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As both a fan of your magazine and a branding expert,
I pay particularly close attention to those articles that impact
naming trends and branding issues.
I was therefore astounded to read Chekitan S. Dev's
"No-brainer Cyber Branding" article (August 8, 2000). While eight
of Dev's rules are sound advice, two of his rules lead marketers
down a branding road that will end in anonymity!
Rule 1: "Tell the Customer What you Do" is off-base
in exalting the generic dot.com names as compelling brand names.
Generic named companies, such as wine.com and pets.com do not make
great brand names for a host of reasons:
1) We are a country enraptured with brands - We
proudly display the logos of Prada, Skechers, and Nike to announce
to the world that we identify with their brand values. How can generic.com
ever create an ownable personality that creates an emotional bond
with its customers?
2) We have learned from a very young age that generics
are always inferior - Would you rather have a cookie or an Oreo?
3) Generics are more susceptible than brand names
to subterfuge - In other words, competitors can easily surround
a generic.com with similar sounding and spelling names with very
little recourse. There is ebeauty.com, ibeauty.com and of course,
the notorious example of etoys.com claiming infringement from etoy.com.
Another rule hawking poor advice is Rule 9: "Be
sure it is available" (referring to the domain address). It is true
that branding is perhaps cheaper and easier if the domain name is
readily available, however, many successful businesses have been
built upon purchased domains from MVP.com to gooey.com. If a potential
domain name is taken, the negotiation dance begins. While we have
been inundated with stories of domain names selling for astronomical
prices, the right negotiator can secure your ideal domain name at
the right price vs. forcing you back to the drawing board.
If the true goal of branding is to build loyalty,
create an emotional bond, increase word of mouth advertising, and
command market share, then marketers deserve to know the correct
rules of the road.
by Elizabeth J. Goodgold
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