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Namecalling

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Was a bit late in reading this, but there's an entertaining article on branding consultants and the goofy names that they pick for companies (link via diveintomark). Hell, give me a dictionary, a semiotics text, and several cups of coffee, and I can come up with a name for you for half the price.

Other helpful hints (I swear to god, I've seen these things happen):

  • Don't pick a name that is someone else's registered trademark.

  • Don't launch your new brand name on April 1st.

  • Don't pick a brand name that people won't know how to pronounce. (If you need to include a phonetic spelling of the name on the home page of your website, there's a clue.)

  • Don't pick a name that suggests what you might have been drinking when you thought of it.