Don't Let Your CEO Miss This Powerful Naming Rule 🧑‍💼

Harvey!! The product is called ‘[Brand Name] Complete’.

The CEO loves it. It’s done. Let’s move on.

Great, I thought, the CEO is naming the products from out of their executive bathroom.

Why am I here exactly? What is my role?

I knew to my core that…

This was the wrong call!

So, as Global Product Marketing Director for a FTSE 100 listed company, I set about getting the name changed.

Easy? No.

Possible. You bet!

The Thing About Naming

Everyone has an opinion!

No one can agree. When they might agree, the shortlist gets torpedoed by the trademark people.

Getting to ‘fact’ is tough, but there is a prism of undeniable fact in which you can make the whole organisation look through.

When naming your product in English, use my 1,000-word rule

Product names differ in overseas markets for two fundamental reasons:

1. To leverage existing brand equity in an already existing name

2. Comprehension of the original name in English does not translate well

Examples…

Existing Brand Equity:

• 🇺🇸 Lay’s Potato Chips

• 🇬🇧 Walker’s Crisps

• 🇺🇸 T.J. Maxx

• 🇬🇧 T.K. Maxx

Cultural:

• 🇺🇸 Diet Coke

• 🇪🇺 Coca-Cola Light

• ↳ The term “Diet” resonates less well in some European markets, so the name was adjusted.

English Does Not Translate Well:

• 🇮🇪 Irish Mist Liqueur

• 🇩🇪 German-speaking countries

• ↳ The original name could be misinterpreted as “manure” in German.

• 🇺🇸 Tegro Weight-Loss Pill

• 🇫🇷 French-speaking context

• ↳ Sounds like “t’es gros,” meaning “you are fat.”

When Naming in English, Know This:

1. The English name has to work in non-native English-speaking markets without being translated.

2. Non-native English speakers who can communicate in English use approximately 3,000 common words to get through basic conversation or communication. This covers 90% of use cases.

3. For non-native speakers who are at a lower 90% level, they have a word list of 1,000 or fewer.

How To Win The Argument with your CEO:

To name your product in English and use it worldwide, pick from the list of 1,000 words only.

• Get the 1,000 words here

• Get the 3,000 words here

Then, run through other naming processes to filter further.

Like a Hot Knife Cutting Through Butter 🧈

So, there you have it.

Next time you are involved in a discussion or project on naming, break this newsletter article out and make the case for basic English comprehension.

Where did all the opinions go? 🤘 😉

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