There has been much speculation and pontification on whence the name Xfinity came, but look no further than the looming Comcast-NBC merger. Whilst kicking the NBC tires, surely even a beast as slow-witted as Comcast fumbled across the NBC property ‘The Office”.
The Dunder Mifflin logo sports an infinity symbol
Xfinity is meant to signal Comcast’s foray into the future of high tech possibilities, while at Dunder Mifflin, “Infinity” is the name of the internal initiative to bring technology to the failing paper company.
Why would the comedy writers of “The Office” chose the name “Dunder Mifflin Infinity” for the high tech effort? Because it is silly, obvious, pitiful and ridiculous, in keeping with ambiance of the show.
In the second episode of the fourth season titled “Dunder Mifflin Infinity”, regional manager Michael Scott best summed up the idea of “Infinity” (or Xfinity, for that matter):
“Everyone always wants new things. Everybody likes new inventions, new technology. People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections. And computers are about trying to murder you in a lake. And to me, the choice is easy.”
Burger King has released a gut-busting seven-patty Whopper to mark the release of Windows 7. In what may be the most bizarre cross-promotional campaign ever, Microsoft linked up with the fast-food chain to create the ‘Windows 7 Whopper.’
I guess they figure anyone dumb enough to eat this will also buy Windows 7.
I personally blame this cover art for a youthful indiscretion of mine at a Boy Scout Jamboree in the ’70s, but that’s a post for a different day. What say we send this to the real tea baggers, give them something to rant about?
Are your company or product name brainstorming attempts long on storm and short on brains? Wordlab is ready to help you name whatever needs naming — most have very low mileage, are hardly ever driven during the week, and are used only sparingly on weekends to scan refrigerator contents and such. Our collection of brains can be picked through in the forums belonging to the Wordlab Groups, where you’ll find lots of free for naming and branding brainstorming fun. Jump in and pick the brains!
Tips for picking a brain:
1. Do not pick if the skin is too green–it’s not ripe yet.
2. The brain should be viscous and phlegmatic, yet hold up to a good thumping. Not too firm, not too soft.
3. The end that was twisted from the brain stem should be pliable when you poke your thumb through the outer membrane. If you can’t break the membrane with your fingernail, the brain was picked prematurely.
4. Smell is the most reliable indicator of freshness.
The viable bit of warm and snuggly insurance company AIG has been spun-off and dubbed “Chartis”. A bad name? Well, yes. But that is just what they needed. Sometimes a terrible name is the perfect name. In today’s Insurance Journal, a so-called naming expert spouts off:
According to AIG, Chartis derives from the Greek word for map, which the company said underscores the company’s 90-year history as a global insurance pioneer.
While AIG is apparently not alone in liking the name, is Chartis a name to remember?
Perhaps not, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
One naming expert says the new corporate moniker is neither memorable nor snappy — and in that regard the name Chartis is perfect for what AIG wants to do, which is to distance itself from its old company and not draw a lot of attention to itself while doing so.
“It’s the kind of name that’s in one ear and out the other,” said Steven Manning, managing director for Igor, a well-known international naming and branding agency based in San Francisco. “It blends into the woodwork, which is just what the assignment was.”
Even the logo, a compass, is predictable, Manning noted.
Manning likened the move to Enron’s adopting Prisma Energy and Phillip Morris choosing Altria.
“It’s about breaking the association with AIG, like going into witness protection,” he said.
Chartis Insurance is using www.chartisinsurance.com for its Web site. Chartis Group uses chartis.com and chartisgroup.com.
Chartis Insurance, headquartered in New York, of course, has quite a head start on other companies picking a name. It includes the profitable AIG/AIU Commercial Insurance, Foreign General Insurance and Private Client Group operations. It had a combined statutory surplus of $32.1 billion worldwide at year-end 2008 and more than 40 million clients around the globe.
AIG/AIU hopes that the financially strong Chartis will be recognized for its success apart from the AIG name, which has been tainted by actions out of its London financial products unit that eventually resulted in a U.S. federal government bailout. The P/C units now being branded as Chartis did not get into trouble and did not require bailout funds.
