👋, I’m Kimberly. I’ve been creating obsession-worthy brands for the past fifteen years. And now, I’m giving away my secrets every week in this newsletter.
I had an exciting thing happen this weekend… a name I created for a brand seven years ago suddenly popped up in my newsfeed.
The name was for a restaurant concept that the agency I worked for was developing for Michael Mina. Our team presented Michael with three options, and he chose one.
One of the options he didn’t choose had one of my personal favorite names for a brand ever — so I was thrilled to see that Michael just opened the concept in Los Angeles!
Meet Mother Tongue.
Here was our brand tagline and story:
A New Culinary Dialect
Years, distance, language, and tradition say we are all different. Different colors, sizes, seasons, and smells. The rituals of a region create distinctive, beloved identities that have historically kept people apart. It’s time for a global shift. A cultural movement that celebrates our roots while uniting us together.Welcome to our table where we speak with our own unique accent in a language that everyone can understand. Share a meal with us and share in the universal voice of food.
The resurrection of Mother Tongue got me inspired to write a post about naming, one of the most difficult and most important things you’ll ever do as a brand.
I’ve written about naming before, but there’s always more to say.
This week, I’m getting personal with Mother Tongue: why it is a great name, and what you can learn from it.
Then I’m calling out a bad name — showing you why it won’t necessarily sink your company, but it certainly will cost you.
Here’s what makes Mother Tongue a great name.
#1: It gets your attention right away.
There’s just something about the word tongue that stands out.
And in a sea of names, the one that stands out immediately is doing your brand an immediate favor, no matter what industry you’re in.
#2: It gives you a memorable visual.
Ah yes, the tongue again. When you hear the word tongue, you see a tongue. You can’t help it.
Any time a name gives you a visual reference or inspires you to see a vision of something when you hear it (kind of like when you’re mediating and you visualize a sandy beach), the name becomes immediately more sticky in your brain.
#3: It makes you feel smart.
Because “mother tongue” is a phrase you’ve heard before, you understand it.
The idea of a mother tongue being one's native language is clear, and it’s interesting to think about how that could apply to food. Then, when you dig into the concept of the new culinary dialect, it makes perfect sense.
You’re “in” on the story, and that makes you the clever one.
#4: It gives you an emotional reaction.
The phrase “mother tongue” makes you think of your roots and your homeland. It comes with connotations of warmth and familiarity.
But, it also feels somewhat naughty. There’s an edge to it, that saps the sappiness out and leaves the name feeling crisply modern.
#5: It’s wearable.
One of the tests I like to put brand names to is… would I want to wear it on a sweatshirt or a baseball cap or (god forbid) another tote bag?*
*Please, brands, stop sending us tote bags.
And yes — I can definitely see people walking around with Mother Tongue branded gear.
And here’s why you don’t want a bad name.
Also this weekend, I ran across a campaign from OKX — a brand that claims to be the second biggest crypto exchange by trading volume, serving over 20 million customers globally.
OKX brought in BBDO New York to create a multi-million-dollar campaign where the entire 84-second spot is essentially apologizing for the brand’s name.
I say apologizing because any time you need to tell someone how to spell or pronounce your name or go to lengths to explain the meaning behind it, you’re in effect apologizing for it.
In the ad, a man and a woman see a bus ad for OKX and asks “What is OKX?”
The rest of the ad is spent envisioning different scenarios: maybe it is a science fiction series, a rapper, or a breakfast cereal, among other ideas.
In the end, we learn that OKX is “Your new favorite crypto trading app.”
Now, if OKX had had a better name — even just a good name and not a great name… they could have spent those multi-million dollars on a campaign that told me more about their product and made me trust their brand, rather than speculating on its name.
In conclusion, it’s always a win to put in the time and energy upfront when you’re naming your brand.
You can have a great name, a good name, or even ok name.
But please, never a bad name.
Because a bad name won’t necessarily sink you… but it will cost you. Possibly multi-millions.
Read my last article about brand naming:
These sunglasses are CRAP, and other brilliantly divisive brand names
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About Me
I help early-stage founders create the kind of brands that get customers so obsessed, they’ll do your advertising for you.
Based on my experience founding my own consumer brand, I developed The Branding Sprint—a uniquely collaborative, streamlined, and agile approach to brand creation.
Click here to learn more about The Branding Sprint, or schedule a call with me.