured on our website for all to see. Thanks to all our clients who contributed their references and work!
If you’re thinking about developing a new website, give us a call. We’d be happy to talk to you about your
website plans.
By: Emi Harnden
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