CNN Money reports the Hummer is headed to the scrap heap. The Hummer brand reigned supreme in better days where the economy was going strong and gas prices were low. The Hummer H2 was an extremely popular SUV with wide appeal from offroading enthusiasts, businesspeople, yuppies, and yes, even soccer moms. The brand was going strong for years, and Hummer was reinvented with the smaller, more compact H3. 

We've been very fond of the Hummer brand name and its ability to capture a wide base of loyal customers. There were rumors the brand might be sold off to a foreign car company, although now it appears to be going to the grave. We'll miss you, Hummer. You were an indicator of America's strong economy and love affair with massive, tank-like vehicles. We're sorry to say the Hummer brand name will be no more.

Did you know BrandClarity is an international branding company and has facilitated the product naming of many national car brands? Learn more about our verbal branding services.

Brier Dudley from the Seattle Times reports Comcast is rebrandingtheir services under the name Xfinity. Brier is keen to note that while this name implies "infinity", Comcast has recently imposed limits on customers' bandwidth.

It appears that Comcast is testing the new product naming to shake off the negative connotations attributed to their quality of service. Comcast has been given credit for their presence on Twitter, and they seem to be placing a higher value on customer service.

So, what do you think of Comcast's new brand name? Would you name it something else if given a chance? Drop us a line in the comments!

Corporate America devotes much time and resources to product naming and company names.

At it’s very best, a corporate or brand name creates its own buzz, with the name driving product demand.

The traditional methods are little more than organized brainstorming. A group of creative marketing managers and consultants sit in a meeting room with white boards, and scribble whatever comes into their heads. Then they vote on the top names that seem to make the most sense. A list of finalist names is submitted to company executives to choose the top one or two. The top one or two names are run through legal to identify any legal issues and see if anyone else is using it.

While this is the popular approach in corporate America, there are some basic problems with the traditional model of branding.

1. Will customers “get it”?
   
2. Does the name convey the same message to customers as it did to the company?
   
3. How does the name translate to other cultures?
   
4. How does the name translate to other languages and countries?

There’s got to be a better way. BrandClarity believes there are more effective ways to address these issues:

1. Will customers “Get it”? BrandClarity mixes the art of name selection with the science of market research. BrandClarity uses focus groups at multiple stages of verbal brand development to identify market insights into a brand name. BrandClarity’s MarketVise service polls potential customers to give feedback on brand names, assuring that a chosen name conveys the same meaning to consumers and clients as it does to company management.
   
   
2. Does the name convey the same message to customers as it did to the company? BrandClarity delivers legally viable, focus group researched, linguistically fitting names which match our client’s intended positioning. Our behavioral research enables clients to gain deep insight into consumer motivations.
   
   
3. How does the name translate to other cultures? BrandClarity’s market research extends to cultural name research, polling customers from specific cultural groups, to ascertain that the client’s intended verbal branding message is clear to consumers of different backgrounds.
   
   
4. How does the name translate to other languages and countries? Today’s brands aren’t just local to America – many of today’s brands speak to an international audience. BrandClarity has international teams with multiple language expertise, to conduct naming market research in many different international markets, in many different languages. For example, considering all the countries that use different dialects of Spanish, BrandClarity's expertise can assure a consistent brand message is delivered in America, Spain, Mexico, and Argentina. International and multi-language market research can help companies avoid naming disasters (Ex: branding their next automobile Nova, without realizing the name means “doesn’t go” in Spanish).

Since 1995 BrandClarity has specialized in shopper insights and strategic brand development. Our expertise is focused on specific core elements of building strong brands: target market research, verbal branding and visual branding. Today’s rapidly changing business environment requires that companies keep their finger firmly planted on the pulse of the market. As an international brand consulting firm, BrandClarity focuses on the principle that your target market controls your brand.

When developing a new product or brand, there's only one opportunity for the perfect trade name. MarketVise is a methodology that guarantees the delivery of a legally viable, linguistically appropriate, market endorsed trade name that fits the brand positioning.

There are four key areas that need to be addressed within a trade name development process:

1. Target Market Endorsement
   To be effective, a new trade name must be endorsed by the target market. To ensure that trade name candidates are endorsed by your target market, BrandClarity conducts two waves of formal market research at an intermediate and final stage.
   
   
2. Internal Subjectivity
   Verbal brand development is a very subjective process. The more people involved, the more opinions. Since BrandClarity test names with the target market multiple times, your result will be market endorsed. When a potential trade name scores well with your customer, internal opinions tend to shift towards support of customer perferred names. In addition, BrandClarity provides a final project report showing the logical progression of your project. This arms our clients with the necessary data to support or defend their decisions.
   
   
3. Linguistic Appropriateness
   New trade names must not have a derogatory meaning in a foreign language. BrandClarity has a global network of linguists who are indigenous to the countries evaluated. We use multiple linguists per dialect which assures linguistic acceptability.
   
   
4. Legal Availability
   The greatest trade name in the world is useless if not legally available. BrandClarity has been conducting legal screening since the early 1990s. We conduct online domestic and international legal prescreening and commonlaw searches on every name candidate prior to client submission. Where possible BrandClarity works in tandem with a client's legal team to make trademark availability screening even more seamless.

Because BrandClarity has implemented so many safeguards into our MarkeVise verbal brand development process, we guarantee the delivery of a legally viable, linguistically appropriate, market endorsed trade name that fits your positioning. Don't take it from us. Read what our clients have said about our work.

We also offer the Creative JumpStart, our per list creative service, which is a microcosm of the MarketVise methodology. Creative JumpStart is ideal for projects with smaller budgets or tight timelines.

Some of our clients include: Pepsi-Cola, FedEx, YUM Brands, AT&T, Sony, Clorox, Amgen, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson. View a complete client list.

BUSH’s wanted each product name to remind consumers of each products specific taste. BrandClarity used its Marketvise branding methodology to match consumer taste tests with a variety of potential product names.

BrandClarity’s verbal brand development strategy recommended the following product names as a result of this extensive consumer name research, capturing the essence of each product’s taste:

1. Steakhouse Recipe – An authentic blend of beans and brown sugar simmered in a robust steak sauce
2. Smokehouse Tradition – Tender beans simmered in a sweet and smoky sauce
3. Southern Pit Barbecue – Slow cooked beans in a rich barbecue sauce for an authentic grilled flavor you could only get in the South, until now
4. Bourbon and Brown Sugar – Robust beans with a touch of natural bourbon flavor that adds just the right sweetness

BrandClarity’s development methodology for BUSH’s encompassed the essential product name elements, matched to the sensory attributes of the product itself, to develop strong verbal branding.