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MenuWhat name should I give to my product? (rebranding)
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I like the name "Melissa" — but I wouldn't use a website URL like www.melissahome.com because it just doesn't feel "natural" — I would choose something that implies what Melissa means to us... For example: "Ask Melissa" or something like that.
Good luck!
What if I don't like Melissa - or the bad guys discover that is the magic keyword? Surely I can pick my own name? Ted, Frank, Melinda? So company name should be different - like modernsteward or MagicButler.com (better still.. it is for sale for a small fee from Brighter Naming)
A voice-automated home automation system probably has broad consumer appeal, since it applies to so many of us (potentially).
Given that fact, I think your domain should do more than just fit the command word you're using. It should be memorable, of course. And it ought to convey relevant information and make the right first impression. Ideally it would do more than those things too, by facilitating passive online discovery.
Thumbs down to MelissaHome.com. Sorry.
The reality is, no matter what alternative domain you land on, you're going to have to buy it. I like the domain iMelissa.com, but of course, someone owns it.
What's more important for you is building more an audience/following. A short form product video is critical. The only videos I can find, take a full minute before I see "Melissa" do anything. Longer, before I see what the hardware/form-factor looks like. You would really benefit from a video like this one: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/canary-the-first-smart-home-security-device-for-everyone
Something like that would be more shareable. You've had some nice press- but it's not very sharable- which might explain the small following you currently have on your social pages.
Hope that's helpful, would be happy to chat more.
Melissa has 3 syllables. Fewer is better. Siri has 2 syllables and 4 letters -- and it's easier to say (phonology).
MelissaHome sounds like a command to a dog or a deprecating command to a child: "Melissa, go home." Wait, forget about the "go." "Melissa, home!"
Never start with publicity. Start with what is right for your audience, right for your brand, right for what you want to evoke. MelissaHome does none of these things. Go back to my previous post. If you do stick with "Melissa," for the sake of argument, put a verb in front of it. When I did a project for a high-end antioxidant drink company, they had a catchy brand name but a difficult to spell ingredient (can't say here for confidentiality reasons). The website I suggested and that they use today was Drink<BrandName>.com -- because that's what they wanted people to do: Drink It! The ingredient was a feature, but not a benefit in and of itself and moreover, it was insuperably difficult to spell or pronounce.
You should think along the same lines.
Steven
Give her a last name. MelissaFoden, MelissaGustavson, MelissaGunnion, MelissaNordyke, and MelissaChristopher are all available as dot-com URLs, while MelissaJoseph.com can be had for a mere $18,000. Wait, wait - are you choosing your product name by whether or not you can get an exact-match URL? That's a mistake. Choose the name of the thing first. The name has certain important jobs to do. It should not be compromised for the sake of a domain name. You can create the right URL later - get the name of your product right first. Though MelissaGunnion does have a certain lilt to it, don't you think?
Melissa has too many potential pronunciations
Here are two, in IPA (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_pronunciation):
/məˈlɪsə/
/meɪlisɑ/
Consider something that's a little more internationally pronounceable in order to avoid having multiple names for your product across the globe as you expand.
Definitely don't exceed three syllables, but two is probable a goal. "Siri" is two, "OK, Glass" is three, and "OK, Google" is four. You know what's easier to say quickly!
While I like Melissa, as others have mentioned there are international as well as phonetic issues with it. Many languages don't have 'L' sounds--which could lead to user issues. Also using a common proper name will have some issues as well... One of which you've already discovered domain names, the other may be the Melissa's of the world not being to pleased with their name being associated with a digital servant.. While their is a shortage of great available domains. For longevity, you may want to consider looking at your entire product experience and branding and align them into a more coherent system that can evolve as your business shifts and changes.
Melissa is a good name or not you are the best judge of it, my job is that I will guide you on how to rebrand your product so that you can maximize your profit. Let us look at the step-by-step process of rebranding, but before that let us look at some of the companies and their rebranding.
Successful Rebranding Without Changing the Brand Name:
1. Target: Twenty years ago, Target was a commodity discount retailer that was undifferentiated from the likes of K-Mart, Sears and JC Penny. To separate from the cutthroat world of competing on the basis of price, Target began creating partnerships with designers like Missoni and Alexander McQueen, becoming affectionately known as “Tar-zhay” for the chic discount offerings and growing to be second only to Walmart in its market share.
