Hi all
Corporations spend millions of dollars every year, just researching product and brand names. The process of coming up with a name is huge business, and can make or break a product.
Can anybody remember the Chev Nova? Great name. Nova - star explosion! Wow! What an impact! It actually sold well, but when Chev introduced it into Argentina, where the speak Spanish, they had to rename it. For the non-Spanish speakers out there, "No va" means "Doesn't go". (I think it sold under the name "Malibu" or something like that.)
Beside the fact that it was a crap product, who can guess how many Microsoft Zunes sold in Israel? The word Zune, in Hebrew, means, erm, how shall I put this.... A vulgar term for fornicate. Guess how many of them sold there.
Mitsubish Pajero? In Spanish, Pajero means, erm.... , man gratifying himself sexually. That should get major corporate acceptance. :-) (It was renamed to Montero (mountain hunter) in Spanish speaking countries)
I am not suggesting we spend millions on branding, we don't have millions, but we need to consider many aspects of a name. Some of the things to think about
- Corporate acceptance
- Associated meanings
- Meaning in different languages
- Meaning of minor spelling changes
- Legal and copyright issues
- Domain availability I am sure there are more issues, but it's early on a Saturday morning, and I haven't had my coffee yet.
Cheers Vernon
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