Key Takeaways

  • A great brand name is crucial for cumulative and asymmetric advantage, sticking with customers longer than changing designs or messages.
  • Clients often believe they’ll ‘know the right name when they see it,’ but this is rarely true; effective names often feel uncomfortable or polarizing initially.
  • The naming process involves identifying desired behavior and experience, inventing names through disciplined creativity, and implementing them with strategic rationale and prototypes.
  • Linguistics and cognitive science play a significant role in naming, with research into sound symbolism and cultural implications helping to create effective and resonant names.
  • For startups without extensive resources, focusing on defining ‘winning,’ desired behavior, and experience, and generating a large volume of names without premature judgment is key.

Segments

Sonos: A Name Born from Discomfort (~00:10:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Effective names often face initial resistance and require a strong belief in their long-term potential, as seen with the Sonos naming.
  • Summary: Plassic recounts the story of naming Sonos, a name initially rejected by the client for not being ’entertainment-like.’ He details his persistence, including a second trip to convince the founders, emphasizing that the name’s palindrome quality and its connection to sound, rather than overt entertainment, made it the right choice.
Why You Won’t Know the Right Name When You See It (~00:15:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Human psychology favors comfort and familiarity, leading people to reject novel names that are actually more effective.
  • Summary: Plassic explains that clients often expect to recognize a name instantly, but this is rarely the case due to a natural human tendency towards comfort. He uses examples like Harry Potter and Jack London’s ‘Call of the Wild’ being initially rejected to illustrate how groundbreaking ideas often face resistance.
Microsoft Azure: Naming a Cloud Giant (~00:22:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Choosing a distinctive name like Azure over a descriptive one like ‘Cloud’ allows a brand to emerge as a leader.
  • Summary: The conversation shifts to Microsoft’s Azure, a name initially met with skepticism. Plassic highlights how ‘Azure,’ with its linguistic qualities and subtle connection to the sky, provided a stronger, more evocative identity than a generic descriptor like ‘Cloud,’ ultimately contributing to its massive success.
The Lexicon Branding Process: Identify, Invent, Implement (~00:35:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Lexicon’s naming process is a disciplined blend of creativity and linguistic science, focusing on desired behavior and experience.
  • Summary: Plassic outlines Lexicon’s three-step process: Identify (understanding client behavior and market landscape), Invent (using small, diverse creative teams and linguistic expertise), and Implement (developing rationales, prototypes, and consumer research).
The Science of Sound Symbolism and Linguistics (~00:45:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Specific sounds and letters evoke distinct feelings and associations, a principle leveraged through linguistic expertise.
  • Summary: Plassic details Lexicon’s investment in linguistics and sound symbolism, explaining how letters like ‘V’ (vibrancy) and ‘B’ (reliability) carry inherent connotations. This scientific approach informs the creation of names that resonate on a deeper, often subconscious level.
Naming AI Products: A Fast-Moving Frontier (~00:55:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Naming AI products requires making intangible concepts tangible and keeping pace with rapid technological advancements.
  • Summary: Plassic discusses the unique challenges of naming AI products, noting the need for more tangible and natural-sounding names compared to the often technical or abstract names engineers might prefer. He highlights the fast-paced nature of AI development and the differing consumer and developer perspectives on the technology.
When to Change a Company Name (~01:02:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Company name changes are warranted for startups needing a placeholder name, companies that have pivoted, or those undergoing mergers.
  • Summary: Plassic outlines the key scenarios for rebranding: initial placeholder names for startups, significant pivots in company direction, or post-merger integration to signal a new identity and enhanced capabilities.
Advice for Startups: The Diamond Exercise (~01:15:00)
  • Key Takeaway: A simple ‘diamond’ exercise focusing on ‘win,’ ‘what to win,’ ‘what’s needed,’ and ‘what to say’ can guide startups in naming.
  • Summary: For resource-constrained startups, Plassic suggests a ‘diamond’ exercise to define winning, identify existing strengths, determine needs, and articulate the core message. This process helps shift focus from mere words to the underlying experience and behavior the name should represent.
The Value of Polarization in Naming (~01:25:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Polarization and team tension around a name are positive indicators of its strength and potential impact.
  • Summary: Drawing from his experience with Andy Grove and the Pentium name, Plassic emphasizes that a name causing debate and strong opinions within a team is often a sign of its boldness and potential to stand out. He advises against seeking universal comfort in a name.
Domain Names and the Future of Naming (~01:30:00)
  • Key Takeaway: While a .com is ideal, it’s secondary to the name itself; alternative domains and strategic naming are more critical now.
  • Summary: Plassic asserts that domain availability, particularly .com, is less critical than it once was, likening it to an ‘area code.’ He advises prioritizing the right name and exploring alternatives like .ai or adding prefixes/suffixes if the .com is unavailable, suggesting marketing spend over domain acquisition.
The Elevator Pitch: Focus on Behavior and Experience (~01:35:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The most crucial advice for naming is to focus on the desired behavior and experience, not just the word itself.
  • Summary: In a brief encounter, Plassic’s core advice for naming is to think beyond the word and concentrate on the behavior and experience the brand aims to create. He also advocates for embracing synchronicity by drawing inspiration from unrelated fields to spark novel ideas.
Final Thoughts: Value of the Right Name (~01:38:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Investing time, budget, and resources into finding the ‘right’ name, not just a ‘good’ one, yields almost unlimited value.
  • Summary: Plassic reiterates the immense, almost unlimited value of a well-chosen name, urging listeners to treat naming as a strategic investment. He also offers to provide advice through Lexicon’s ‘office hours,’ emphasizing a long-term commitment to helping clients.