I am building a hyper-local food discount app and I want to give it a wacky name, like Peppertap or Grofers. Does the target audience look for the meaning of the name? Should it necessarily be indicative, like Flipkart or Snapdeal?
Coimbatore
Nehruji, what’s in a name/? Plenty, and at times nothing. Just look at the power of your name, for a start. Names evoke thoughts. Names evoke . And names help build relationship to category.
Having said that, if you have a really powerful word to name your app with, go with that. Just as long as that word is powerful enough, you can always build meaning into it. This word can be meaningless for a start, and at a later point of time can earn a lot of meaning by its very existence as a unique name in that category of business.
What has Apple got to do with computers, for a start? Or Google with search? Both attained meaning much later. And today, these have become brand names that are verbs in their own right.
How is Kingfisher a beer? And Red Bull an energy drink?
If you want quick recall, go for the obvious. If you want to own and build slow and steady, take anything that comes by that is powerful.
How must the Congress party position its brand? As an under-dog party?
New Delhi
Priyank, the see-saw in the imagery of political parties will continue in India. Once the Congress will be up, and at another, the BJP will be up.
In Indian politics today, parties are themselves polarised between the haves and the have-nots. The BJP is the haves and the Congress is the have-nots. Not enough MPs and seats. The party has an excellent opportunity to portray itself as a party with farmers’ and workers’ interests at heart, as opposed to the BJP with industry’s and middle-class’ interests in mind
The re-branding of Rahul Gandhi has just begun. The goal date is 2019, I guess. One can see a fair bit of brand-positioning in the run-up to this date.
Social media is seizing issues and making life hell for marketers. Is this correct?
Tiruchi
Janak, social media is the new ‘angry young man’ of marketing.
Rage and social media are really made for one another. Rage spreads faster than anything else on this medium. Social media is literally waiting for the next bit of rage to stoke into a fire. Therefore, corporations and brands need to be careful and watchful. It is important for corporations to scent the smallest whiff of building rage. Having once identified that, corporations need to communicate with clarity, to ensure that brand and corporate messaging is sincere, understood and filled with integrity. Social media loves integrity.
A case in point is the Hindustan Unilever - Kodaikanal issue at hand.
Harish Bijoor is a brand strategy expert and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults. Mail your queries to cat.a.lyst@thehindu.co.in