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Whacky & weird names catching consumer attention

Created by : Jayant Vishnu, Art Director/Sr Art Director, Creative  | 01 04 2010 13:27:00 +0000
Industry : Advertising/PR/MR/EventsFunctional Area : Branding(Sales & Marketing)
Keywords : marketing branding brand names catchy names consumer attention weird names shocking names whacky names
Activity:  530 views;  last activity : 07 06 2010 20:18:09 +0000

Well, the new hype among marketers is that they are perpetually engaged in a fight to win the customer’s attention is by having a whacky, if not outright shocking, name. Weird, bold and engaging names that have nothing to do with the products or the industry are in demand as marketers want consumers to be curios about the brand even before it hit the market.

Take some examples like Phat Phish music recorder, and apparel brands Fried Water, Tantra, Aliva, People Tree and Penny Lane, catching eyeballs first before revealing their product line.

 

  And the trend is catching up fast. And in the coming days we will see new milk brand named ‘Dudu’ and an acidity relief medicine called ‘Buru buru buru buru’ in the market, as these brand names will immediately catch attention as consumers can relate. What do you think guys, will this kind of Whacky & weird names work for a brand? Do share your views

  
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Top Argument
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I think it will work according to me, and mostly their success depends on their honesty. If the brand is honest and works well with the target audience, then the name, in the long run, will be associated with trust, conviction and sincerity that it offers. Interestingly, it’s the start-ups and new young entrepreneurs who bet mostly on different whacky & weird or I should say shocking names, while older players prefer more conventional names, which mostly include the established business names, for their new ventures. Brands with such weird names will not target major masses but will target a particular niche segment.

Going for whacky titles of brands has been prevalent in the western markets for long, Apparel brands such as Mango, Diesel, Gap and FCUK are all international brands which have done really well with these sort of names, its just that they exemplify a new concept, which is to shock to get attention, and use that as the starting point to get customers. And shockingly this is working :)
By Jayant Vishnu, Art Director/Sr Art Director, Creative  01 04 2010 13:29:47 +0000
 
Top Argument
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Well I suppose its the not the wacky names that are getting attention but its the strategy behind the branding which is making them distinguished.

As mentioned, Mango, Diesel etc are not new brands & are popular since decades to site for current trends.

Moreover there are many super brands which don't possess weird names & are named after their founders or other way like Calvin Klein, Gucci, adidas etc.
By ujjval jain, Retail, Retail  01 04 2010 13:54:04 +0000
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Yes, wacky names have been and will be in for some time to come. Bu if you are going to depend on just the name to sell for you, then you are mistaken. Like Ujval said there are great brands like CK, HP, Ducati to name a name a few that have become famous.

It is a trend nowadays to resort to wacky names in a cliched market. Take the example of the telecom market closer home - which saw the launch of a new service provider first from TATA called DOCOMO and then came Uninor. Both dont hold any meaning but created its share of space in the market because of its unique sounding name.

Also from an advertising perspective a wacky name gives you more creativity like the recent DOCOMO commercials that make people sit up and take notice. But their again it is not a formula for instant success. Hutch created a new genre with the creation of the Zoozoo's.

In essence it all depends upon the industry category, the target market and the advertising budget on hand that would dictate whether your brand should have a wacky or a normal name.
By Jaygopal Raghavan, Marketing Manager, Landmark Group  | 01 14 2010 15:51:46 +0000
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I agree with jayant here and Whacky & weird names are making news these days, as Kashif has said Apple, Windows, these brand names are there from very long this is not new, but now Indians are behind this and Indians the way they are creative minded can come up with something really brilliant in this new form of  giving shock to the consumers in the first place.
By Purvi Ghosh, Marketing analyst, Percept Advertising  | 01 06 2010 14:20:12 +0000
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The Best of these Wacky names are, that Generally they are SIMPLE and EASY to Remember. Like all the names Mentioned.
By Kashif Billal, Training & Induction Manager, H&M Hennes & Mauritz  | 01 05 2010 07:48:10 +0000
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yes jayant ji whacky name may workout as the people are ready to try new things.

How the company are going to tap to their advantage will depend upon the quality of product and acceptance by the consumers.
By kasturirangan.r , INSURANCE ADVISOR, Life Insurance Corporation Of India  | 01 05 2010 06:50:16 +0000
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yes whacky & weird names are surely becoming a trend, as a consumer one would recall a name which instantly registers in mind, and marketers are putting everything they have   got on to the table and are coming out with these weird names which are liked by people, and rest if the product is good then no need of advertising at all, the name itself will be a hit with consumers.

Thanks for the referral kashif...
By Darshana Sawant, HR Manager, Leading IT services company  | 01 05 2010 05:30:44 +0000
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whacky and Wierd has been tried and tested and made successful ages ago in the west!! Its just thst Indian marketeers are breaking traditions and are going whacky creative and wierd experimentation :))

The idea is that the BRAND should have the fastest recall be it in terms of the name, utility and whatever else. I am sure to check out BURU BURU and DUDU... GAS ia also an apparel brand.. LEMON TREE is a group of Hotels and BANYAN TREE a SPA... I am sure amused by the wierd and whacky!!
By Makrand Bhave, Marketing & MICE, WIZCRAFT International  | 01 05 2010 05:20:39 +0000
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I also Agree to you, The Examples also include:-

 

  • Apple (Mac)
  • Windows

 
By Kashif Billal, Training & Induction Manager, H&M Hennes & Mauritz  | 01 04 2010 13:49:08 +0000
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I think any whacky names can not catch customers.yes it could take a certain segment of customers.Actually name becomes brand with customer's trust,satisfaction from the product.So any whacky names cant make that for a short while only.
By roumi chatterjee, asst commercial executive, century plyboard india ltd  | 01 06 2010 05:27:47 +0000
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A name becomes a BRAND only when people accept, respect and trust it.  so whether its a whacky one or a normal name doesnt really matter.  Keeping a whacky name may be helpful in getting initial attention to some extent but in longer run, it is only the QUALITY of a product that matters.

I would like to cite APPLE's example only.  No doubt it started off well as a company but then started losing its ground to Microsoft because it couldn't compete with it against Windows.  It even tried experimenting with several other products but got no success.  And if it were not for ipod and then iphone, apple would have lost it completely. 

Point here is just whacky name doesnt help.  Company has to have a good product too and keep the quality level CONSISTENT.

I would also like to cite TATA conglomerate here.  It has gained consumer's trust to such an extent that whatever product it introduces receives undivided trust whether it has whacky name or not doesnt matter.  I have very often heard common people say that " TATA company ka hai to acha hi hoga ".  This is the
trust they command.

Similary MANGO, DIESEL etc have managed quality product all through out and hence get the respect they get.
By Nitin Anand, SAP Consultant, J P Morgan  | 01 05 2010 05:44:23 +0000
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start a business,will hv to think of a catchy, shocking titles,

 some of them r good,call it apt, but ultimately quality of the product matters in the longer.. and dont' make it so wiered/shocking that people cant connect to it.
By Priya Varadan, Independent consultant, Self employed  | 01 04 2010 13:51:29 +0000
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