Hello, My Name is Awesome

by Alexandra Watkins

  Trademark screening is the most painful part of the naming process, yet it must be done. Do not skip this step. Protecting your name is critical. Those companies who don’t trademark their name can lose it, which is incredibly costly and embarrassing.

  When you register your name as a trademark, you can stop competitors from using or misappropriating your very same business name and anything that is confusingly similar to it.

  What’s the Big Deal about Having the Same Name?

  Look up your own first and last name on Google or Facebook and see whom you share it with. Chances are, you would not want to be confused with those people. (Especially if you find yourself more attractive than them, which I’m sure you are.) They could be known scam artists, deadbeat dads, or convicted criminals.

  I am horrified that people who type my name into Google Images see a frightful mug shot of a woman with very bad acne and a terrible bleach job who has been arrested twice for second-degree child neglect. If someone hadn’t met me in person, they could be confused and think that was me. Yikes! It’s bad enough to share a first and last name with someone you don’t want to be confused with, but can you imagine sharing your brand name with a company or product that was totally undesirable? You would never want anyone to mistake your brand for that brand. That’s why protecting your name is so important.

  We had to kill a fantastic name we came up with for an Indonesian street food restaurant—Jakarta Jones—when a Google search revealed that a man with the same name had just been arrested a few hours earlier. Luckily we had an equally great runner-up, which is what our client is now using: Rickshaw Republic. (Oops, I forgot to Google “Rick Shaw.”)

  DIY Trademark Searches

  Before you pay to have your names screened professionally, do some initial searching on your own. The easiest way to do this is with Google, looking for other brands with the same or a similar name. (If they are the same or in related areas, take them off your list.) For instance, if you were naming a web design firm, you would want to search for any kind of similarly named business that offered web design. That would include companies engaged in advertising, marketing, branding, social media, and public relations.

  Your next free search step should be at Trademarkia.com, where you can quickly look for similar names that are already registered trademarks. For best results, use the advanced search. I love this website because the interface is very simple and user friendly. Additionally, search the free government trademark database TESS at USPTO.gov. As you can imagine, because it’s a government website, it’s not quite as slick as Trademarkia but is an excellent resource.

  While do-it-yourself searches on Google, Trademarkia, and TESS are no guarantee that your name is available, they will save you time and money by eliminating names that are already in use.

  Professional Trademark Screening Services

  Before you spend thousands of dollars to register your name through an attorney, I suggest you use a professional trademark screening service for preliminary screens, which will save you a lot of money. My go-to firm is Tessera Trademark Screening (tessera.bz). The fee is $100 for the first name screened and $30 for every name thereafter. Tessera performs thorough multi-level trademark-screening research using the following screening tools:

  General and technical dictionaries

  Atlases and geographic dictionaries

  Business directories

  US Federal and US State trademark registers

  International trademark registers

  Online Internet search engines

  Domain names

  Industry databases

  Keep in mind that preliminary trademark screening is insufficient for legal opinion, so your next step is to take the names that survived the preliminary screen to a trademark attorney to undergo a full clearance search.

  I have provided names of reputable trademark attorneys later in this resource section.

  Protect Your Trademark to Prevent Genericide

  Many people tell me that they want their brand name to become so familiar that people use it as a verb, such as Google. Be careful what you wish for. Sometimes well-known names are so familiar to us that they become synonymous with the products themselves and lose their trademark. Words including aspirin, thermos, and escalator were protectable trademarks that met the fate of genericide and became generic words that any competitor can use. Brand names such as Band-Aid, Kleenex, Spandex, Baggies, Xerox, Plexiglas, and Rollerblade have spent millions to stop and prevent others from using their names and tarnishing their reputations.

  Be diligent in protecting your name, as Gerber is about its trademarked ONESIES®, which is commonly misused. The word is not allowed on eBay when describing infant bodysuits unless Gerber makes the item, and both eBay and Gerber are vigilant about it.

  The International Trademark Association provides the following guidelines to avoid genericide:*

  Use the generic name of the goods with the trademark (Q-Tips cotton swabs) (and, if your product is the first entrant, come up with a generic term for the product);

  Give proper notice of a registered trademark to consumers by using either: “Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office” or “Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.” or the letter R enclosed within a circle, ®. 15 U.S.C. § 1111. For an unregistered mark, use TM;

  Distinguish the trademark from surrounding text by capitalizing the trademark, using a distinctive typeface, or at the very least, capitalizing the first letter of the trademark;

  Use the trademark as an adjective (KLEENEX tissues);

  Do not use the trademark as a noun (KLEENEX);

  Do not use the trademark in the plural (incorrect: buy two DR. PEPPERS; correct: buy two DR. PEPPER soda beverages);

  Do not use the trademark as a verb (incorrect—XEROX the document; correct—make a copy using a XEROX copier);

  Do not abbreviate the trademark or alter it in any way (use H&M and not H and M);

  Use the trademark on a line of products rather than a single product (NIKE, used on sneakers and clothing);

  Object to others’ misuse of the trademark; and

  Educate the public, including individuals within the trademark owner’s organization, distributors, dealers, and consumers, to ensure proper usage of the trademark. Misuse often occurs due to lack of education, not wrongful intent.

