New York real estate agents seem to think so.

The New York Daily News reports that acronym type names are popping up all over Manhattan real estate offices, and boy are they weird.

If you'd live in SoHo, why not try BoCoCa, GoCaGa or BoHo? Mapmakers even have put down DUMBO as a real part of the city (near the Manhattan Bridge).

Hell's Kitchen is trying to turn into "Clinton," leading one blogger to note that "as it abuts Chelsea, you could very well find yourself living in Chelsea-Clinton." Nearby, there also appears to be a strong push for the creation of a Greenwich South.

The Gothamist weighs in on all this, writing:

BoCoCa would be better if it could be pronounced "BoCoCoa," because right now we're tripping on it, saying, "BoCaCa." Plus there's nothing wrong with just saying Cobble Hill or whatever. Then CoWaDi sounds like "Witch Doctor http://www.mareesalbumlyrics.com/Witch_Doctor.html " from Sha-Na-Na..."Ooh-ee-ooh-ah-ah, ting-tang-walla-walla-bing-bang." It would be better off if the area was called "The W.D." - think "The O.C " - or just "The District" - don't think the CBS show.

Despite the strange factor, people just don't seem to like many or most of these new names. In fact, Cityfile points out "None of them have caught on yet and probably never will so if you use them in conversation, you'll probably come off sounding pretty stupid (and may get mistaken for a desperate real estate broker). But feel free to take your chances."

Technorati Tags: Neighborhood Naming, NY Neighborhoods, NY Naming, Neighborhood Names, NY Real Estate

• General Motors
• General Electric
• Diageo
• Coty
• Comcast
• Eli Lilly
• Kellogg Co.
• MasterCard
• Nestle
• Walt Disney

Don't they care that their brand name is now being used by someone else?

The warnings have been many. And losing Twitter as a communications platform - a free one at that - is just bad business. Almost half (48%) of Twitter users will investigate a brand mentioned on the site, people.

Twitter users pay attention to brand names that get tweeted. This is more than was previously thought and yet some of the biggest names out there are out of the game.

I have written before about how important it is to protect your domain name and your identity on Facebook.

This is not kid stuff: people are paying attention, and losing your name to a squatter is disappointing and sub-optimum brand name management, especially by some leading brands and companies.

Technorati Tags: Twitter, Squatters, Company Domain Name, Twitter Name, Twitter URL

The Lion's Tap has been using the slogan since 2005. According to the Jordan Independent, "The phrase is on company T-shirts, newspaper ads and headlines the restaurant's Web site." The Lion's Tap probably will not financially benefit from this, as yesterday's filing says "All claims ... are dismissed with prejudice and without costs and disbursements of attorney's fees to either party."

The case was hailed in Slashfood as "a small fry" going after a "super-sized giant," with the tiny, out of the way restaurant being the small fry. Had The Lion's Tap held the federal trademark their position would have been much stronger.

DuetsBlog asks the million dollar question: "What did McDonald's know and when did they know it?" and suggests that McDonald's probably had no idea that The Lion's Tap was using the slogan.

But they should have because of the Minnesota trademark.

Duets notes that the restaurant has used other slogans in the recent past, including "Any Fresher and it Might Get Slapped," "Sponsoring the Napkin Industry Since 1977," "Yes, They Really Do Exist. Come See One for Yourself," and "Lions and Burgers and Fries, Oh My!" So even if some acolyte at McDonald's had been trolling the Internet for usage of the slogan they would have been foiled until quite recently when the restaurant's site was revamped.

Duets also discovered that the actual domain whosyourpatty.com is not held by either Lion's Tap or McDonald's but instead by Patty Wood, a real estate agent.

McDonald's probably was willing to concede the point here to avoid bad publicity, but legally things look a little murky. The Minnesota Litigator puts it very tactfully in their examination of the case: "Lion's Tap counsel has expressly invoked David vs. Goliath in the complaint and has otherwise adopted a somewhat light-hearted tone not normally associated with complaints initiating lawsuits."

I'm thinking that this was good publicity for The Lion's Tap and not worth the trouble for McDonald's.

Technorati Tags: McDonald's, Lion's Tap, Trademark Conflict, Who's Your Patty, Slogan Conflict, Tagline Conflict

For one, Motor Authority described it as lovely retrospective of past logos:

The logo, which seems oddly compressed in the vertical axis, is a sort of retro-modern combination of the winged Chrysler logos of the 1990s with a modern typeface and the Chrysler name. It may be yet another visible aspect of the Fiat restructuring and rebranding of Chrysler though the symbol also bears at least a passing resemblance to Aston Martin's famous winged icon.

