Category: Branding

OPPO…opportunities or something else

September 16, 2022 / Rosie Reay

Testing out this name publicly on professionals, technical, computer geeks orientated and otherwise, in Europe I asked the question: “What does the company or product name OPPO mean to you?”

This was presented in their home language. I was either met with shrugged shoulders of zero recognition or as one suggested it would be a great name for a cat or a Great Dane. (No offence intended it was their knee-jerk response.)

Did you know OPPO has been sponsors for Wimbledon Tennis, FC Barcelona in the past? They were visibly surprised.

Do you know who they are sponsoring now? No idea.

Guess I never asked any video gamers who use GAME SPACE (130 million users across 40 countries) or followers of League of Legends.

https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/2019/09/oppo-joins-lol-esports-as-new-global-partner/

Yes, League of Legends has a new sponsor. Who else other than one of the most reputable telephonic company in our universe. The fusion between LoL Esports and OPPO, the market-leading firm of the Chinese conglomerate BBK Electronics, which has become its first global partner within the Smart telephone industry.

For quite a few years now, OPPO has channelled a good portion of its endeavours towards the arena of video games. They´ve already incorporated the system Game Space on the brand’s terminals .

So is it still a good name if no-one locally knows about you? But they do know about League of Legends.

Is it still a strong brand name, but the marketing team has missed the mark or the tagline is not descriptive enough?

What happens when the sponsored event overshadows the brand name of the sponsor or is lost in the stampede or is it? I am sure the parent company of OPPO are not concerned about their name being tarnished by a few Europeans who do not know them. Their corporate investment must be huge and and full risk assessment carried out before hand.

League of Legends https://www.leagueoflegends.com/es-es/ all three major esports events, as it is often referred to will have major world coverage , so let us see their marketing team putting OPPO up in lights.

Perhaps, there are other things coming into play here on the global market that is not obvious to English speaking countries, but is so obvious in the land of origin – China or people who speak Mandarin.

Since 2016 in China, OPPO was declared the biggest smartphone company, selling their phones at over 200,000 retail stores. 2019 became the top smartphone in China, thereby being ranked as No.5, in worldwide market share.

Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd, trading as OPPO, is a Chinese analog or digital equipment manufacturer with their headquarters Guangdong at Donnguan -the Pearl River Delta. Smartphones, smart devices, audio devices, power banks, and other electronic products adorn their vast product line. The company has expanded rapidly to 50 countries since filing in 2001 their brand name OPPO (registered 2003).

Etymology:

Strange, I know, but I am passionate about etymology and linguistics. It is amazing what your eyes first read, as a voracious and fast reader, and not necessarily the word in play. I saw HIPPO…Yet, Hippo ( abbreviation of hippopotamus) has nothing at all in common with a company name OPPO, other than the parent company is extremely long with multiple names relevant to its location and founders and it has an affix mentioned twice as PO.

I like the affix -PPO as it different and the double P implies stress in pronunciation.

OPPO = also resonates with the much used colloquial expression for opportunities or your options;

=oppo/ˈɒpəʊ/ noun -informal British meaning a colleague or friend, “an old oppo of mine;”

= oppo in politics refers to the opposition party or opposition research

PO = The Po (/poʊ/ POH, Italian: [ˈpɔ]; Latin: Padus or Ēridanus; Ancient Ligurian: Bodincus or Bodencus) is the longest river in Italy and a long way of China;

= British abbreviation for the Post Office

OP= abbreviation widely used into two avenues:

= OP refers to a medical surgical procedure. It may be plural as OPS;

=OP(s) in USA & UK military jargon when on a Tour of Duty.

Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd – definitely a name to be reckoned with in Smartphones and gaming applications.

Naming Alphabet Soup 101

(c)Rosie Reay and BrighterNaming

QUDINI – queuing solution applications

April 8, 2021 / Rosie Reay

Houdini-QUDINI

The ‘Houdini ‘ for resolving all your business queuing challenges, whether it is systematical or in person. This may be for example in the supermarket social distancing access ‘Green Light’ entrance and monitoring the queues (especially under Covid-19 restrictions in the UK).

Qudini software gurus have advanced their system even further. You no longer need to stand in line for the arduous length of time and brazen the climatic elements. Their mobile/cellphone ever-evolving options enable you to tap into the DIY store/supermarket programme in order to book your spot – the next in the queue. You are given a user-specific code for that shopping moment experience. They inform you of approximate time delay; notify you when it is your turn to leave your vehicle; pick up your shopping trolley/cart; show your identification code (as allocated by Qudini on your mobile) and you enter obligatory masked(!) to a happy, safe, uncrowded, shopping experience.

Houdini was not just an escape artist by magic. No! He carefully thought out each step to analyze the problem of entrapment and restriction. Every disentanglement was done in a pre-studied order, timing and method to emerge successfully free without causing harm to himself, other stage members or his awestruck audience of followers and non-believers.

Retail Choreography – a business-critical strategy

Yes! Qudini has nailed it as being the retail choreographer. They have formed awe-inspiring robust and compelling order to glide us in authoritative sequences across versatile and ever-changing stages. Thus we are able to embrace the changes we face in the ‘new- normal’ business world encountering diverse pandemic, cultural and environmental adjustments.

