Today it's all about searchability. Names are controlled by spelling and cognitive associations. Listings have gone through the roof: A two-inch directory of the past is now a two-mile thick book. Masses with their strained memorability are frustrated with typing twisted names with strange dashes and slashes while evolution of the brain is simply stuck slightly ahead of Jurassic Park. The brain has no incentive to work hard. One hour on the Net easily takes you through enough artwork created during the entire last century by all the logo shops of the world. No one really cares about logos. Name is what everyone talks about, remembers, types, chats about, refers to, calls, praises or curses. Think of Yahoo. Can you recall their logos or colors? How about E-Trade, Amazon or Kazaa? There are hundreds of other businesses that you are already typing in daily.

What's in the future for Corporate Identity Services? Agencies asking sub-contractors to hire free lancers to do their Brainstorming and focus groups are over. Exercises to pool 5000 names over 5 months a thing of the past. Extreme exercises where executives were locked up in a large boardroom, totally in the dark, each with a flashlight, making letter signs to form words while the other half tried to decipher, lost in the darkness along with their OINGA, BOINGA names.

Corporate image-makers have only hurt themselves by ignoring proper naming. Yet, this offers a great leadership opportunity for providing well executed name identity, under the guidance of "Masters of Naming Architects". After all, there never was a shortage of great names. What was short all along was lack of expertise and wisdom.

1. Respect:
   A name must have an alpha-character to qualify and gain respect. Face of honesty, integrity, reliability and credibility. No room for "PurpleFrog," "PinkRhino," "Globe-a-Con," or "Tomorrow Inc." From day one a serious personality. Easy-to-remember, spell and search. It is a highly polluted marketplace, so why add more confusion? Sobriety must prevail, because corporate names are not beer commercials.

2. ONE Face, ONE Name:
   Stand up with a happy, healthy face. Don't try to confuse the market by putting on too many masks and offering too many things. Names, which transmit multiple personalities and meanings, and various subtle associations to different ideas, can seriously blur the image of a corporation. A great deal of advertising is wasted in harnessing a common mind share. Is the name selling Accounting services or Space Navigation, or is it selling Computers or Distilled Water? Be precise, be clear .. One name, one image, one voice. Don't camouflage. Honest names are truly honest about exactly what they do.

3. Current Status:
   If you think you are on top of the world, then show it with your name. Make sure your name conveys and matches your technological achievements. Old-fashioned names will not attract the customer's attention to your ongoing evolutions. Glories of the past often lose their value with the changing times. Embrace the Net-savvy popular culture of today and face cyber-branding realities of the global commerce of tomorrow.

4. Become A Star:
   Have a star quality in your corporate name. Its alpha-structure should be bright and clear . Customers will easily pick on a shiny name. Don't waste advertising dollars in educating the universe on how to spell, pronounce or remember a weird spelling or an obscure origin of a blunt klutzy name. Even Michelangelo's design -- will be able to save a bad name in the long run; No need to be a matchstick when it can be a flashlight. A name must shine.

5. Freedom To Travel:
   Spread your wings and fly away. Wander country to country with your name-Identity and explore global opportunities. Position your name on the universal landscape. No room for difficulties of global translations, connotations, secondary meanings, foreign obscenities, pronunciations and all other language issues. Today, marketing is only global, burn all the other books that say otherwise. Think locally, but name universally.

6. Pride & Joy:
   Be a leader. Set an example. Take pride in your name and introduce it to the globe with full confidence. Why the embarrassment? It's not stolen from someone else. Or is it? Watch how competitors struggle with their embarrassing naming stories, observe their name confusion and dysfunctionalties. Shine where others hide.

7. Rightful Ownership:
   When you can own a corporation, why not own its name? Today, 93% of corporations do not own a global trademark with an identical domain name. They have one or the other. What's the point of the naming exercise? To own a great global trademark with an identical DotCom name is the easiest thing to do. Shortages of global names are only a myth successfully established by design firms. Fix it immediately. There is no winning without a global trademark with an identical DotCom.
   {*Adapted from Brand New Laws of Corporate Image Javed, Linkbridge 2004}
   
   In Summary:

   At this moment, there is a much bigger war of image going on out there. Corporations are fighting for global positioning while shareholders are frightened by the fake hoopla. A proper name identity must provide leadership, recognition, attract customers, and sometimes it scare competition with their weird Oinga Boinga names. Therefore it is a MUST for you to have a critical analysis of your name before you invest the next dime. You must know the precise power of the name that's driving your company. For those genuine, honest and progressive corporations of the real economy armed with realistic goals, there are still a lot of opportunities to stay clear of these corrupt, polluted and damaged name identities. Seek out professional naming solutions to your marketing needs and make sure that your names are on solid ground and can pass the Acid Test of trustworthiness.

   If you want a STAR quality name.... Let me try to help you to TEST your corporate or major product names..serious enquries by executives or principals are welcomed. This is a special complimentary offer for the readers of Digital Times.

   Email me with a brief description of your company and your title. I will analyze your company name and have comments about its hidden powers and subtle weaknesses that may be totally unknown to your marketing team. There is no charge for this.

   This is serious business and I will keep the analysis strictly confidential. email: njabc@njabc.com

   Naseem Javed is a syndicated columnist, author of Naming for Power, Founder of ABC Namebank International, world-renowned lecturer, and an expert on corporate naming issues. Naseem is a committed follower of sobriety in corporate communication strategies and a harsh critic of the "beer commercial" mentality on corporate naming and the influence of voodoo branding on our culture. A hilarious speaker, he has a deadly message on why Corporate Image USA is on fire.
   URL(s): www.naseemjaved.com, www.abcnamebank.com

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