For those disappointed to see the old logo go, don't get too upset because it seems that the familiar Pentastar will not be wholly retired, living on as the company's corporate identity.

But the new logo hasn't been the only news coming out of Chrysler recently, the Ram brand is also making a big change, divorcing itself from Dodge.

I have written about this before, but now the company's new "My name is Ram" ad campaign is reintroducing the brand to hard core truck lovers.

One executive asks that we think of the relationship between Dodge and Ram as akin to that shared by the iPod, iMac, and iPhone brands with Apple: "They are part of Apple, but also compelling brands on their own." A very nice thought, but also a comparison that Automobile Magazine calls "a reach." I agree.

The company is going to push the Ram name and the truck hard, promising "you'll never have trouble recognizing what a big bad Ram looks like."

Maybe so, but some odd combinations just seem to work well together, like a banana split. No one quite knows why, but dessert definitely sounds a lot less exciting when you're just eating a banana.

Good luck Ram, here's hoping the move proves to be a fruitful one.

Technorati Tags: Chrysler Rebranding, Chrysler Logo, Car Logos, Ram Trucks, Dodge Ram

This drink was created when the creator decided to give us something that represented his two favorite passions: "fitness and nightlife." This is the stuff you need to drink if you want all the goodness of vodka with all the health benefits of protein.

According to the press release: "Its name Devotion shares many of the same attributes of the world's greatest athletes and success stories: commitment, drive and success." It's slogan is "Get Devoted".

I don't know about you, but I'm kind of confused. There is already a word for becoming devoted to vodka, it's call alcoholism.

What happened to potatoes? Is this really even vodka?

Then there is Hendrix Electric Vodka. Didn't Jimi die during a binge?

Compared to that, Trump Vodka (pictured right) is pretty tame.

Although, I won't think too hard about it, because I'm too busy making martinis out of Godfather Italian Organic Vodka. Here we have a vodka name that flies in the face of common sense: it's named after a movie and a crime syndicate, it's Italian, and it's organic and it's vodka.

Italy and vodka have about as much in common as oranges and vodka or fitness and drinking.

Technorati Tags: Vodka Naming, Devotion Vodka, 4Orange Vodka, Hendrix Electric Vodka, Trump Vodka, Product Naming

Congratulations to Nissan for the Leaf brand name, for its first electric car.

To develop a trademarkable brand these days usually means a coined name or combination of words from a language other than English.

Technorati Tags: Nissan, Leaf, Electric Car

Less is more because consumers believe that if a food product contains a few simple ingredients, it must be good for them.

Häagen-Dazs offers us "Five" ice cream which contains that many ingredients (milk, cream, sugar, eggs and one natural flavor) for a public that is now searching for recipes that use 5 ingredients thanks to Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto which some home cooks find "mind boggling."

Beech-Nut tells us they offer a "No Junk Promise" in its Let's Grow toddler foods. Starbucks has streamlined the ingredients in its its food offerings while Frito-Lay's new campaign pushes the idea of three ingredients in their new chips campaign "the power of three."

Simplicity in ingredients makes people believe there is a transparency that today's shoppers seem to find attractive.

This month six new products from the UK skincare brand Simple launched in the USA - these also have a minimum of ingredients. The Chow message boards says it best: when it comes to food, "complicated does not equal better."

Technorati Tags: Simple, Haggen Dazs, Frito Lay, Michael Pollan, Simple skincare, Simply

Whew, that is a lot of equity tied up in one designer name. But he'll need it, as he is trying to lease out a 280,000 square foot headquarters in midtown Manhattan and manage a 30-acre estate in New Jersey.

He's laid off workers and even auctioned off his watch trademarks and the Avirex brand, leading Agency Spy to say "Brand Loss Eckos Thru the Web."

This comes on the heels of reports that his signature urban look is losing favor with the kids, though Ecko himself seems phlegmatic about losing his name: "I've lived through a leveraged position...I don't know whether, once you grow up your business like that, you have full control anymore anyway."

And at least one blog says his brand is one of the top ten urban brands out there ... of hundreds.

I have written before about how well known people lose their names (I'm talking to you, Joseph Abboud and Steve Saleen), but this seems like an epidemic in the design world, where egos are attached to names equals brands.

