This is the most overlooked, counterintuitive truth in naming – the difference between the way an internal audience may evaluate a name and the way a target audience will receive it.
In every naming project, potential names are subject to scrutiny. They should be judged on how well they map to positioning, memorability, stopping power, emotional impact, connections to the collective consciousness, distinction from competitors – the sum of which answers the most important naming question, “Is this name interesting?“.
The literalist will critique names based on dictionary definitions or a singular association, reliably in the form of an objection. Their claim will be that a word’s negative meaning or association(correlation) means that the value of the word as a name will also be negative(causation). The evidence they cite in their efforts to kill a name is irrefutable fact, yet completely irrelevant and counterproductive. A negative definition or association does not a negative name make – there is no causation from correlation.
Here are some of the known tactics a literalist will use to kill great name:
Slack
-In business, Slack means “characterized by a lack of work or activity; quiet.
-A Slacker is someone who works as little as possible. A terrible message for our target audience
– Slack means slow, sluggish, or indolent, not active or busy; dull; not brisk. Moving very slowly, as the tide, wind, or water.
lululemon
-We are an upscale brand for women, lululemon sounds like a character from a 3-year olds’ picture book: “lululemon and her best friends annabanana and sallystrawberry were climbing Gumdrop Hill, when suddenly from behind a rainbow the queen of the unicorns appeared…”
Virgin Air
-Says “we’re new at this!”.
-Public wants airlines to be experienced, safe and professional.
-Investors won’t take us seriously-Religious people will be offended.
Hotwire
-It has one meaning, “to steal a car!”
-Crime is the last thing we need to be associated with.
Yahoo!
-Yahoo!! It’s Mountain Dew!
-Yoohoo! It’s a chocolate drink in a can!
-Nobody will take stock quotes and world news seriously from a bunch of “Yahoos”.
Oracle
-Unscientific.
-Unreliable.
-Only foretold death and destruction.
-Only fools put their faith in an Oracle.
-Sounds like “orifice” – people will make fun of us.
LoveSac
-Do we really need bullet points for this furniture store?
(And yet, LoveSac has 70 stores in malls across the U.S.)
Fortunately, consumers process these ‘negative’ messages positively. As long as the name maps to one of the positioning points of the brand, consumers never take its meaning literally, and the negative aspects of the name just give it greater depth.
Nothing is more powerful than taking a word with a strong, specific connotation, grabbing a slice of it, mapping that slice to a portion of your positioning, and therefore redefining it. This naming strategy is without question the most powerful one of all.
These literal objections are not reasons to abandon a name, rather they have demonstrably positive effects on a target audience. Consumers don’t process names literally, they process them emotionally. Getting your committee to acknowledge this difference and to interact as the public does with names, rather than the way the dictionary does, is essential.
If you encounter a literalist, keep your distance, maintain eye contact, and take the threat seriously. Do not run in any direction. Don’t bend over, crouch down or go fetal. Wave your arms in an alpha manner. Throw any toxic item you can find – Keurig pods, inspirational posters, focus group data, etc. If attacked, fight back. If this doesn’t work, your last chance for survival is to enlighten the literalist:
Slack
-Positioning: DISRUPTIVE, naming the problem we solve!
-Qualities: Interesting! Confident, different, focused on solving the target’s problem.
Hotwire
-Positioning: DISRUPTIVE, a travel hack, exciting, fun.
– Hotwiring a car is a hack, Hotwire.com is a travel hack. That’s why this name works.
-Qualities: Interesting! Exciting, different, memorable, viral.
Virgin
-Positioning: DISRUPTIVE, different, confident, exciting, alive, human, provocative, fun. The innovative name forces people to create a separate box in their head to put it in.
-Qualities: Interesting! Self-propelling, connects emotionally, deep well.
Oracle
-Positioning: DISRUPTIVE, different, confident, superhuman, evocative, powerful, forward thinking.
-Qualities: Interesting! Self-propelling, connects emotionally, deep well.
The ‘common wisdom’ that naming in large groups will discourage a literalist attack is nothing more than urban legend. In fact, the larger the committee, the more likely an attack will be.
Further reading: Outwitting Squirrels
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