Let me just say before I begin that I think everyone should come up with their own names. I could never understand why companies pay naming consultants to come up with empty product or company monikers that nobody can remember anyway. (Unless you are Altria, and you just want people to forget that you are really Phillip Morris). Well, now companies can ask strangers on the Internet to name their product. I’m not sure this is a much better idea, but it is more fun.
Crowdsourcing startup Kluster (which launched in February), publicly opened up a new site today called NameThis. It works pretty much like Kluster, except it is only for coming up with names for products or startups. A company pays $99 to put up a challenge describing the product or entity to be named, the community suggests names and votes for the best ones by investing their allotted ‘Watts.” The people who come up with, influence, or invest the most in the top three names split $80 among themselves, and Kluster keeps the rest as its fee.
There are obvious problems with this and with crowdsourcing in general (for instance, read about the implosion at Cambrian House). But one thing this has going for it is simplicity. Anyone can come up with a name. (Anyone can steal a name too, but that is another issue).
The site just launched today, so most of the “namestorming” challenges are just for fun. They include thinking up a better name for the Verizon G’zOne, Hot & Crusty Bakery, the Chevy Nova, Wolf Blitzer, and the Microsoft Zune. Some contenders so far: Divr (for Verizon), the Chevy Supernova, Wülf Blitzkreig (sic), and the Microsoft Rune (spelled correctly, but would be more apropos if spelled Ruin). There is even one real company that needs a name for a universal inbox service.
Just to see what people would come up with., I asked Kluster to put up a challenge to rename our recently launched video site TechCrunch Elevator Pitches. We went through an internal debate of our own before settling on that name. And some of our rejected candidates, like CrunchTime and PitchCrunch, have already come up independently on NameThis. There are also some we didn’t think of: IdeaCrunch and LaunchCrunch. Most of the rest are subpar. But you only need one good name.
Did we pick the best name or is the crowd coming up with better options? (Not that we are going to change the name. This is purely an exercise.)
A whole new take on the thesaurus.
Well that’s stupid. A smart/shady person could watch the entries and then go and register the domains as the name suggestions came in.
How on earth do they intend to deal with that when it starts happening (and it will happen)?
seems stupid, the idea.
If you, the site in question, want ideas…than why don’t you just make a notice on your site to the visitors – to share their ideas for a name, or new name?
sweet i submitted three names for you – Startup Spotlight, Blitz, and my personal favorite, Freakshow.
@Scott K
Good point, but I think it would get prohibitively expensive for 2 reasons: 1) You don’t know which name will win, so you’re looking at registering x names for every product/service, and 2) the expected value of an unproven product or service is next to nothing anyway.
The story changes when you’re dealing with a finite number of ideas and a proven firm (e.g. name for Lenovo’s newest notebook) but NameThis isn’t positioned for corporate use.
Added: I like “TechCrunch’s Hot or Not” What do people think?
Dedicated writer and TechCrunch reader…
http://www.miro...antage.com/blog
Erick, it would be great if people came up with their own names — and they often do. As a branding consultant I can tell you that the problems begin to crop up as soon as you hit legal clearance issues, foreign language difficulties and the headaches that come with trying to kickoff a worldwide brand. any naming consultant worth their salt will be able to not just give a client a name but explore arenas and universes that most product managers and top level executives don’t have the time or wherewithal to pursue.
To your point, I often have potential clients approach me with a name they’re considering and they just want to know if I think it will stand up to the test of having to make it through the morass of obstacles to make it to the marketplace, let alone how it may fare once it gets there. If the name is sound, seems clear of legal pitfalls and the company is enthusiastic about the name being able to carry their messages and philosophy out to their customers, I’m happy to tell them there’s nothing I can do for them.
The TRUTH is that anyone can create a name that can become a brand. The FACT is that they need to create about 100 names for every one they will be able to clear an international trademark and internet domain search. Sometimes, with those kinds of odds, it’s worth consulting a professional.
