.com, .net, .biz...Is There A Difference?
- March, 2006
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San Francisco Chronicle, The Tech Chronicles, "Name That Zune"
- November, 2006
David Placek, founder and CEO of Lexicon, discusses the challenge his team faced in trying to name a new entry in an already cluttered field. A field that already had a dominant, well-named player.
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Financial Times
- January, 2006
"Viiv is a departure for Intel," says David Placek, whose company Lexicon Branding came up with the new name.
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San Francisco Chronicle, The Tech Chronicles, "Does .com matter?"
- March, 2006
In the days of the Internet land rush, people paid big bucks to snap up domain names ending in .com. Was it all a waste of money? A new survey from Lexicon Branding and comScore Networks suggests it might have been.
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David Placek on KTVU
In this taped interview with KTVU, Fox affiliate in Oakland, Pam
Cook's weekly business report introduces Lexicon Branding as a highly
successful company that is responsible for some of the most well-known
names in the business, located right here in the Bay Area's own back
yard. Pam Cook and David Placek discuss the importance and value of a
product or company name, how a good name helps a company cut through
the current clutter of images and messages, why a good name is more
important now than ever before, and how that has changed over the
years for Lexicon Branding.
On air June 15, 2006
KTVU video clip
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Brands without Borders
‘THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL’ has long been the mantra
of community-based organizations. Now marketers of global
brands are borrowing that mantra and making it their own.
Increasingly, the paradigm is shifting from a top-down marketing
approach towards one that is more localized. Even the largest
conglomerates are empowering their local offices to make
marketing decisions ‘on the ground’.
When global brands really began to take off, multiplying
exponentially in the 1980s and 1990s, many had the field
to themselves. They were cowboys galloping across the desert,
leaving a trail of dust in the faces of competitors. But
slowly the landscape has changed. That dusty desert is now
a crowded bazaar, bustling with products from the four corners
of the world.
Full Article (adobe .pdf)
Jaimie Seaton
Copyright 2004 The Marketeer.
August, 2004
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What's In a Name?
The best brand names are fun to say and make people want
to do business with you. Does yours measure up?
...Naming experts say that, ideally, the goal of a name
shouldn't be to make your company sound bigger or to inspire
trust. Those things will come naturally as your company
grows and delivers on its promises. The best names do more
than that: They subconsciously convey a feeling, highlighting
a company's or product's strengths. When brainstorming for
names, think about your company's mission, advises David
Placek, founder of Lexicon Branding in Sausalito, Calif.,
which is responsible for creating memorable names such as
BlackBerry and OnStar. What are you trying to accomplish?
What is it like to do business with you? And lighten up,
Placek says.
Consider the BlackBerry. At the time the product was ready
to be released, its main competitor was Motorola's PageWriter
2000. The BlackBerry team, which had been toying with the
name PocketLink, realized that it needed something less
literal. It sought the help of Lexicon, which suggested
naming the product after a small fruit. The first thought
was strawberry, but that sounded too slow. Eventually, Lexicon
came up with BlackBerry, which not only sounded great (because
of the crisp consonants and vowels) but also had alliteration
and symmetry that would make it memorable. What's more,
for a piece of technical equipment, the name was pleasing,
not intimidating. "You want a name that your employees
and customers will want to say," says Anthony Shore,
creative director of brand consulting firm Landor Associates,
"a name that, when you hear it, your mind goes places."
Easier said than done. But at Lexicon, Placek and his staff
work to reduce naming to a science. They have performed
countless linguistic studies to develop a system to analyze
how vowel and consonant sounds affect perceptions. For instance,
they say that the P and B in PowerBook (another Lexicon
coinage) connote strength and reliability. In contrast,
a name with slower and softer sounds might be more appropriate
for a cosmetics line.
...And don't be discouraged if your name fails to communicate
everything you had hoped. "In reality, you end up with
about four to nine letters," says Placek, "and
they can really only convey one or two things about you."
Above all, great company names only enhance and cement a
firm's image in the minds of customers. As Shakespeare said:
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
If your company delivers a great product or service, people
will seek you out.
Bobbie Gossage
Copyright
2004 Gruner + Jahr Publishing.
July, 2004
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Coke to launch mid-calorie cola in Japan, U.S.
ATLANTA (Reuters) — Coca-Cola (KO) will launch a new
mid-calorie version of its flagship cola brand in Japan,
followed by the United States this summer, the world's largest
soft drink maker said Monday.
The
new drink, Coca-Cola C2, would have about half the calories
of Coke Classic and other regular colas, the Atlanta-based
company said. An eight-ounce serving of Coke Classic has
100 calories.
