Is my visceral cynicism about this firm appropriately placed? While I have to admit that "You name it, we name it" is catchy, I'm not convinced that they did the best job for themselves of what they do for the clients who pay them the big bucks.
I also don't see the value they add. Behind the scenes I'm sure they have all the right business cases crowing about the marginal profit they add (at least I'd like to hope they do), but to what extent does the right name really add consumer benefit? Mind, I'm a big fan of Virginia Postrel and I eagerly anticipate reading The Substance of Style, yet even as style goes:
Which brands from you day-to-day life have non-obvious names that significantly add to your enjoyment of the brand?
Speaking of nomenclature, Matt has a Fridigaire oven and a Hotpoint refrigerator. For days on end I'd meant to mention that.
Posted by Matt Bruce at January 30, 2005 01:15 PMActually, there are some cases where company name affects my attitude toward the company, although it's generally in the negative direction. For example, my antipathy toward Pac Bell grew significantly when they changed their name to SBC. (Granted, I think they were also acquired, but that had comparatively little impact on my opinion of them).
Posted by: David at January 30, 2005 10:14 PMName It chose their name in part to demonstrate that the right name can put distance and differentiation between a company and its competitors, who include: Name Development,Name Evolution,Name Generator,Name-It,Name Lab,Name One,Name Pharm,Name Quest,Name Razor,Name Sale,Name Sharks,Name-Shop,Name Stormers,Name Tag,Name Trade,Namebase,Nameworks,Naming Systems,Naming Workshop,and Namington.
For more on this madness, we have written a 57 page naming guide. It is free to all as a pdf and can be downloaded here:
http://www.igorinternational.com/process/naming-guide-product-company-names.php