So obvious:
Elevideo Pitch
So wait, Kluster launched in March at TED, burned through a million bucks in 7 weeks, re-launched as a community-inspired “newsite”called Knewsroom, and less than a month later is becoming a crowdsourced naming company?
They should be calling this site GameThis.com. Look at the model…suggest a name, if its the most popular, the namer makes 40 bucks and anyone who voted for it splits up another $10 bucks. So….this means any joker and his 30 fraternity brothers can name a product, vote for it, and pocket the dough? should call it fundourkegger.com
I think you should be including 99designs.com in your crunchbase references to startups in this space. They’re one of the few companies who have nailed it.
http://www.crun...mpany/99designs
Funny, they are only 10 years behind the Igor produced Wordla Woardoard http://www.word....com/wordboard/
Steve Manning
Managing Director
Igor (naming Consultants)
415.248.5800
177 Post Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94108
http://www.igor...ternational.com
Funny, they are only 10 years behind the Igor produced Wordlab Wordboard: http://www.word....com/wordboard/
Steve Manning
Managing Director
Igor (naming Consultants)
415.248.5800
177 Post Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94108
http://www.igor...ternational.com http://www.word....com/wordboard/
Steve Manning
Managing Director
Igor (naming Consultants)
415.248.5800
177 Post Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94108
http://www.igor...ternational.com
Dude, Steve, go read:
RRW”s post : How to Comment About Your Company on Blog Posts, Without Being Spammy It’s from today.
We need a new word for recession so there will be no political fallout and the masses will not revolt.
Winner of the recession renaming will win 1 yr supply of gas.
If they packaged it with a domain name an the trademark they could have charged a lot more – otherwise for $99 you are just buying a potential name
If it makes money it works.
I think it’s a create idea the simplistic ones are always the best.
A creative platform. It will be useful.
They should include an automated check of the USPTO’s Trademark data. I’ve named quite a few companies and I can tell you it is not as easy as you might think:
Unique
Memorable
Apropos
Protectable
I’ve seen businesses invest (throw away) large sums of money in brands that were not viable because they didn’t understand the issues involved.
And I am not an naming consultant.
how about pitchit-pitchitgood pitchitrealgood
Naming something is way too important to leave to a crowd, IMHO. Maybe to vote on ideas you’ve had, but as a core idea, I think this is a loser’s bet.
Igor.com sets the standard in thinking about names. Their guide to how they do work on this is leading in the industry. If everyone in the crowd were certified to have read Igor’s stuff, then maybe that’d be a start.
(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Igor in any way, I’m just a huge fan of the discussion guide on naming they’ve made public.)
thanks
Your brand’s proper name can produce much more than just identify; it can reveal personality, quality and the true story of your company. Name can be the significant difference between you and your competition; it creates the emotional bonds with the audience and helps creating the brand.
Right names can become the organisation’s motive power. Remember, you have one single chance to make the first impression.
I love the simplicity of this idea.
One criticism: Why does an algorithm pick the top three and not the person who listed the brief? After all, this is a marketing exercise. The client is always right. (At least until the market sorts them out…)
I also agree that domain availability should be a more formal consideration.
I’ll vouch for Steve at Igor. He’s a good guy and their .pdf on naming is a great resource. I send people there all the time.
There’s nothing wrong with using a site that leverages the wisdom of the masses. It’s a great place to start. I’d rather have clients that have been there and either A) found their perfect name, or B) realized that there’s more to it than a popularity contest. There are way more nuanced considerations than just the name. For instance does the name lend itself to future brand extensions. Does the name tell a story and provide a segue to a deeper conversation about the company? Will it stand the test of time? With the above type of site, most of the names will probably be clever or some play on words, and that’s not what every company needs. But for $99, it’s worth a try… just for the entertainment value.
Naming is such an important task should it be left to amateurs?
NameThis.com is now taking payments from clients yet not forwarding rewards to the crowd. It is scandalous they are allowed to operate.