Now that Super Bowl XLIX is in the rear view mirror, and the New England Patriots have been duly congratulated for winning anything but a Mediocre Bowl, for those of us with no pigskin in the big game this year, it’s time to think about the possible magic of Super Bowl L.
Wait what?
– Nick Olson; Summer Associate; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
In 1971, an assistant professor at Portland State University was trying to get his start-up company, then called “Blue Ribbon Sports,” up off the ground. While teaching a class on accounting, the professor noticed one of his students—Carolyn Davidson—had a gift for design,
No, I’m not referring to the Rage Against The Machine song. I’m talking about something much more exciting: commercial testimonials and endorsements! Have you ever watched commercials containing celebrity endorsements or customer testimonials and wondered where the line is for the things they say? For example, when you see an absolutely atrocious commercial for something called the Cookie
What’s the first thing you think about when you’re naming a company or a product? Securing a domain? Avoiding trademark conflict? Sounding different from your competitors?
All are important concerns. But I contend that the first thing you should think about is this:
A name is the title of your story.
Yes, you’re naming your company or your product. But what you’re really doing is putting a title on the story you’re telling investors, shareholders, customers, and employees.
If you’re smart and lucky, the name you choose will be the title of a great story. A best-seller. A legend. A tale told around the campfire for generations.
If you’re haphazard or confused or pretentious or timid, your name will end up on the equivalent of the remainders table at your local bookstore: piles of copies at 70 percent off.
You can have a great story that nobody wants to read because the title is pedestrian or perplexing or pompous.
Or you can create demand for your story by giving it a title that tells just enough without giving away the plot.
So before you do any internal namestorming or hire a name developer, spend some time thinking about the story your company or product needs to tell.Continue Reading The Title of Your Story