As we gleefully pranced and flounced about, celebrating the 250 thousandth download of the Igor Naming Guide; we got a complaint. At 115 pages, the ultimate free, how-to resource for naming companies and products, had gotten too long.
Having nothing better to do, we responded. The naming guide is now available in two different lengths: soul-crushing (115 pages) and moderately-irritating (26 pages).
In what has become a recurring skit of rebranding theater, Microsoft is yet again relaunching its search service with a new name. This time around, until it is swept aside unceremoniously in a couple years, the name is Bing.
In case you need a reminder of the history of Microsoft search names, here it is: Originally called MSN Search, Microsoft rebranded their search service as Windows Live Search. Eventually, that clunker was shortened to the generic Live Search. Now, apparently realizing that “live” and “search” are both basic expectations all users have of any search engine, MS is changing the name yet again to Bing.
Why Bing? Obviously we needed a better name [not great, just "better"], says Ballmer. “We needed a name that says this is all about search [if that's the case, doesn't 'Live Search' say that more directly than 'Bing'?].” Ballmer doesn’t seem to really know. “I’m not the creative guy, here…short mattered [short is the new (sch)long?]…people like to ‘verb up’ [every day before work, and then a quick shower]…works globally, doesn’t have negative connotations [other than this, anyway].” Walt: So everyone is going to walk out of here and say “Bing me”? [And 'Bing off' and 'Go Bing yourself'.] Clearly that’s Ballmer’s hope. “This is a very important step…it’s not a substitute for innovation, but we need to build brand equity in addition to technology equity.” [The eureka moment: brands matter! Take that Apple and Google -- we're onto your game!]
Was securing the trademark problematic? Ballmer says there were a few challenges [Bing & Bong?]. Bing Crosby, apparently, was not an issue [because he's dead?]. In any case, Ballmer seems to enjoy saying the word of his new search service. Maybe Microsoft should consider a new name for Zune. “Zing”?
…Walt circles back and notes that Ask spent an enormous amount of money on a rebranding campaign that ultimately failed despite some good buzz. How much money is Microsoft dedicating to the Bing branding campaign? “Lots,” says Ballmer. “When I approved the budget, I gulped, and a gulp in a $60 billion company, well, that’s a big gulp.” [Ahh, here's the strategy: name it anything and then dump giant Balmergulps full of cash into advertising it.]
Of course in the age of Googling, Twittering and Facebooking, everybody, even Microsoft, has realized the value of “verbing up” your name. (As an aside, can you imagine saying this: “Hey, you want to catch a movie tonight?” “Sorry, I’d love to, but I’ll be busy Microsofting all night long.” Maybe they can use that as a verb that means: “to reinstall Windows after the computer has crashed and burned”.)
Unfortunately, Microsoft seems to be grasping at straws with this one (or reaching for a bowl of bing cherries?), and when you consider that the word ping has evolved from a networking term to a more general usage meaning ‘communication’ (“I’ll ping you later with the directions to the party.”), it begins to seem like maybe, just maybe, the entire rationale for this new name was, simply, Bing is ‘ping’ with a ‘B’. If that strategy seems sickeningly familiar to you, perhaps it’s because we pointed out here a couple years ago when Microsoft launched Zune, named by Lexicon Branding, that no matter what Lexicon’s convoluted rationalization of the thinking behind the name Zune, it boiled down to Zune is ‘tune’ with a ‘Z’.
And for the original bit of rebranding humor, here’s Eric Idle reciting an old bit he did with Monty Python, Rock Notes, that neatly summarizes the process Microsoft went through to rename its search service…again:
Yesterday, Landor distanced itself from the notion that they came up with the new SyFy name:
As reported in last week’s New York Times, the Sci Fi Channel, a division of NBC Universal, introduced its new name and identity, Syfy, at upfront presentations in New York. The announcement got a lot of attention, and although the New York Times story seemingly gave Landor credit for the work—we can’t take it—because we didn’t do it.
We had hoped the name SyFy was another in a series of mysterious incidents in which Landor seemingly takes pity on a client by doing as little harm as possible (except the financial bit).