A
Coca-Cola spokesman would not give specific dates for the
roll-out of the new drink, but said it would appear in stores
across the United States before the planned late summer
launch of Pepsi Edge, PepsiCo's (PEP) low calorie cola.
Industry
newsletter Beverage Digest, which was first to report the
roll-out of Coca-Cola C2 Monday, said the drink would make
its U.S. debut on June 16.
Coca-Cola C2 will arrive at a time when Coca-Cola is working
feverishly to revitalize sluggish soft drink sales in North
America, the largest and most important market for Coca-Cola
and its nearest rival PepsiCo.
But
the soft drink maker's leading brands, Coke Classic and
Pepsi-Cola, recently have been losing ground to diet colas
and other low-calorie drinks. The two brands each shed 0.7
percentage points of market share in the United States in
2003, according to a recent survey by Beverage Digest and
analyst John Maxwell.
"I'm
optimistic that they (mid-calorie colas) could help retain
consumers who are concerned about calories in the cola franchise,"
said Beverage Digest Editor John Sicher.
Although
the introduction of a mid-calorie cola appears to make sense
in a market where low-carbohydrate diets have become the
rage, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo must ensure that new drinks
do not cut into sales of their flagship cola and diet cola
brands.
That
did not appear to happen in 2002 when Coca-Cola introduced
a vanilla-flavored cola drink, which proved to be a success
with consumers and helped boost sales in key markets. A
diet version of Vanilla Coke followed soon after.
In addition to its new Vanilla Coke brands, Coca-Cola has
unveiled lime and lemon-flavored versions of its Diet Coke
brand, the third most popular soft drink in the United States.
Copyright
2004 Reuters Limited.
From USA
Today online
May 3, 2004
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Naming
Products Is No Game
For advice, big businesses often turn to consultants such
as David Placek, whose insights can also help smaller outfits.
Lexicon
Branding's experts have been dreaming up product names for
more than two decades -- and while you may never have heard
of this 18-employee company, based in Sausalito, Calif.,
you see and hear its handiwork every day -- names like Dasani,
Swiffer, and BlackBerry, to list just a few of its creations.
Coming up with catchy product names is a lot harder than
the layman might imagine, especially in this Global Age,
when a word that might inspire admiration in one country
can just as easily inspire red faces or unintended guffaws
in another.
That's why, when a company is kicking around a name that
it hopes will become a household word, it turns to an international
network of linguists for their input, sometimes with surprising
results. Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein spoke recently
with David Placek, Lexicon's founder and president, about
how his outfit taps into this global wisdom to avoid embarrassing
and potentially costly gaffes.
Edited excerpts of their conversation follow:
Q: You developed language-evaluation
methodology called GlobalTalk. What is it?
A: It's a network of high-quality
linguists around the world under contract with us, so we
can call on them to evaluate words for language and cultural
cues and miscues. It started when we contacted a well-known
professor of linguistics in Brussels and he put together
this group of 35 professionals. They interact with us and
each other, and discuss the real value of each name and
the real weight of any negative issues before we make a
report to the client.
The world is getting smaller and more interlinked, and we
found a few years ago that our clients were getting more
sophisticated. We developed GlobalTalk because we found
that we could present 5 or 10 brand names to a client for
their consideration, and they would start using language
as a lever to quash them. They would call up the general
manager of their Portugal office, say, and he'd shoot down
the name based on something being wrong with it in Portuguese.
We decided we needed to build our own professional network
and have them look at our names first, before the clients
could shoot them down.
Q: How has it worked for you?
A: Very well. For instance, we
were developing a brand name for a major medical-equipment
manufacturer. The name was initially reported as sounding
exactly like the native word for "mournful sorrow"
to speakers in an important Far East market. But the GlobalTalk
team from that country, with Lexicon branding experts participating,
identified the issue to be with speakers who had no knowledge
of English and perceived the word as a phonetic transcription
for the native word.
We also quickly determined that this issue, which at first
sent shockwaves through the company, was no reason to panic
-- the target audience was extremely sophisticated and very
familiar with the use of Western brand names in hospitals.
A less informed and less responsive report may have...delayed
the launch of the brand while the issue was investigated.
Q: What happens when those negatives
are missed?
A: It can be very embarrassing,
not to mention extremely expensive. For instance, pajero
is a slang term for self-gratification in Spanish. It was
also the name of a sport-utility vehicle selling in Japan.
When it came time to market the SUV in the Americas, Mitsubishi
had to change Pajero to Montero. The expense and inefficiency
of having two sets of marketing materials for the same product
goes without saying.