  You can find much more about trademark law at USPTO.gov.

  Logo & Identity Design

  A professionally designed logo and identity materials will bring your name to life and add credibility to your name. That’s why investing in a well-planned identity system from the start is important to the long-term success of your brand. Please do not try to save money by crowdsourcing the design of your logo or getting someone to do it cheap or free. You get what you pay for, and this is not something you should ever skimp on. Nothing cheapens a name like poor design.

  More than just a logo, visual design includes colors, typography, and every element of your brand that will need visual design. This can consist of your

  Website & app design

  Social media sites

  Presentations

  Printed materials

  Packaging

  Business cards

  Digital letterhead

  Signage

  Tradeshow booth design

  T-shirts & promotional items

  Strong Visual Branding Builds Buzz

  Boxbee is an urban storage company that is experiencing the positive effects of good visual design. They recently dropped off some boxes for me. Instead of generic gray crates, these were bright yellow with the Boxbee logo stamped on the sides. When their delivery guys are wheeling a dolly of yellow boxes down the street, people stop to talk to them because the boxes catch their attention. And lots of people wave when they see the fun buzzing bee graphics on the delivery van.

  I’ve listed a few design firms on the Service Providers page of the Resources section and hope you will consider using one of them. I
f you choose to find your own designer, keep in mind that, just as with naming, identity design is highly specialized and therefore requires a specialist. While a company may say it can do the job, you want the expertise to execute a visually striking identity program. So be cautious when entrusting your work to a web designer, printing company (e.g., Vista Print), or even a naming firm. (Would you want a podiatrist to perform heart surgery on you? Same thing.) Hire a professional design firm or graphic designer who has a portfolio full of beautifully cohesive identity systems, not just a few logos.

  Image is everything.

  Service Providers

  None of these companies have paid me a fee or bribed me with cupcakes to be listed here.

  TRADEMARK SCREENING

  Tessera.bz

  VanekLaw.com

  COPYWRITERS

  GinaColada.com

  AbbyWords.com

  TRADEMARK FIRMS

  BedrockSF.com

  OlinerLaw.com

  SOCIAL MEDIA

  JeffBullas.com

  SocialAna.com

  TRANSLATION SERVICES

  TravelingBrand.com

  BrandedTranslations.com

  PRESENTATION DESIGN

  WeAreVisual.com

  BigFishPresentations.com

  BRAND IDENTIT Y FIRMS

  StudioMoon.com

  JustCreative.com

  WEB/DIGITAL DESIGN

  GoodDogDesign.com

  ShiriDesignStudio.com

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I am grateful to the many people who believed in me throughout my career and made this book come together.

  I owe my deepest gratitude to my awesome mother, Joan Casale. Mom, I hit the genetic jackpot of creativity because of you. Thank you for letting me express my creative side from a young age and not freaking out when I painted my bedroom Pepto-Bismol pink. Thank you for supporting every risk I have ever taken and for being my best role model, biggest cheerleader, unwavering supporter, and loyal friend. You have been a tremendous part of this book. I so appreciate your insightful ideas, creative contributions, and eagle-eyed proofreading. I am so lucky to have you as my mom, and I am proud to be your daughter. Lastly, thanks for giving me the awesome name of Alexandra, forty years before it became trendy.

  Dad, thank you for your good genes, too. I inherited your business acumen and wish you could be here to share in my successes. Thank you for inspiring me to be a fearless traveler and for accompanying me in spirit on so many journeys around the world. You are forever in my heart and carry-on bag.

  Steve Piersanti and the hard-working team at Berrett-Kohler Publishers—I am honored to be one of your authors. Thank you for making this process so fun and painless. I am especially grateful to Grace Ellen Miller, BK sales and marketing assistant, who discovered me while she was an intern, and to BK’s editorial managing director, Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, who pushed me to write a book—something I never wanted to do before. Thank you for taking me under your wing and being a terrific mentor and motivator. Kat Engh, Kristen Franz, and Michael Crowley were also a dream to work with and I am so appreciative for all of the personal attention they gave me.

  Thanks to the “dynamic duo,” David Peattie and copyeditor Tanya Grove of BookMatters — I am grateful for your expertise and attention to detail —you truly live up to the name of your company.

  My book reviewers, Kendra Armer, Pam Gordon, Jess Bruner, and Jenny Williams, gave me invaluable feedback. And my outside book advisors Andy Core, Tim Grahl, Pat Hanlon, and Ana Lucia Novak generously shared their collective wisdom with me. I’m also grateful for the help of Jane Poynter, Sophie-Charlotte Moatti, Joe Robinson, Cathy Bennett, Debbie Irwin, and Jennifer Strongin.

  I could not have written a book and simultaneously kept my business running without an amazing team alongside me. Gina Sorrel, thank you for making every day at Eat My Words a piece of cake for the past seven years. I value our friendship as much as your talent and tenacity as our associate creative director. Major props to my rock-star namers: Ryan “Darth Namer” Parks, Jake Abrahamson, Katie Mills, Caroline Leavitt, Natalie Sanderson, and Emily Smith.