For example, Landor was actually payed to perform the following name “changes”:
US Air –> US Airways
Federal Express –> FedEx
SciFi –> SyFy (or so it seemed)
Missing from the mea non-culpa on Landor’s blog is any mention of Landor’s involvement in SyFy’s new unimaginative, lesser tagline, “Imagine Greater”. That has to be the work of the beast.
Yes, the really funny part is that Landor now has a blog; kicking, hissing and spitting their way into the year 2009. Hey, maybe they just heard “that blogs are all the buzz these days”. Information flows slowly through those clogged arteries…
Let’s see how long they can keep it up. Should be gripping stuff.
The “Landor blog deathwatch” has begun.
UPDATE: MARCH 29:. The tale was propelled this weekend by outlets as disparate as The New York Post and The Huffington Post. Instead of just letting this story fade, Landor used its new found blogging power to keep the story alive. All they are accomplishing is driving home the fact that they were paid to rename the channel, but the client didn’t care for any of their ideas.
This sort of tin-eared-ham-handedness is exactly why we figured Landor never had a blog, and why it won’t last. Perhaps they should get a firm with communication skills to supervise their blog.
Many consider No Child Left Behind to be “the most negative brand in America.” Well, perhaps second most negative, after “Bush/Cheney”. So with sanity restored to the White House, it’s time to change this law, beginning with the changing of its Orwellian name.
According to a story in today’s New York Times, Rename Law? No Wisecrack Is Left Behind, the new Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, says of the despised Act, “Let’s rebrand it,” and “give it a new name.” The article provides a nice summary on how this wretched Act got its name (Bush trademark infringement, natch), and new efforts to change the Act and its name.
Over on the Eduwonk.com blog, you can compete in a rename-the-law contest and offer your own serious or snarky suggestions. Some examples of the latter include:
Mental Asset Recovery Plan
The All American Children Are Above Average Act (AACAAAA)
Double Back Around to Pick Up the Children We Left Behind Act
No Crony Left Behind
The Act of Contrition
Not Even We Think This Will Work Act
Act to Help Children Read Gooder
No Child’s Behind Left
Mega-sized Multiple Choice Exam Act
No Child Left Untested
No Excuse Left Behind
Teach to the Test Act
The Child-Propulsion Act
Another Administration, Another Education Act Act
The Mess Bush Left Behind
Texas Two-Step & Textbook Lobby Act
The Unfunded Mandates Statistically Impossible Goals Act
No Child Left a Dime
Testing Companies Financial Enrichment Act
No School Left Standing
Don’t Task, Don’t Fail Act
DADA: Dumb America Down Act
The Sarah Palin Slipped Through the Cracks Literacy Act
If You Are Smarter Than a Bush You Pass Act
Rearranging the Deck Chairs Act
Reach Out And Test Someone Act
SEA — Standardize Everything Act
The Voucher-Readiness Act
The Teacher Held Hostage Act
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Act
The Consumers of Tomorrow Act
Leave No Inner Child Behind
Disenfranchisement Panacea Act (DPA)
No Child Gets Ahead
Could We Start Again Please Act
Dog Ate My Homework Act
For the sake of simplicity, I like the entry by Joe Williams: “It should be named Caitlin. Everybody seems to be naming things Caitlin these days. Or Caleb.” Here here!
Timed with today’s inauguration, Bush Street signs in San Francisco were changed to Obama down the entire length of Bush Street from Presidio to Battery. Photo gallery and story at Laughing Squid.
Sprint and Clearwire closed their $14.5 billion WiMax joint venture last Friday. Sprint is contributing wireless airwaves to the venture, but not the impossible to say brand name they previously came up with: Xohm.
The new name for this next-generation (4G) nationwide mobile broadband network, aka WiMax, is much clearer and to the point than Xohm: Clear. The company behind it will retain the Clearwire name.
In what has become a recurring skit of rebranding theater, Microsoft is yet again relaunching its search service with a new name. This time around, until it is swept aside unceremoniously in a couple years, the name is Bing.
