- blog on e-Onomastics - digital onomastics - e-Science about proper names
- blogue sur e-Onomastique - onomastique numérique - e-Science sur les noms propres
- Blog über e-Onomastik - digitale Onomastik - e-Wissenschaft über die Namenkunde
- блог по oномастике
aDepartment of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Humanities, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
bChulalongkorn University Language Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
cAdministrative and Clerical Division, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Bangkok
Abstract
This paper investigated the names given to Thai local community products and provides a description of the use of the English language in naming products in Thailand. The business names of Thai local products under the program One Tambon One Product (OTOP) were selected for analysis, focusing on language characteristics and semantic appropriateness by using onomastics to some extent. The data consisted of 1,304 names from five product categories—food, drinks, clothing and accessories, handicrafts and ornaments, and inedible herbs, as provided in the database of tambons and OTOP products. Thai product names in English, some of which only Thais can understand, show language creativity, reflecting Thai identity within English usage in the local setting. One problematic area concerns the lack of semantic appropriateness of some English names, as the names are sometimes not relevant to the product type. Thai entrepreneurs need support in naming their products to achieve international intelligibility if their products are to be marketed to international customers.
Every year, 6 million companies and more than 100,000 products are launched. They all need an awesome name, but many (such as Xobni, Svbtle, and Doostang) look like the results of a drunken Scrabble game. In this entertaining and engaging book, ace naming consultant Alexandra Watkins explains how anyone—even noncreative types—can create memorable and buzz-worthy brand names. No degree in linguistics required. The heart of the book is Watkins’s proven SMILE and SCRATCH Test—two acronyms for what makes or breaks a name. She also provides up-to-date advice, like how to make sure that Siri spells your name correctly and how to nab an available domain name. And you’ll see dozens of examples—the good, the bad, and the “so bad she gave them an award.” Alexandra Watkins is not afraid to name names. http://www.amazon.com/Hello-My-Name-Is-Awesome/dp/1626561869
“Zappos.com originally started out as ShoeSite.com, but that limited our potential future growth. A company’s name can be vital to its success. Reading the tips in this book can help anyone avoid the pitfalls.” —Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO, Zappos.com, Inc.
“Insightful, irreverent, and eminently practical, Watkins’s Hello, My Name Is Awesome should be required reading for anyone naming a brand.” —S. Christian Wheeler, Professor of Marketing, Stanford Graduate School of Business
“This awesome piece of writing is worth bottling, shaking, and stirring into your brand-name strategy either online or offline. I love the way Alexandra weaves her voice and humor into a very clear message to distill what you are about into a business name. It can be applied to your brand name and domain name. Her process is coherent and creative. A brilliant book, I couldn’t put down.” —Jeff Bullas, blogger, strategist, and speaker, Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer 2013, and Huffington Post Top 100 Business Twitter Account
“I was skeptical about a how-to book on naming products and brands. Alexandra Watkins convinced me otherwise. Her book is a fun read with lots of practical advice.” —Patricia Roller, angel investor and former Co-CEO, Frog Design
“Your company or product probably needs all the help it can get. Watkins helped me name my firm, and I’m constantly told what a great name it is. Don’t pick a name until you’ve read Watkins’s book—you'll want to have a name that you love forever!” —Charlene Li, founder of Altimeter Group, author of Open Leadership, and coauthor of Groundswell
“The type of hands-on practical wisdom rarely found (but desperately needed) in the academic community.” —Michael Webber, Dean of the School of Management, University of San Francisco
“This is the perfect book for kick-starting entrepreneurs, brand managers, and practicing creatives.” —Pat Hanlon, founder and CEO, Thinktopia, and author of Primal Branding
“This book is packed full of practical, real-world advice you would never get from a regular textbook.” —Dale J. Stephens, founder of UnCollege and author of Hacking Your Education
“In the current crazy business climate, where standing out and being remembered are critical to success, your name had better be awesome. This is the best book on the subject.” —Nell Merlino, founder and President, Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, and creator of Take Our Daughters to Work Day
“We’ve got a terrible name. No one can spell it. No one can pronounce it. Don’t make the same mistake we made. Read this book and let Alexandra Watkins guide you away from the ‘we thought we were being clever with our name, but now we just look silly’ syndrome.” —Matt Ruby, founder and CEO, Vooza
Book Description
Naming a business or product has always been challenging—and sometimes costly— for entrepreneurs and inventors, but it’s one of the most important decisions they have to make. Alexandra Watkins presents a foolproof model that anyone can use to create and evaluate brand names like a pro.
Alexandra Watkins
Founder of naming firm Eat My Words, Alexandra Watkins is a recognized expert on brand names with buzz. She is frequently quoted in the press and been featured in leading business publications including The Wall Street Journal, Inc., and Entrepreneur. Alexandra is a popular speaker at MBA programs and has been a guest presenter multiple times at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, San Francisco State, USF School of Management and their alumni association. She has also entertained audiences at the Proctor & Gamble alumni association, Uncollege, In-House Agency Forum, SF City Club, and many co-working spaces.
