Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Just Can't Stop That Marketing Genius
Today I had yet another encounter with true marketing genius. It was awe-inspiring, but previous exposure to its brilliance (here and here for instance) has jaded me a little.
I'm trying to eat better at work -- we don't have a vending machine -- so I've started cutting fresh salads for lunch. But I can't eat a whole head of lettuce and all its attending vegetables in one lunch, so today I purchased some "tupperware" to keep the leftover salad as fresh as can be overnight.
It was while I was settling the container into just the right spot in the fridge -- ideally in a temperate middle shelf, and gently, don't want to bruise the lettuce -- when I noticed the brandname on the top lid: "Rotta".
Brilliant.
It's reassuring to know your product's naming is in the hands of the best marketing talent money can buy. I'd hate to think they'd have left the job in the hands of an untrained barbarian like me. They might have ended up with a bad name, like "Mulchelax" or "Putrifor".
I really haven't seen a product name this good since my days in the auto industry. We had a car in R&D that needed a temporary, in-house name for the few years it would spend in testing. But it had to be a good name, one that would generate enthusiasm and confidence that this would be a great car.
The boys in the shiny shoes finally came back and with great wisdom and greater fanfare pronounced our new auto, "the Impact".
I guess that's why I'm a lowly software engineer and not a marketing mogul. Just not cut out for it.
If you really, really liked this -- or even really, really hated it -- there's lots more:
I'm trying to eat better at work -- we don't have a vending machine -- so I've started cutting fresh salads for lunch. But I can't eat a whole head of lettuce and all its attending vegetables in one lunch, so today I purchased some "tupperware" to keep the leftover salad as fresh as can be overnight.
It was while I was settling the container into just the right spot in the fridge -- ideally in a temperate middle shelf, and gently, don't want to bruise the lettuce -- when I noticed the brandname on the top lid: "Rotta".
Brilliant.
It's reassuring to know your product's naming is in the hands of the best marketing talent money can buy. I'd hate to think they'd have left the job in the hands of an untrained barbarian like me. They might have ended up with a bad name, like "Mulchelax" or "Putrifor".
I really haven't seen a product name this good since my days in the auto industry. We had a car in R&D that needed a temporary, in-house name for the few years it would spend in testing. But it had to be a good name, one that would generate enthusiasm and confidence that this would be a great car.
The boys in the shiny shoes finally came back and with great wisdom and greater fanfare pronounced our new auto, "the Impact".
I guess that's why I'm a lowly software engineer and not a marketing mogul. Just not cut out for it.
