03.17
It's been un-geekified
Landor has renamed the Sci Fi Channel. The new name? “Syfy.” I assume it’s homophonic with “SciFi.” Reasons for the name change, according to a TV Week article and a few blog posts, include:
- A desire to create a “more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand.” – Dave Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel
- Disassociate the channel with “geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that.” – TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network
- Make the name more “ownable,” since there are “hundreds of sci-fi Web sites and sci-fi publications.” – Dave Howe
- To stay connected to the channel’s “heritage and the track record of success.” – Dave Howe
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03.16
Up to 50% percent off!
It’s unfortunate when a descriptive name overstays its welcome. Companies pursue new product or service lines in an attempt to grow, technologies change, and descriptive names become irrelevant. There are plenty of examples: American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M), and Southwest Airlines, which no longer operates only in the Southwest. When you don’t want to stand for that one thing anymore, your options are pretty much limited to changing the name or abbreviating the name (and rendering it meaningless, a la IBM–International Business Machines).
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03.13
More successful than Hoosier basketball
Kudos to my alma mater for the inaugural edition of Mind Reader, a newsletter for alumni of the IU Cognitive Science Program (yours truly). And I love the name–doesn’t require any explanation, but I’m really impressed with double entendre on “Reader.”
Also, congrats to my old professor Dr. Robert Goldstone for successfully working the word “interdisciplinarity” into a sentence. Nice one.
03.12
If you’re not sure what the serial comma is, check Grammar Girl’s post about it. I agree with most of the points she makes, but feel strongly that it shouldn’t be optional. Sounds like the only reason people started omitting it was to save space in newspapers. Understandable in that situation, I suppose, but otherwise I think it’s a necessity because a) it removes confusion from sentences like “My favorite sandwiches are hummus, turkey and avocado and ham and cheese.” and b) it prevents ridiculous sentences like “My favorite sandwiches are cheese, ham and ham and cheese.” (Not sure why all my sentences are about sandwiches.)
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03.11
Have you always wanted to create a top-notch brand identity—complete with name, logo, and tagline—but don’t have a clue how to get started? You could hire someone, but the best branding agencies will charge you thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Finally, there is a solution. With my proprietary (patent pending) 10-step RandoBrand™ process, you can build your brand entirely for free! Interested? Of course you are. Let’s get started.
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03.10
[Written in December, 2008]
An open letter to Bill Gates, or anyone who’ll listen at Microsoft
Dear Mr. Gates,
I’m sorry to say I was bewildered yet again by Microsoft’s most recent marketing efforts when I read about your partnership with rapper Common to launch your new line of DOS-inspired graphic tees, “Softwear by Microsoft.” This most recent stunt by your often brilliant advertising agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP&B), seems like yet another misstep in a futile attempt to go toe-to-toe with Apple on the “fun/cool” front. While I’m personally a fan of Common, Jerry Seinfeld, and even geeky MS-DOS references, this campaign isn’t resonating with me. Here are some reasons why.
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