  Of course there would not be a book at all if it weren’t for my countless cool clients. Thank you for entrusting me to name your “babies,” letting me share your stories, and for paying for my vacations.

  Tracy Moon of StudioMoon first taught me the business of naming and identity design—thank you for the countless favors you have done for me, including designing the cover of this book. You are an amazing designer, teacher, and friend.

  I am lucky to have the encouragement of so many people with unwavering faith in me: Victoria Watkins, Veronica Casale, Carol Garcia, George Landau, Gretchen Sunderland, Ed Rice, Marcia Kadanoff, Cindy Lee, Kris Bleything, Ron Werthmann, Jim Fox, Terry Joyce, Blake Middleton, Ellen Leanse, Nell Merlino, my fellow Make Mine a Million awardees. Thank you for being on my cheerleading squad.

  Shout-outs to my fellow naming professionals who welcomed me into the flock and have generously shared your knowledge and experiences: Anthony Shore, Steve Manning, Mark Gunnion, Nancy Friedman, Phil Davis, Steve Cecil, Deborah Schatten, and Amy Sherman. And my team of trademark sharks: Steve Price, Angela Wilcox, Leila Banijamali, and Liz Olaner—thanks for your help and legal expertise.

  Dan and Chip Heath, thank you for writing “Made to Stick,” inspiring the SMILE & SCRATCH Test, and being a fan of Eat My Words since the beginning.

  Many other authors and business leaders have influenced me, including Richard Branson, Donny Deutsch, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavac, Lori Greiner, Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Pink, Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Scott Stratten, and Tom Rath. Thank you for your words of wisdom.

  Props to the best Head Scratcher hunter ever, Robin Wolaner, and everyone who has ever sent me a bad name, fantastic name, or something funny or crazy to Tweet or put on our Facebook page. Good looking out.

  Finally, thank you to everyone who reads this book. You are awesome.

  Eat My Words

  161 Gilbert Street, Loft 3

  San Francisco CA 94103

  Tel: (415) 552-7741

  eatmywords.com

  INDEX

  Acronyms, 37

  Alphanumeric brain-bender names, 33. See also

  Numbers embedded in name Amazon.com, 6–7

  Andreotta, Nancy, 30

  Annoying names, 28–30

  Audience, names that resonate with, 8–9

  Backward, names spelled, 38

  Bennett, Cathy, 37

  Bezos, Jeff, 6

  Book titles, 66

  Brainstorming names, 56

  process of, 58–59

  the right way to brainstorm, 57–58

  using the Internet for, 59–67

  the wrong way to brainstorm, 56–57

  Brand name(s), 67–68. See also specific topics

  naming company after yourself, 9–10

  qualities of a super-sticky, 6–19

  rules for reviewing, 69–72

  self-assessment tool for evaluating, 77

  Capital letters, names spelled with, 36

  Changing your brand name cons of, 75

  examples of successful name changes, 75–76

  pros of, 75

  Clichés, good, 64

  Coined names, clunky, 29

  Company name used as product name, 27

  Competitor names, names similar to. See Copycat names

  Copycat names, 24

  Copycat rule, 24–25

  exception to, 25–26

  Copycat trends to avoid, 25

  Country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), 47

  Creative brief, 7, 50–51

  having it handy, 58

  sample, 51–55

  Creative phrase for a domain name, using a, 43–44

  Curse of knowledge, 32–35

  examples of names with, 34

  names cursed in a foreign language, 33–34

  Descriptive names, 30–31

  that
make sense, 31

  Dictionaries, 63

  Dog food names, imagery in, 12

  Domain extensions, obscure, 47

  Domain name secrets, 44–46

  Domain name(s), 39–41

  adding a word or two to one’s desired, 41

  bad, 40–41

  cheap, 40–44

  don’t need key words, 45

  Google eliminates the problem of, 40

  long, 45–46

  silly ideas to steer clear of, 46–49

  strategies to get good, 41

  Eat My Dust, 65

  Eat My Words (www.eatmy words.com), 1, 14, 18, 33, 44, 51, 89–92

  Emotion

  moves people, 17

  used to increase sales, 17–18

  Emotional names, examples of, 19

  Evoking something about your brand, suggestive names, 6–7

  Facebook, 40

  Family, the right name creates a, 14–15

  Film titles, 65

  Fitzpatrick, Shari, 10–11

  Focus groups, 72

  Forced names frustrate customers, 28

  Genericide, protecting your trademark to prevent, 80

  guidelines for, 80–81

  Glossaries of terms, 61–63

  Google search, 40

  Googlestorming, 64–65

  Grammatically challenged names, 30

  Heath, Chip, 32

  Heath, Dan, 32

  Hogarth, Robin, 32

  Hoy, Lynette, 13, 74

  Identity design, 82–83

  Imagery, 11–12. See also Visual branding

  names with, 12

  supercharging your imagination with images, 61

  Initials don’t make good names, 30

  Insiders, names understood only by, 32–35

  Internet. See also Domain name(s); specific topics

  finding names on the, 59–67

  iTunes, 66–67

  Kachele, Colleen, 30

  Legs, names with, 13–16

  can mean money, 16