Technorati Tags: Marc Ecko, Ecko, Fashion, Clothing, Urband brands, Clothing designer

• Kate Spade


• Vineyard Vines


• Chanel

The words Kate Spade on a product are almost always followed by the words "New York."

The labels on Vineyard Vines products share space with the words "Martha's Vineyard."

And Chanel perfumes elegantly bear the name "Paris" on the packaging.

The reason for this is obvious: these places add instant cachet and equity to the brand name. Chanel may be sold all over the world, but to buy a Chanel product, for millions of consumers, is to buy a piece of Paris. Likewise, Vineyard Vines products carry the tag and the Martha's Vineyard name with pride.

The point is, the brand's place of origin - or supposed place of origin - carries an instant attraction.

All three of these brands have associations with the cities they tout on their labels, but a moment of consideration is in order. What, exactly, is so "New York" about a Kate Spade bag? They are designed in New York, but many are manufactured in China.

I am also reminded of Apple Computer, whose packaging reads "Designed by Apple in California" (I have it right here beside my Mac), but we all know the stuff is built in China.

Similarly, Vineyard Vines does have a shop on Martha's Vineyard, but much of their business, and certainly their manufacturing, is done off-island.

Consumers like to have brands that have a distinct relationship with a supposed country of origin, but its likely that the connection is tenuous at best. The brand is essentially catching a free ride off of the equity of the place name they have chosen to associate themselves with.

It may be that the people who manage the New York, Paris and Martha's Vineyard brand names might want to have a word with Kate Spade, Chanel and Vineyard Vines, but the fact is that this is a symbiotic relationship. The more products and services that want to associate themselves to a place, the better it is for the place itself.

However, there should be at least some real connection to the place you want your brand associated with.

I can go visit the Vineyard Vines store in the Vineyard, or explore the Kate Spade design studio in Manhattan online, and Chanel has a well-known presence in Paris.

So long as the brand can say that it has at least a foothold in the place is associates itself with, customers will perceive it as authentic.

Technorati Tags: Place Naming, Place Branding, Kate Spade New York, Chanel Paris, Vineyard Vines Martha's Vineyard, Place Name Branding

This all follows a New York Times piece entitled "No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund," which outlines the refund Disney is now offering to disillusioned parents who bought Baby Einstein videos between June 5, 2004 and Sept. 5, 2009. That might be quite a financial blow: it seems that a third of all babies in America between 6 months and 2 years old have one of these videos, which also include Baby Mozart, Baby Shakespeare and Baby Galileo.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is demanding a name change, saying:

Disney should change the name of Baby Einstein because it still has a strong implication that it makes your child or baby smarter. They should change it to a name that does not imply that it could improve a child's cognitive capacity or that it is any way educational for children under the age of two.

Ouch.

The Wall Street Journal has put up a great blog about this and asked readers what they think about very young children watching "educational" videos (whether or not a video for toddlers can be termed educational at all is now a debatable concept).

Another leads us to the Baby Einstein site, which points out that this is a consumer satisfaction issue and nothing more and says that implications that the company is admitting that they ever suggested their products were educational are simply misleading.

I applaud Disney for offering the refund, but must wonder if the product naming doesn't at least suggest that it will make your child smarter. Parents I know who have bought baby Einstein products did so under the belief that these were designed to help their children's cognitive development.

Still, as one marketing executive points out in Brandweek, "I don't think Baby Einstein should change its name. It's a great name and gets to the heart of the concept in the brand."

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Baby Einstein, Disney Name Change, Product Name Change, Naming Controversy, Baby Naming, Baby Products

The effort kicks off Monday with an Olsenboye truck cruising around New York selling merchandise and giving out cupcakes, balloons and pins, and empty racks in 50 high-profile stores will be covered in Olsenboye shrouds. Beginning Nov. 6, Olsenboye will be available on jcp.com and in those 50 stores, including the Manhattan flagship, for a limited time.

The new line will also compliment the twins' higher end offerings known as The Row, and Elizabeth and James, but of course will carry lower price points.

As for the name Olsenboye, this is supposedly the twins' "ancestral name," but it does end with "boye," which pretty much sounds like "boy." A strange choice for a girls' fashion line.

This is the kind of name that makes me raise my eyebrows, and if anyone outside of the Olsen twins had selected it, I'd say that it was a terrible choice. But the Olsen twins seem to be a law unto themselves.

