It happens every Spring, but it needn’t. With the upturn in weather, giddy branders rush outside and dive willy-nilly into rigorous exercise without much thought of safety or technique. The season’s first casualty is Harcourt Assessment, which has suffered a Learnia.
Naming Safety Tip # 1: When engaging in a naming exercise, ALWAYS LIFT WITH YOUR LEGS. This will greatly reduce the possibility of a Learnia.
Says Blandor the Imponderable: “I love a good Learnia, in fact it is a smashing result! Though it does sound derivative of my own work— little matter, imitation is flattery after all. Le Bon Mots!!!”
Originally launched as a block of HDTV programming, the Igor-named Mojo will soon be the name of the entire network. From the Mojo website:
As of May 1, 2007, INHD completes its evolution to MOJO. MOJO is the premiere destination on cable for the modern man. It’s HD programming tailored to fit men’s interests from excellent food to extreme locales, from high-tech toys to high stakes antics, from Wall Street to easy street.
Turn up your volume and get your own groove on at Mojo.
High-Rises, Low-Rises, Hotels, Sports Arenas, Mega-Malls or Concert Halls. Put a little posh in your front steps with Wordlab’s 44th category of original, in-house content…Buildings!
By this time next year I expect you’ll see The Snark going-up in your downtown and you’ll know you saw the name here first.
…there are only 121 Buildings entries at this writing, but check back often (ha!) as I expect to take this baby to Grizzled and Wannabe Heights before the next WL post is inked.
The buxom and often barely dressed models, posing next to slogans like “It’s nice to be naughty,” are plastered across the Internet these days, and are hard to avoid on the social networking site MySpace.
In part because of its provocative ads, True.com, based in Irving, Tex., has seemingly come out of nowhere to become one of the most visited sites in the $700 million-a-year online dating industry, attracting 3.8 million people last month.
True’s rise has been controversial. The company has riled competitors like Match.com and Yahoo Personals, which say that True’s lowbrow advertisements clash with its high-minded lobbying and legal efforts. True, which conducts criminal background checks on its subscribers, is the primary force behind a two-year-old campaign to get state legislatures to require that social Web sites prominently disclose whether or not they perform such checks.
True also says it is preparing to sue an ex-convict from Florida in Texas state court for violating its terms of service by joining the site.
“I want to make sure that our members have a wholesome environment for courtship,” said Herb Vest, True’s 63-year-old founder and chief executive.
If you’re interested in the brand strategies of dating sites True.com and its leading rivals Yahoo! Personals and Match.com, you’ll want to read the whole article.
From the front page of the True.com website:
WARNING:
MARRIED PEOPLE AND CRIMINALS WILL BE PROSECUTED
If you are married and representing yourself as single, or if you are a convicted criminal, be aware that you could be guilty of fraud and subject to civil and criminal penalties under U.S. federal and state law. For example, Title 18, Section 1343 of the U.S. Code authorizes fines of up to $250,000 and jail sentences of up to five years for each offense. TRUE reserves the right to report violators to appropriate law enforcement authorities and seek prosecution or civil redress to the fullest extent of the law. If you are married or a convicted criminal, please close your browser.
Apparently what’s got the other leading dating and mating sites upset is that the True advertisements play upon the greatest fears of a large segment of the target market for online dating sites — that they’re getting “winks” from married men, sexual predators, or gay porn stars. And they’re adding to the growing pressure on lawmakers to make all dating sites build more safeguards into their online dating systems. The other dating sites just can’t handle the truth.
Can’t find the quality singles you’re looking for with the other online dating sites, personals and personal ads out there? Do you want matchmaking services that use proven scientific techniques to show you the singles who are most compatible with you? Are you looking for a dating site where you can meet singles for friendship, dating, romance, love and more, all while feeling confident that your safety is a priority? Then look no further. TRUE.com offers online dating that goes beyond other online personals to give any single man or single woman the right matchmaking tools to find the right romance relationship – right now!
With criminal background screenings and single dating verification, TRUE.com is the online dating service where you can enter into any kind of relationship you’re looking for – love, romance,friendship – with the knowledge that we’re serious about your safety. And our scientific compatibility tests allow you to meet people who are right for you for all the right reasons. With coaching services that will help you create the perfect personal ad, there’s no reason not to join the 10 million single men and single women who are making connections and finding romance on TRUE. So what are you waiting for? Sign up and find romance today!
Building a strong brand often starts with a name that evokes trust. In matters of the heart, trust is based on truthfulness. What millions are looking for is true romance, true love. True.
Last year, the company went so far as to trademark “technosexual,” anticipating it could become a buzzword for marketing to millennials, the roughly 80 million Americans born from 1982 to 1995. A typical line from the press materials for CK in2u goes like this: “She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now.”
Which may turn off its intended audience by the tens of thousands.
Ben and Jerry appeared on The Colbert Report last night to announce a new flavor of ice cream in honor of Stephen Colbert – Americone Dream.
Another Colbert Classic episode of naming and branding. Jerry says that Stephen should be in the Ben & Jerry’s R&D department for his creative product naming talents. Watch the video, and notice the subtle “food and sex” branding strategy.
Posted: March 22nd, 2007 |
Category: Uncategorized 
