Not to be flippant about the critically important topic of protecting a brand’s intellectual property, but if your brand is successful enough for your name to be turned into a verb, like Google or Xerox, we think that’s a problem that isn’t really a problem.
The Naming Problem That Isn’t A Problem
You can cross that bridge if you’re lucky enough to come to it! Trying hard to develop brand names that have “verbability” is still a great idea.
This video originally appeared in LinkedIn
If you enjoyed this video, check out:
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey guys, it’s Rebeca with BrandTrue and I want to talk to you about a naming problem that isn’t a problem. And that is, sometimes a name can be a victim of its own success and I just don’t think that you’re really a victim in that case. Here’s what I mean. Often you’re looking for a name that’s “verbable.”
So the best example of this is Google. Google is the name of a product but now we say “Google it.” And it’s so successful that it’s become the generic. You say, “I was Googling” inside of YouTube and you just mean using the search function, right? So when we are, usually it’s for a service, when we are doing something that it’s appropriate to be trying to create a verbable brand name, occasionally someone will say, “Well, but then it can be, you know, lose equity. It’s watered down.” I say, if you’re so successful that other brands are copying you or just people are using your name wrong, that’s great, bring it.
You can afford to defend your name if you’re that successful, it’s not anything to worry about. I think if it’s appropriate strategically, a name that’s verbable is awesome. It’s amazing and definitely something that you should be aiming for. Let me know what you think. Thanks, bye.
