When Swedish brands fail in English

by Andrew Hennigan

Swedish is a curious language where a “puss” is a kiss, a “kiss” is a piss and when your friends tell you that you are breaking the “fart” limit they just mean that you are driving too fast. Swedish English is equally interesting and while all adult Swedes speak the language with impressive fluency, they do not always use it the way a native speaker might and sometimes they are careless with unintended meanings or suggestions in their brand names….

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Social media branding and naming

by Rachel Sanderson

Choosing the right name has always been immensely important in a business set up. Heck, being given the wrong name at birth can even set you back so making sure your business name is spot on is vital for your business success. So you’ve chosen a great business name and got yourself a fabulous website with the perfect branding to help your viewers understand your message and what you have to offer them. In 2012 your branding and naming shouldn’t…

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Are all the good ones in Croatia already taken?

by Maja Benčić

No, I’m not talking about Croatian men. I’m talking about names.   Here in Croatia, we have the same problem as everyone else in the world – it looks like all the good Croatian words have already been used as names, mostly because people still like to use descriptive names and play safe. Also, our law allows us to register names only in Croatian or “dead” languages: Latin and ancient Greek.   As people today no longer use Latin or…

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Personal branding: take it or leave it

by Eszter Fehér

Another hot topic these days, but sometimes the talks on personal branding are very superficial. Set guidelines to success. Easy to follow, but are you really being yourself if you follow the rules? Personal branding The aim of personal branding is to create an image around your name and/or your career. You use the ‘brand’ to communicate your skills, personality and values. You want to attract the people in your network. Just as real brands, you promote yourself in order…

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Are brands authority figures?

by Eszter Fehér

We are surrounded by so many brand names and logos each day, but to what extent do the slogans’ messages grab our attention? What are they saying? How are they saying it? Why are they saying it that way? Are we submissive when it comes to our favorite brands because they are telling us to buy or because they are selling a lifestyle? What do people want? I would like to compare our relationship with brands to the Milgram experiment…

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Do the best brands really leave their names behind?

by Eszter Fehér

I read an article about a month ago entitled ‘Why The Best Brands Eventually Leave Their Names Behind’[1]. Joe Duffy talks about how branding is so much more than a name, which is a statement that I cannot argue. However, I would like to answer his question: ‘How important is it that a name actually explains your product’s unique selling proposition, defines your company, or pegs you into a specific category?’ Very. He speaks about the struggle that comes with…

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Common naming process pitfalls

by Emma Peto

I had a conversation at a recent pitch meeting that I think is worth expanding on and sharing.  I was asked by a potential client what I felt were some of the most common things that can go wrong during a naming process, the effect that they can have and how to best guard against them.  What was interesting was that he wanted to know what mistakes were made by the client themselves so that he could try to stop…

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Naming a car with true character

by Emma Peto

When you hear a product name and immediately recognise the underlying brand, you know you’re witnessing a highly effective naming strategy. That’s how it is with a sports car beginning with the letter ‘E’: it’s a Lotus. It has been so for decades and it was central to Nomen’s brief to create a name for the first new Lotus model since the Elise in 1995. But the strategy’s longevity is a double-edged sword and presents two significant naming challenges. Firstly,…

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