TEI 305: Become a product naming champ – with Alexandra Watkins

How product managers can create product names that make people smile Not many product managers get involved in naming products, and that is a mistake. If you were involved during the initial idea work and problem solving—creating a product concept that fulfills customers’ unmet needs—then you have valuable insights for the product name. You can be a great brainstorming resource to help Marketing or a naming consulting.  That is, if you know the attributes of a great name, how to avoid naming mistakes, how to use a creative brief, and how to effectively brainstorm. Those topics and more are in a new book titled Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick. The author is Alexandra Watkins and she joins us to discuss many of these topics so you can become a product naming champ.  Alexandra has created names or renamed many brands and products you would recognize, including the Wendy’s Baconator. She has many great tips for us that take the mystery out of naming.  Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [2:59] What are the SMILE elements of a good name? SIMLE is an acronym for the five qualities that make a name great. * Suggestive—your name suggests what your product is; the name doesn’t have to be descriptive, just suggestive of a positive brand experience. * Memorable—a name is memorable if it is based in the familiar; for example, the bike lock Kryptonite is based on the familiar kryptonite from Superman. * Imagery—when someone sees your product name, they have something to picture in their head; for example, the energy drink Bloom gives you a picture to imagine. * Legs—your name lends itself to a theme, which is great for brand extensions; for example the Scrub Daddy sponge expanded to Scrub Mommy and Caddy Daddy. * Emotional—your name makes an emotional connection, which can help you command a premium price; for example, you might buy a bottle of wine you’ve never tried before because you connect emotionally with the name. [9:50] What are some examples of product names that deliver all the qualities of SMILE? * Silk Almond Milk—it suggests that it’s rich, creamy, silky smooth; it’s memorable because we’re familiar with silk; we can picture something silky; the connection between milk and silk gives it legs; and it makes an emotional connection with something luxurious. * Retriever GPS for dogs * Wendy’s Baconator * The Church of Cupcakes Suppose Anne is a product manager trying to come up a with a great name for a new pool cleaner. What advice would you give her? [13:00] Creative Brief First, we would fill out a creative brief. This includes: * Background information on the product, target audience, and desired brand experiences. * Styles of names that Anne and her team like and styles they don’t like. * Tone and personality of the name—is it a pool cleaner for millionaires or for families with kids? The creative brief is your brand name roadmap that helps you keep on strategy while you’re going through the naming process and helps you know at the end whether your name meets all your needs. [14:57] Kickoff Meeting Next, we’ll do a kickoff meeting with the team. We discuss words that Anne and her team might like to have in the name, perhaps clear, sweep, or speed. We also explore themes like less energy or quiet. [16:11] Brainstorming We brainstorm name ideas. I look for metaphors, parallels, and things that are unexpected. Let’s say we’re focusing on speed. I would look up lists of things that are fast, maybe names of power boats. I use the internet to search and dig deep. As another example, I was naming an athleisure clothing brand for a client who like mixed martial arts,