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About Naming
Is XFINITY an infinitely bad name–how much time do you have?
by Danny Altman I will give you a four hour window to consider Comcast’s new name for its triple play service. In the first hour, after you wash the dishes and clean out the cat litter, you can ponder why big companies waste their money doing superficial rebrands while their real problems lie untouched. In…
Buffalo’s Peace Bridge ponders selling its soul to PETA
by Jeffery Racheff Desperate times call for desperate measures. At least that may be the case in Buffalo, New York, where the city’s Department of Transportation is looking for a way to come up with the necessary funds required to fix a bridge. A state audit has concluded the Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo with…
The Best Startup Businesses to Work For
- About: Naming
It’s always exciting to get in on the ground floor of an exciting new business venture. The best startup businesses to work for are often distinguished by their exciting company cultures. Successful startups know that to achieve a passionate work force, they have to engender a positive and enriching environment around their company. These startup…
Annals of naming: Charmin becomes Cushelle
by Danny Altman Like the U.S., Europe is dominated by a few brands of toilet paper–Lotus, Scottex, Cottonelle. And if Swedish giant SCA gets its way, Cushelle (you know it as Charmin) will soon be one of them. SCA is pouring 11 million euros into a rebranding campaign to make Cushelle the roll to beat….
‘Avatar’ goes to China, tries to claim a mountain
- About: Naming
by Jeffery Racheff There has never been another film like Avatar. Both technologically and cinematically, James Cameron’s epic about blue warrior cat-people from outer space has set a new standard for film-making — recently it surpassed Titanic (another Cameron flick) to become the highest-grossing film of all time, with a world-wide total of over $2…
North Bay Business Times: Monkey Business
- About: Naming
Local sports writer Bill Meagher stops by to talk about 100M. “Nobody would ever accuse A Hundred Monkeys of aping big companies or the way they do business.”
The side-effects of pharmaceutical naming
- About: Naming
It’s a little ridiculous that prescription drugs can be advertised to the public. Why should your TV tell you what medications you need? Isn’t that your doctor’s job? It’s all part of something called DTC (Direct To Consumer) advertising which, at the current time, is permitted in just two countries: New Zealand and the United…
Bowled over: the changing names of college bowl games
- About: Branding, Naming, Positioning
by Barry Silverstein Another college football bowl game season comes to a close tonight. Each year, it seems, the controversy surrounding the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) heats up because of the selection process for the national championship. But there’s another controversy that’s becoming equally heated: Is commercialism polluting college football? Of this year’s 34 bowl…
When to Name Your Startup
- About: Naming
It’s easy when you’re working on actualizing your business ideas to start making infinitely long to-do lists of all the things that you need to get done—and fail to prioritize them right. Unfortunately, these to-do lists are pretty high stakes, so if you don’t attack the right things first, you might find yourself and your…
G, is this a branding strategy?
by Barry Silverstein As a brand category leader, you should be inspirational, innovative, and ahead of the pack. That’s why it’s disappointing to see a leader like Gatorade being a follower. At one time, Gatorade was unique. In the 1960s, a football coach at the University of Florida asked some university physicians if they could…