I just got back from a wonderful week in San Francisco. I have a lot of new things to think about (which is why I love going there). But the first thing that comes to mind is the challenge and fun of picking a good product name.
I visited the Samovar Tea Lounge in Zen Valley near where I was staying. They have a vast selection of tea but my favourite was monkey-picked iron goddess of mercy. I’m sitting here drinking their breakfast blend and wishing I had bought a box of monkey tea back instead, just for the name.
Naming is difficult. Very difficult. Everyone wants short, memorable, evocative names that have free domain names. Google anyone?
This is why I like MPIGOM. It flouts all the rules but gains charm and word-of-mouthability in doing so.
Could your next product benefit from a different approach to naming? Can you tell a story with your names? Is brevity the soul of wit? Should form follow function in names?
No monkeys were harmed in the writing of this post but several cups of tea were consumed.
Fab – I love the Chinese take on naming things. A shoe shop in Shantou called ‘Good Wine Needs No Bush’ comes to mind. The more slanted the more enchanted IMHO
I was driving with a Chinese friend through MaShan (literal translation Hose Mountain) – not really mountainous at all. ‘I can’t see any mountains’ I said to him – ‘No’ he said ‘and there aren’t any horses either,’ he replied. Don’t know why, it just made me laugh.
Best
Martin
Yes, I agree. The Chinese approach can be very satisfying. I once had an employee who previously worked for the “Flying pigeon bicycle company.”
That’s the best tea name I’ve ever heard – but did it taste good?!
Yes, very tasty. Not cheap though. It turns out that monkeys don’t work for peanuts.
I had lunch with a prospective client at that very place. After three hours of explaining modern online marketing to her, she got fired the next week, so in effect, we both lost our jobs (and wasted my time).
I’m not saying the tea had anything to do with it, but watch yourself just in case.
Hi Tom, We’ve all had epic meetings with exciting prospective clients only to see them disappear like a Cheshire cat leaving only the smile. It’s part of the perils of the job, I guess. Frustrating though. But at least you had a nice cup of tea while you were doing it. Matthew
It looks like a beautiful space and where one would expect something as eclectic as a monkey tea name to be a part of the scene. You actually inspired me to buy some Iron Goddess of Mercy.
Thanks for the tip on the tea lounge