The New York cousins who started a digital sing-along storybook business have settled on the name Mibblio.
The Australian founder of a startup connecting big companies to big-data scientists has dubbed his service Kaggle.
The former toy executive behind a two-year-old mobile screen-sharing platform is going with the name Shodogg.
And the Missourian who founded a website giving customers access to local merchants and service providers? He thinks it should be called Zaarly.
Quirky names for startups first surfaced about 20 years ago in Silicon Valley, with the birth of search engines such as Yahoo, (YHOO -1.85%) —which stands for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle," and Google, (GOOG -1.55%) a misspelling of googol,” the almost unfathomably high number represented by a 1 followed by 100 zeroes.
The latest startup boom has led to the creation of at least 161 companies that end in “ly,” “lee,” and “li,” which is, naming consultants tell us, 160 too many. There’s feedly, bitly, contactually, cloudly, along with a bunch of other company-LYS, all of which you can find on this Pinterest board, and all but the first ever “ly” name are “just lazy,” Nancy Friedman, a naming consultant, told The Atlantic Wire. The same goes for all the “ify,” “square,” “box,” any made up words, words spelled with extra letters, and the all caps, no vowels start-up names out there. They’re bad names and there’s no excuse for it.
Bitly, Borkly, Barnly, Molestly, Strinkingly, Happily, Crappily, Maply, Morply, Dottly, Dootly, Godly, Angrily. It's bad enough when every new startup is just based on the one that came before it. Now they all sound the same, too.
Today I'd like just to enumerate how onomastics can be applied to the business and within a business project. It can be useful for those who are not so lucky at the university career.
If you are an onomastician with a bachelor, master or doctoral degree in name studies, then you may work as:
semanticist;
name developer;
name analyst;
name researcher;
name manager;
name consultant;
genealogist;
one-name investigator;
naming strategist;
name marketing expert;
name specialist.
Most of them concern the branches of strategic name development, name-giving process, brand naming company, product naming, company naming, brand name research, naming resources, etc. They do provide the opportunity to work on major international brand, products' names and on the name-giving process.
Product naming (based on http://www.namedevelopment.com/product-service-naming.html)
The naming process begins with a thorough review and understanding of the target market and competitive landscape. You should understand your consumer and the competition.
Next comes a deep dive into the brand strategy to isolate the relevant, enduring and emotive points of difference for creating a memorable brand name. As naming consultants, what you know about building brand strategy for product names, you learned from the companies who perfected it.
Building on the brand strategy, seasoned linguistic, creative and marketing professionals bring their expertise and passion to the table.
It's an iterative naming process that incorporates team's feedback and ideas all along the way. This often includes an exercise in qualitative target market and employee feedback that utilizes proprietary methodologies.
Throughout naming process you also employ a rigorous trademark pre-screening of name candidates using sophisticated trademark screening techniques.
And for product names that cross borders, Global Linguistic Analysis protects you from the embarrassment of a cultural or linguistic "faux pas".
Completing the product naming process, proprietary validation marketing research technique uses normative data to help determine which of several product name finalists resonates best with the target market.
Some examples of this activity may be found under:
http://www.namedevelopment.com/product-service-naming.html
Company naming (based on http://www.namedevelopment.com/company-naming.html)
Every day more than 6,000 new company names enter the global marketplace. When it comes to company naming, each entity is competing for a piece of the pie, a slice of attention, a sliver of immortality.
Some of these company names are good. Some are just okay. But very few company names can claim the mantle of greatness.
Here's why:
Great company naming tells a story that engages and compels
Great company naming glides off the tongue and lands gracefully on the page
Great company naming stakes a claim that is distinctive and trademarkable
And great company naming must do all of this in just a few short syllables
Whether the new company name is for a start-up, spin-off, merger, acquisition or a strategic re-branding, the right name matters. That's because the difference between a good enough name and a great name is often the difference between organizational success and failure.
Check out the 9 Company Naming Principles videos to learn more (from here: http://www.namedevelopment.com/company-name-change-principles.html )
and
A company's name makes a first impression that lasts for the long-term. When company naming makes the wrong impression, it's time for a change.
Every year, more than 1,900 companies change their names in response to a change in their business environment. Just as consumers adapt to new technology and a changing economy, companies must transform themselves to capitalize on new growth opportunities and markets.
Some of these changes are the result of introducing innovative products or services, while others completely alter the direction of the company. These new company identities require names that speak to the target market and linguistically reflect their new image.
It's critical for a company that is transforming itself to make sure its B2C or B2B customers and investors get a better idea of who they are and where they are going.
Maybe later I will introduce some of the above mentioned professions.