Recently, Buick was another car manufacturer that faced
a gaffe attempting to select a global brand. The Buick Regal
was due to be replaced by the Buick Lacrosse in the U.S.
and Canada, but the change was put on hold when younger
members of focus groups in Quebec told GM that "lacrosse"
was, again, slang for self-gratification.
Q: Sounds like there's a lot
of slang terms out there waiting to trip up a well-meaning
name.
A: We find that about 50% of
the names we put out to the network that get flagged have
some mild or overt sexual connotation. We don't ever want
to be part of a pajero incident -- that wouldn't be helpful
at all to our credibility! And it's very easy to make a
blunder, especially since the Internet makes any brand available
to a global audience, and you don't want to turn anybody
off.
For instance, one of our clients makes [a version of] Band-Aids
called "3-M strips." We found out that in Japan,
the only context for the word "strip" was the
connotation of "striptease." We wound up creating
a global name, "Nexcare," that works very well.
In doing some research, by the way, we found out that one
of the most-repeated name blunders really wasn't a blunder
at all. The idea that General Motors' (GM ) Chevy Nova didn't
sell in Latin America because no va means "it
doesn't go" in Spanish is nothing more than an urban
legend.
Our experts, including the GlobalTalk team leader in Mexico
City, Dr. Ricardo Maldonado, totally discredited that story
as linguistically inaccurate. No va and Nova
don't sound alike and are unlikely to be confused, Ricardo
tells us, and "no va" is a very awkward
way to describe a nonworking car, so the confusion just
didn't happen. In fact, the Chevy Nova sells like crazy
in Mexico.
Q: What other positive experiences
has the company had with the international name-vetting
network?
A: We created the brand name
Zima for Coors (RKY ) with help from the GlobalTalk network.
I put out a message saying that we were looking for a name
for a light alcoholic drink that would be cold, crisp, and
refreshing. I got a fax in quickly from our Russian linguist
saying that zima meant "winter" in Russian. I
circled the word because I thought it was beautiful and
unusual, and the client loved it. We sent it around the
world to make sure that it didn't have a negative connotation
anywhere, and it didn't.
Q:
You did a lot of work for technology companies during the
dot-com boom. Did your consultancy suffer after the industry's
dramatic downturn?
A: We really stayed very diversified,
even during the boom years. We've always had clients like
Proctor & Gamble (PG ) and Eli Lily (LLY ), and we had
business in Europe and Japan that we never abandoned, even
when it was tempting to do nothing but lucrative high-tech
contracts. That policy paid off for us during the downturn
in 2000, because our company didn't collapse, and we didn't
even have to lay off anyone. We also stayed small, and we
still work out of one office, which keeps our costs way
down.
by Karen E. Klein
BusinessWeek
Online
April 9, 2004
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New ABC's of Branding
Product Names Pack Punch One Letter at a Time; Strawberry
Is No BlackBerry
As
soon as the naming gurus at Lexicon Branding Inc. saw the
hand held wireless prototype that Research In Motion Ltd.
had produced, they were struck by the little keyboard buttons,
which resembled nothing so much as seeds.
"Strawberry!"
suggested one.
No,
"straw-" is a slowwww syllable, said Stanford University
professor Will Leben, who also is director of linguistics
at Lexicon based in Sausalito, Calif. That's just the opposite
of the zippy connotation Research In Motion wanted. But
"-berry" was good: Lexicon's research had shown that people
associate the b sound wih reliability, said David Placek,
who founded the Sausalito, Calif., firm and is its president,
while the short e evokes speed. Another syllable with a
band a short vowel would nail it ... and within seconds
the Lexicon team had its fruit: BlackBerry.
by Sharon Begley
Wall Street Journal
August 26, 2002
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David Placek on CNNfn
CNNfn reports that an estimated 98% of the words in a typical
dictionary are already registered for websites or trademarks.
David Placek, appearing on CNNfn's "Ahead of the Curve,"
shares his insights into modern product branding.
On air February 22, 2001
CNNfn video clip, broadband
ClNNfn video clip, 56k modem
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Guide to Tech Jungle
It's no coincidence that several prominent tech companies
have named themselves for trees. The image of strength,
shelter and growth helps temper the synthetic, volatile
reality of computer chips and fiber optics, says David Placek,
the head of Lexicon Branding, a corporate-naming agency
in Sausalito, Calif. Of course, some trees weather storms
better than others. Here is a guide to the tech jungle,
with analysis by Placek:
Cypress Semiconductor makes chips for mobile phones;
telecom equipment; Internet hardware. "Cypress has
the most high-tech sound with 'cy.' A tree known for its
longevity.
Juniper Networks makes high-speed routers and internet
traffic-management software. "Has a wonderful rhythm
with a combination of hard and soft sounds. Strong, approachable."