As I have said before, they are pushing adult fashion sophistication into the tweeny world. Despite the odd naming choice, this new brand may be positioned for success.

Technorati Tags: Olsenboye, Olsenboye Brand, Clothing Naming, Clothes Naming, Olsen Twins Clothing, Mary-Kate and Ashley

More to the point, the announcement of the "spice wars" between two spice brands: Slap Ya Mama vs. Punch Ya Daddy.

No joke. These are real brand names.

Taking this saying to marketing arena, one sales site promises that it "Tastes so good it will make you 'Slap Ya Mama' with joy!"

Um, well, OK. I guess.

But enough people apparently buy this stuff that there is equity in the name and hence Punch Ya Daddy, another Louisiana brand, was born.

Slap Ya Moma has been around since 1998. Punch Ya Daddy's first appearance was in February of this year.

I'm sure you can see the issue here - the packaging and the likelihood of confusion on the part of consumers. The similarity in font, design, packaging size and format between the two products appear to suggest that Punch Ya Daddy is made by Walker & Sons.

Frankly, I think at least one spice maker here deserves to get punched for copyright infringement. The other should get slapped for misogynistic product naming.

Technorati Tags: Spice Naming, Spice Branding, Seasoning Naming, Slap Ya Mamma, Punch Ya Daddy

Guilt and shame are really the new black this season, the buzzwords that everyone should be thinking about in the naming and branding business. Or as Christina Passariello puts it, "In the past year, the guilty pleasure of shopping has turned to plain old guilt" and this has led to what one pundit calls "luxury guilt."

Similarly, one of the hottest stores in Paris is called Merci, while a quick perusal of Google gets us Guilt Free Shopping at Gilt.com and "No Guilt" shopping articles at Madison Avenue Spy.

Softpedia also informs us that "Women feel guilty about shopping but Can't Stop," where one ice cream maker tells us that "Life at the moment is full of stresses with money being right up there, but it's difficult to break the habit of a lifetime. Going shopping now comes with more baggage so women are trying to find creative ways to justify their spree."

So what makes shopping "guilt free?" There seems to be two lines of thought:

• One - you offer outrageous sales that allow consumers to say that it is too good of a deal to pass up.
• Or two - you partner with a charity or environmental cause, which generates the idea that you may be spending money, but not to worry, it is for a good cause.

Hence there is "guilt-free jewelry shopping" to be done and the promise on Thankful Planet where you can "give more" and experience "no more green buying guilt" by shopping to both save and help the planet at the same time.

You can even "treat your dog's taste buds - without the guilt." Our Canines Linguists, Chomsky and Pushkin, will most definitely appreciate that.

Technorati Tags: Guilt-Free Shopping, Guilt Branding, Shopping Shame, Guilt-Free Naming, Naming and Branding

Before I go any further, I think the branding of animals, ponies or otherwise, is inhumane.

What I find interesting, however, is that one of the earliest applications of branding was when owners branded their livestock.

Today this behavior is considered "grotesque and painful." Branding in business today may not be grotesque, but it certainly can be painful.

To reduce or eliminate the potential pain of modern day branding, it is helpful to:

• Let the target market drive the decision.
• Don't assume the way you think is how the target market thinks.
• Recognize that if the brand feels uncomfortable to you at first it may be the best decision long-term for a defensible and extendable brand name.

Technorati Tags: Branding, Branding Tips, Painful Branding, Animal Branding, Ponies 4 People

The Mighty Mouse brand name that was on the former incarnations of this product is no longer in use thanks to the fact that Apple lost a trademark infringement lawsuit to hardware maker Man & Machine.

Apple had licensed the name from CBS, who owned the trademark for Mighty Mouse, the tiny superhero we all grew up with, but because the Mighty Mouse they own was a flying animated character and not a computer peripheral, their licensing deal fell flat.

Engadget has the whole story in some detail as well as pictures of the (computer) mice in question.

Man & Machine have sold a line of mice that are "rugged, hygienic, waterproof" for over five years now and celebrated their win earlier this year with the following statement:

Others have used the name Mighty Mouse for their computer mice and have sought registration of that trademark, but now the United States government has spoken.

I like the Magic Mouse name but I am surely not the only one who thinks of yet another famous mouse wearing his wizard's garments from Fantasia when I hear it.

Technorati Tags: Magic Mouse, Apple's Magic Mouse, Mighty Mouse,Man & Machine, Mickey Mouse, Fantasia