Welcome to Igor's Naming and Branding Meta Blog,
aggregating posts from the other blogs we publish – Snark
Hunting and Wordlab – along
with occasional notes from Igor's lab.
This year’s Bad Sex in Fiction Awards go to:
John Updike’s sex scenes — including a romp with a “Widows of Eastwick” witch in a beachside motel room — won a Lifetime Achievement Award at Britain’s ever- anxiously awaited Bad Sex in Fiction Awards.
Rachel Johnson, the sister of London Mayor Boris Johnson, captured the 16th annual Bad Sex Award itself for a scene in “Shire Hell” that begins with moans and nibbles and works up to screaming and other animal noises.
Previously won by Tom Wolfe, Sebastian Faulks and Norman Mailer, the contest seeks to dishonor the author of the year’s worst sex scene. London’s monthly Literary Review inaugurated the prize in 1993 “to draw attention to the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it.”
More, via Bloomberg
Introducing a brand new publication designed specifically for women professionals in the litigation practice specialty. “The legal community has been dominated by men since the establishment of the United States and Sue will be a valuable asset in helping women in litigation to equalize that dominance and further develop their position in the legal community,” says Christie LaBarca in a review of the new magazine named Sue.
Hypermiling is the Oxford Universtiy Press “Word of the Year” and “moofer” is a runner-up amongst these finalists:
frugalista – person who leads a frugal lifestyle, but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying second-hand, growing own produce, etc.
moofer – a mobile out of office worker – ie. someone who works away from a fixed workplace, via Blackberry/laptop/wi-fi etc. (also verbal noun, moofing)
topless meeting – a meeting in which the participants are barred from using their laptops, Blackberries, cellphones, etc.
toxic debt – mainly sub-prime debts that are now proving so disastrous to banks. They were parceled up and sent around the global financial system like toxic waste, hence the allusion.
I prefer to think of myself as one of a new breed of digital nomads.
Sprint and Clearwire closed their $14.5 billion WiMax joint venture last Friday. Sprint is contributing wireless airwaves to the venture, but not the impossible to say brand name they previously came up with: Xohm.
The new name for this next-generation (4G) nationwide mobile broadband network, aka WiMax, is much clearer and to the point than Xohm: Clear. The company behind it will retain the Clearwire name.
Apparently, Xohm is NOT where the heart is.
Via Reuters.
Are your company or product name brainstorming attempts long on storm and short on brains? Igor has over 11,000 brains in stock, ready to help you name whatever needs naming — most have very low milage, are hardly ever driven during the week, and are used only sparingly on weekends to scan refrigerator contents and such. Our collection of brains can be picked through at the Wordlab Wordboard, our free naming and branding brainstorming forum. Jump in and pick the brains!
Tips for picking a brain:
1. Do not pick if the skin is too green–it’s not ripe yet.
2. The brain should be viscous and phlegmatic, yet hold up to a good thumping. Not too firm, not too soft.
3. The end that was twisted from the brain stem should be pliable when you poke your thumb through the outer membrane. If you can’t break the membrane with your fingernail, the brain was picked prematurely.
4. Smell is the most reliable indicator of freshness.
5. Have fun with it, but keep it platonic.
[ More posts about company names ]
Originally called Rigen Genomics, they came to Igor for a new company name. Here is our take on the competitive naming and messaging environment we needed to navigate.
From the Crescendo website:
Working with collaborators in leading academic medical institutions, Crescendo Bioscience is building a comprehensive understanding of the biology underlying rheumatoid arthritis, including the characterization of protein and gene expression biomarkers, to provide molecular staging of the disease and guidance for the treatment of individual patients.
Crescendo’s mission is to establish a long-term relationship with physicians by providing comprehensive diagnostic, prognostic, staging, therapy selection and monitoring capabilities to better improve outcomes over the lifetime of each patient. This includes advanced reporting and patient trending information. These tests and reporting capabilities will be performed at our own specialized, CLIA-licensed laboratory.
Crescendo Bioscience.
After Michelle Obama saw Igor and his shirt she requested a picture with him. While it might not be a handshake with the Democratic Nominee, Igor said meeting Michelle was “awesome.”
Hat Tip:
Amanda Scott
Attorneys in Maine
According to Fox News, an organic wine from Chile has oenophiles (their word) in San Francisco turning up their noses. But there’s nothing wrong with the wine. It’s the name that bothers them: Palin Syrah.
To be fair and balanced, shop owner Scott Pactor said he’s looking to give Democratic Party supporters an option, too.
"We're also in the process of looking for an Obama wine or a Biden wine, just to be balanced, obviously, just to be balanced. We want to make sure customers have options, but so far we haven't been successful," he said.
How 'bout That One for a wine label?
