It may be Project QAQ-450² in-house. Lock the doors and keep it there. Out in the world, it’ll be toast. When customers can’t remember a product name, attach a mind-picture to it, or even pronounce it, they’re not likely to be talking about it either.

Of course, we can all name the exceptions. Ever hear of Xerox? But it takes serious advertising dollars to turn a less-than-familiar collection of letters into an industry colossus. Consider the resources Nike expended to teach the world’s runners that it didn’t rhyme with “hike.”

For both business-to-business and consumer marketers, a good product name is like (more…)