2. Apple: Nearing bankruptcy in the 1990s, having become a niche computer manufacturer for designers and schools, Apple rehired founder Steve Jobs and refocused on style, introducing the iMac and killing their PC-like beige box computers. While not a typical rebrand handled by an agency, Job rebranded the entire company by focusing on innovation and creating completely new products and services, turning Apple into one of the world’s most valuable companies.
3. Ciroc: Vodka is practically a commodity; taste tests show that most consumers cannot differentiate their product in blind taste tastes. Thus, many vodka brands differentiate via their brand positioning. Ciroc was initially launched for the North American market in 2003 and marketed to nightclubs and entertainment venues in the U.S., with a heavy focus in Atlanta and Miami. Sales struggled. Brand owner Diageo, owner of brands such as Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Sterling Vineyards wines, partnered with Sean Combs in 2007, giving him the lead on all brand management decisions for Ciroc and sharing the future profits of the brand growth with him. Combs’ personal style and creativity propelled Ciroc sales from 40,000 cases per year in 2007 to 2,100,000 cases per year in 2012.
Successful Rebranding with a New Brand Name:
1. SUBWAY: In 1965, Pete’s Super Submarines opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A year later, it changed the name to Doctor’s Associates Inc., after co-founder Dr. Peter Buck, a nuclear physicist. After little success under the two previous names, Buck and co-founder Fred DeLuca gave it a third try using the name Subway. Today it is the world’s largest submarine sandwich brand with over 40,000 locations around the world.
2. PayPal: Before it was called PayPal, the company was called Confinity – a name representing the merged words of “confidence and infinity.” While the company’s initial focus was on Palm Pilot payment and cryptography, the company chose the brand name PayPal after a Confinity engineer developed an online demo that allowed people to email payments. The company was later acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in July 2002.
3. Accenture: Accenture was the new name applied to the spinout of the consulting division of Andersen Consulting in 2001. It is a controversial rebrand that was criticized initially for the made-up word. However, after Arthur Andersen was convicted of obstructing justice in 2002, the entirely new branding allowed it to escape the negativity associated with the Andersen name.
Step-by-step process of rebranding is as follows:
1. Quantify the reasons for the rebrand and conduct a brand audit: What are the reasons for you rebrand? Are you launching a new product or service? Expanding into a new market? Changing the vision or mission for your company? Focusing on differentiating and gaining a competitive advantage? Or moving on from a negative event? The reasons for your rebranding will affect the creative decisions you make for your brand positioning, brand creative and brand visual identity. Conduct a brand audit to understand the current perception of your existing brand and quantify the work required for your rebranding project.
2. Assess the risks/ROI: Always conduct a marketing ROI analysis before starting your project. Do you have the resources and budget? Have you quantified all of the costs associated with your rebranding? What type of return do you think it will produce? Here is a list of common items you’ll have to create/recreate:
i. logo
ii. website
iii. corporate identity
iv. signage
v. print materials
vi. ad creative
vii. marketing materials
3. Naming – Are you selecting a new brand name: If you are changing your brand name, do not start by choosing your name first. Start by creating your brand strategy so you know exactly what your name should represent. THEN complete the process for selecting a new brand name. While this is the opposite approach from the way many businesses proceed, having a clearly defined brand strategy can help give you clarity and daring when selecting a great brand name.
4. Determine your new brand positioning: If your brand positioning is changing, map your competitive positioning to understand where you hope to fit in the future marketplace. This can help you to avoid entrenched competitors and give your team a clear roadmap of the mindshare you wish to own for your brand.
5. Define your brand architecture: The essence of your brand strategy is your positioning and what you want your brand to stand for. Sometimes that’s clear, and other times it takes some work. If you are unsure, this brand architecture exercise can help you to define your brand architecture – the three things your brand should mean to your market and, eventually, the mindshare you wish to own.
6. Summarize your brand strategy and write your creative brief: Now, pull it all together in a summary report and add your brand inspiration, brand differentiation and brand personality traits. Create a compelling brand story and outline your ideas for your brand visual identity. This document should include all the key elements of your brand strategy. Your creative team will rely on it for direction and you can use it to judge the effectiveness of their results.
7. Select your creative team: Even if you are small, it’s wise to include a professional agency. If you complete steps 1-6 of this process before selecting your agency or creative resources, they will have a much clearer understanding of what to create and you’ll save a lot of time and budget on the strategy design.
