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Zune is tune with a Z

Microsoft’s “Zune” name is clearly “tune” with a “z”. But how much can you charge for that? Some naming companies are at their most creative when reverse engineering rationale for their creations. Landor can shovel pretty fast, but nobody can touch Lexicon.

From the San Francisco Chronicle, we give you the rationale behind the name “Zune”. Our comments in bold:

So Microsoft has come out with its iPod killer, er, competitor, the Zune. That raises a question: Why did they call it Zune?.

…”Additionally, the Lexicon Research Network of 60 Ph.D. linguists in 39 countries [“Zune” is “tune” with a “z”] was tapped to provide insights into the latest brands in music and video entertainment and to give us suggestions as to words, word parts, sounds and metaphors that might be applied to a ‘next generation entertainment system,’” Placek said…

…Because the device is small, Placek said, it needed a small name. Lexicon considered 3,500 candidates with seven or fewer letters. And sometimes rhymes work best: “Zune’s similar sound to ‘Tunes’ [“Zune” is “tune” with a “z”] made a great connection for us,” Placek said.

Lexicon also likes the buzz Zune gets from “z,” and that it’s a fun-sounding name [“Zune” is “tune” with a “z”] …

…Each has its own way of looking modern. IPod’s i- prefix links it to the Internet generation, while Zune is a newly coined word. Both are structurally simple. iPod is made of two elements, the prefix plus a common 3-letter word, adding up to a grand total of four letters. Zune has four letters also, is easy to pronounce, and is only one syllable long, comparing well even to iPod’s two syllables [“Zune” is “tune” with a “z”] …

Zune’s focus is liveliness and youth. The buzz of the sound “z” makes it one of the most energetic in the language. Lexicon’s studies of sound symbolism, conducted with hundreds of people in a variety of languages, have shown that word-initial “z” scores very high for communicating attributes like “lively,” “daring,” and “fast.” [“Zune” is “tune” with a “z”]

The letter z’s current popularity in respellings like “boyz” and “antz” lends a youthful irreverence. Even though it isn’t obviously derived from any real word, Zune could pass for a casual abbreviation, in the same way that ‘zza stood in for pizza with some people 10 years or so ago. Zune is clearly a fun kind of name.

[A slice of ‘zza?? wha..? “Zune” is “tune” with a “z” ]

The sounds of Zune also make a connection with music. After the highly audible z is the vowel u, made with the lips pursed as if one were whistling. The name ends with a musical ring, from the sound n. [“U” symbolizes whistling? Oh right, that’s why Igor named the other Microsoft music thingy Urge. Sorry, one forgets. But who can question the musicality of the letter “n” ? Is that an “n” sharp or flat?]

Give Lexicon credit, they are keeping a straight face throughout. Not easy.

Read more rationale behind Zune.

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