Igor

Inside Landor’s Company & Product Naming Process

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Landor Founder, Walter Landor, Details The Agency’s Naming Process:

Walter’s wise words are not just arcane, academic theory; Landor’s process produces results:

From Landor’s website, we’re not sure if this is writing or if it’s just typing: “We started from a strategic platform, using a prototypical process involving the client in building the creative idea with an iterative journey approach. Expressing the values of the new banking paradigm, we then gave shape to the clients’ desires by translating them into infinite opportunities.” [Full case study]

From Landor’s website: “The new name, Enactus, was initially inspired by the idea of compounding “Entrepreneurial Action,” but it was created to transcend those roots and encompass the strong emotion that the brand evokes. The name encapsulates the intricate balance between youthful energy and a sophisticated stature that defines the organization.” [Full Case Study Landor understandably removed this naming work from their site]

 

 

“Tan” suggests dominance:
From Landor’s website: “Our Hamburg and Asia Pacific offices collaborated on the name Magotan, alluding to the Latin word magnus and the kingly color magenta; tan suggests dominance…” [Full Case Study Landor understandably removed this naming work from their site]

 


From Landor’s website: “Landor developed the name Centravis, which directly communicates the central positioning of the brand as combining the best of all worlds. The suffix “vis” means force, or power in Latin, and underlines the ambitious and growth-oriented business strategy…” [Full Case Study Landor understandably removed this naming work from their site]

 

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More on the misspent journey of Blandor’s life.

How To Create Names Like Facebook, Instagram & Snapchat

Posted on by igor

 

Instagram and Snapchat are identical constructions. Each simply substitutes new words from an accepted utility name: Instant Message. Insta & Snap are synonyms for Instant, and Gram & Chat are substitutes for Message.

Since Instant Message is already a universally adopted name, you know that Instagram and Snapchat will be accepted as well. If what you’re naming doesn’t map to a two-word generic, break it down into one first.

You can do this by re-purposing an unrelated, well-known compound word, as in Apple’s Wi-Fi base station being called “Airport” – a port accessed through the air. It’s easy to remember and readily embraced because everyone knows the word Airport already.

Proposing a name like Airport to a committee will be met with immediate pushback such as, “Everyone hates the experience of an airport” or, “Last time I was there they cancelled my flight, I had to sleep on the floor and I missed my child’s birthday” or “The first thing I think of is stress, long lines and bad service”- as if any of this will make the name less successful, which of course it doesn’t.

As soon as the name Airport is applied to a Wi-Fi device the primary definition disappears, your audience puts the clever double meaning together in their heads in an “aha!” moment, and they smile at the warmth & humanity you’ve brought to the game. Airport contains all of the ingredients of an unforgettable, best of breed name.

Because this simple concept is inherently difficult for bureaucracies, names like Airport are rare indeed – but they do happen.