8. Evaluate, test, and protect: Evaluating creative and brand messaging is an iterative process, best completed by a team that solicits real-time market feedback. Continue to gain feedback throughout the process but beware of over-relying on focus groups. Over-reliance on focus groups gave us New Coke. Balance market feedback with your reasons for rebranding and the strategy that your team develops. Try tools like Usertesting or Usabilla to capture feedback. Protect your name by filing for federal trademark or service mark protection.
9. Create your launch plan: About three to six months before your brand is ready to go-live, create your launch plan. How will you unveil your brand to the market? What promotional activities will you use? Think about your website launch, digital and social media promotion, events – live and online, customer notices, media/press/bloggers/social influencers. Build excitement by letting your audience know that something new and exciting is coming.
10. Execute your Launch plan: The culmination of all of the hard work of your rebranding project is your launch – perhaps the most exciting (and nerve-wracking) event for any marketer. Execution is all about the details, so carefully plan your activities on the calendar, give clear instructions to your team, measure all feedback and metrics and adjust and refine when required. Not everything will always go according to plan, so stay flexible and adjust when needed.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
Related Questions
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Is it ok from a brand perspective to have different color schemes for your logo for different purposes?
Building a brand takes more than a logo. With that said, consistency is key for obtaining a competitive advantage that speaks to your market for longer. I would recommend against using different styles and colors for various purposes and instead maybe avoid using in lieu of the logo use maybe instead borders or patterns that use your logo's or brand colors. The idea of a logo is to engrave a mission or product into potential customers when they simply see the brand or logo... Once a logo is pushed and promoted you can strengthen that image by enforcing the brands colors through different materials or media :)HV
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When hiring a creative firm to work with our branding needs, what are some questions and deciding factors we should ask and evaluate?
I believe past history is a great predictor of future work, so I would ask 1) Have you worked with anyone in our industry or similar project? 2) Ask for their complete portfolio 3) Ask them how many full time vs. contractors 4) Ask them who on the team (or individual) did the work you like and if they would be available for your project? 5) Ask them to asses your idea and come back with 3 highlevel ideas via email or powerpoint. If you're going to be spending $10K+ then I think it's fair to ask them to do a bit of work to demonstrate how they would approach your project. My rule in life "I can't work with you, till I work with you".DM
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How can one mimic a bold pricing positioning to become a premium brand vs. a mid-range brand?
Many people in consumerist countries buy on emotion. It isn't the same at the lower end of the market, so brands lose out massively in that space, but they aren't really too worried about it given the disposable income available elsewhere. Branding involves understanding how your 'badge' makes your customers feel. There has to be a congruence between what they see and thus imagine. Oddly, this can also include what they can almost smell and taste! Even though those are not at any point defined in the brand strategy per se. The first thing is to identify your market segment. In the example you gave, ask yourself what is it you do? How old are you? Do you have children? What sort of job do you do? Are you happy with it? How much do you make? What sort of house do you live in? What other things do you like? etc. etc. etc. these all form what is known as a 'customer persona'. You may even help yourself along by cutting out items from magazines which help visualise answer to those questions or even create and cut out a large cut-out of that archetype. I do this a lot in different capacities, especially in IT and tech, since that is the market I revolve in most. I can definitely help with the strategy, but I'm going to say something quite odd. If you are thinking to, DO NOT contact me about manifesting it ;) As you can probably tell, there are two parts to this. The first is the strategy which I can do with my eyes closed. The second is the branding exercise, which involves the folk focussed on the emotional aspect of the process, even if they lack the strategic oversight or plan. If I were you, I'd find someone who has both. The strategic 'cognition' and the emotional/EQ skill. That is the sort of person you need or you can find people that work well together and use them both. Very best of luck!EA
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How important is it to have a .com domain when starting up a business?
It's far less important than it used to be, because so many social media businesses are much more reliant on their apps than their desktop websites these days. Instagram launched (and grew fast) with the domain instagr.am, for instance.CM
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Is it standard practice for a product and company name to be the same? Should our product and company name remain the same?
The main advantage of having the company and the product/service sharing the same name is that it is much more cost effective to build the brand in the early stages. You also need to consider what relationship any future products are going to have with your first (if any) - do they complement, compete, same markets/customers, etc. Generally, you will be better off by keeping the names the same. Think about how you pitch your company vs the product - is it a different story? Which name do you want people to remember? Think about where the names would live - business cards, urls, websites, app (icon), signage, etc. There are countless successful examples of different brand naming structures that work - there is no "best" way. Keep it simple. We wrote a book on naming and identity design a few years back. Happy to send you the first chapter pdf to see if it can help. Dann Ilicic WOW BrandingDI
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