Sycamore Network makes optical networking gear and
Internet traffic-management software. "Though it grows
in both Europe and the U.S., it is not very familiar to
consumers."
Maple Optical Systems makes optical networking gear.
Its name "offers the least power or energy. One thinks
of maple syrup: slow moving."
Oak Technology makes chips and software for office
equipment; printers; and scanning devices. "A simple,
everyday tree; universal symbol of strength; less provocative
than a Cypress or Sycamore."
Palm makes handheld computers and communications
devices. Though Palm is named after a hand rather than a
tree, Placek still likes the arboreal association: "A
dramatic tree, resilient, capable of withstanding extreme
temperatures, wind, lack of water-- all good qualities for
an emerging company."
Time Magazine
April 21, 2001
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The Moniker Magician
Name of game is branding for man with extensive lexicon
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any
other name would smell as sweet."
Shakespeare
wrote that in "Romeo and Juliet."
But
what do you call the various parts of a furnace? That's
what David Placek mused, sitting by himself in a cheap office
in a low-rent building in San Francisco in the late 1970's
It
was more than an academic exercise for Mr. Placek..
by Doublas E. Caldwell
San
Jose Business Journal
September 21, 2001
Click
here for complete story.
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"A
good name should live forever"
Brand names are valuable commodities. David Placek invents
them for a living.
Ever wonder who came up with the name "Pentium"
for Intel's fabulously successful family of microchips?
It wasn't Andy Grove or anyone at his shop. It was a little-known
company in Sausalito, Calif. called Lexicon Branding, which
submitted more than 400 names to Intel. Among the also-rans:
Razar, ProChip and Intellect.
by Om Malik
Forbes Magazine
Name Dropping
And there they were: Lexicon founder and president J. David
Placek, along with associates Marc Hershon, Nicolas Contis,
and Lizanne Kaiser, sitting around a table and waiting for
us to explain the new business model we are writing about.
The first order of business was to generate metaphors from
the worlds of construction, physics, biology, sailing, aeronautics,
and the like.
In a blur of creative activity, words streamed across flip-chart
pages and were taped all over the vault's walls. Some of
them were obvious losers (Termites, for one). Armada generated
the most excitement. It made a certain naming sense: these
corporate entities are a collection of individual ships,
each under the command of its captain and yet brought together
in the spirit of a common goal and mutual support. But,
in the end, it was voted down for being a trifle old world
and, with its military link, a bit off-putting to some.
by Peter D. Henig
Red Herring
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Drugs Play The Name Game
Brands Important for Pill Profitability
June 16- What's in a name? For drugmakers seeking big profits,
lots.
Just like breakfast cereal or cars, drugs need to make a
name for themselves in an ever-crowded marketplace. Coming
up with an effective, memorable moniker can help induce
healthy returns.
Pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly, Pfizer and SmithKline Beecham
gladly spend $70,000 to create the right name.
That's an easy pill to swallow considering the upside. People
worldwide spend $200 billion annually on legal drugs, and
$65 billion in the U.S. alone.
Best of all, it's a growing market.
Even before a drug hits clinical trials, drugmakers turn
to firms like Lexicon Naming for help. The small Sausalito,
Calif. company christens everything from computer chips
to shampoo. Ever heard of the Pentium chip or Finesse shampoo?
by E.J. Gong Jr.
ABCNEWS.com
No hard-nosed IS Manager wants to believe that his purchasing
decisions are influenced by something as inconsequential,
as ephemeral, as unscientific as a product name. But they
are.
by Steve Alexander
Computer World
Click here for complete story.
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Branding Room Only
Is image really everything? When you consider that successful
branding sets you apart from the competition and encourages
potential customers to buy your product, constructing a
sound company and/or product image could mean the difference
between being a leader or just another vendor in a crowded
market.
by Paul Williams
New Media Magazine
Name-o-ramaTM
The booming high-tech world is running out of trademarkable
names. It's turning to a nascent naming industry that's
coming up with the few words that stand out from the UniMobilTeleDigiComLink
soup. How do they come up with names like Pentium and AirTouch?
by Alex Frankel
WIRED
www.WIRED.com
Click
here for complete story.
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Make a Name for Yourself
To some it's an art. To others it's a science. However you
approach it, coming up with winning names is more than just
a game.
In an old building in Sausalito, California, a crack team
of linguistic, legal, and creative specialists pieces together
word fragments, flips through pictures, and runs sophisticated
database software. Across the country in a conference room
in Stamford, Connecticut a similar group takes a "mental
excursion" through a teenager's bedroom and pastes
together a collage of colorful artifacts.
by Gina Imperato
FastCompany
www.fastcompany.com
Click here for complete story.
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