Name style, origin and tone

Thus, it is ever appropriate for the company to settle on a coined name of the two strong words Queue + Houdini= Qudini [ Cue/dee/nee]or [Kew/di/nee]. The tone and image of the name create the delusion of escaping from the problems surrounding a never-ending, exasperating queueing system. The play on words is puny and memorable.

In the UK we are brought up with the decorum of standing in a queue in an orderly fashion. In the USA you stand in line – same difference. Now in Spain, they have a whole different system of standing anywhere you choose and merely say: ¿Quién es el último? (Who is the last?). Yet the name is portable and easily enunciated by non-English speakers as [koo/di/ni.] In Mandarin Chinese they have the “qu“in 出去 chūqù, which interesting means to “go out.”

The letter q is of undetermined origin, stemming down from an Egyptian hieroglyphic sign appearing like a looped rope leading on to the shape of a twinned loop detected in ancient Semitic calligraphy.

The Romans had attained the early Greek habit usage of koppa for a k sound before u and adapted the sign to a more rounded shape with a curved tail. In this style, the letter Q evolved from Latin into English. Thus, many words in English have the prefix QU.

Many companies have utilized this prefix QU to create unique names and an assured market place over the course. To list but a few are Quaker oats, Quick Books, Quest Softech (India) Ltd., Quintegra Solutions Ltd, or even the Chinese like Qunar (去哪儿 / qù nǎ ér) and Quiksilver (极速骑板 / jí sù qí bǎn). Now, we add Qudini to the special Q-name list.

Quality of a Company’s brand

In order for a name to have that quintessential appeal in their trademark registration category it has to be quite special – it must be ‘heard above the herd’.

Qudini has achieved it!

Naming Alphabet Soup 101

(c)Rosie Reay and BrighterNaming

ASTRA ZENECA – a brighter name for a brighter solution

November 12, 2020 / Rosie Reay

Covid-19 Vaccine

Forthcoming vaccine out of Europe as a cure for Covid-19. A giant step forward in the right direction.

Do you ever pause and wonder how linguistic, international naming consultants come up with such awe-inspiring and memorable names?

Product Naming

Naming a great product brand and company names are not achieved by merely throwing random names into the magician’s hat and saying, “white rabbits” and hoping thé name hops across the polished boardroom table. Naming is a carefully crafted process with many years of in-depth knowledge, long hours of study and research into the etymology of word origin related to thoughts and ideas. These are usually requested by directives within the prospective Naming worksheet (hopefully supporting company documentation on product details/corporate images is forthcoming). However, with Start-ups, they may/may not have the marketing knowledge.

Company Naming

This Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pharmaceutical company’s impressive name came about from a massive merger, of not only 2 great companies, but by design, they co-joined two historic names in the bio-medicinal industry. “AstraZeneca” is a made-up name, formulated by a Naming/Banding agency directed to discover a unique name, trademark free, which began with the first and last letter of our English alphabet letter. Furthermore, phonology must ensure memorability in the customer’s minds, while morphology consisted of no greater than three syllables and without an insulting innuendo in any language.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3108924/astrazeneca-ceo-says-coronavirus-vaccine-could-be-ready-december

Yet, how did they originally come up with Two names👉 Astra+ Zeneca👈?

Hmm?😷👀👂🌟💢 👆💡

Zeneca was successfully formed in June 1993 by the demerger of the pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals businesses of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) into a separate company. Oct 17, 2019

Origin of zen

Zen means https://www.yourdictionary.com/zen

It is from Japanese ç¦… (zen ãœã‚“).

In Buddhism: A philosophy of calm, reminiscent of that of the Buddhist denomination. Zen focuses on awareness through the practice of meditation to become extremely relaxed and collected.

“An approach to an activity, skill, or subject that emphasizes simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals.”

Origin of astral

Astra has deep, poignant roots in the Greek Astron, meaning ‘a star’ = /ˈastr(ə)l/; pertaining to resembling the stars and the importance of astral navigation Also one of the five Greeks gods of the “Wandering Stars” Astra-Planeta = and Astraeus (god of the dusk); their spiritual beings; an existence linking to differing psychic and paranormal phenomena- of which the actual human body is considered a counterpart.

Conclusion

The Oxford counterpart for the Covid-19 seems to be racing against the clock to out-smart Astra Zeneca, as delivering the first vaccine against this awful pandemic virus. We don’t know for 100% surety which will have a more effective cure. Yet, what I do know, is that the name Astra Zeneca does stand out in the crowd and is not in lost in all the other generic names containing “Oxford”. Their name is co-joined. It is unique. It has longevity.

Naming Alphabet Soup 101

(c)Rosie Reay and BrighterNaming

Srixon golf balls

August 3, 2020 / Rosie Reay / 0 Comments

– has a soft feel for both male and female professional and amateur players.

The selection of which golf ball to tee-off with is a personal choice of the player. Srixon has them in both ‘notice-me’ yellow, snow-white or lady-pink, with an appropriate same-slogan on both – soft feel.

The Brand name.

The golf product name is as important to the manufactures survival in this crowded global field, as to the players choice. It needs to be unique, modern, (even if it has evolved from the long parent company’s descriptive name) and of course, trademark clear! The spelling can be coined and unusual, by that it becomes memorable and identifiable! Yet, have a feel and tone in the name that flows implying the texture and potential of these golf balls in every swing-male or female.

So, where does the name Srixon come from?

Believe it or not, the Japanese parent company (Sumitomo Rubber Ltd, now SRI Sports Ltd), first manufactured rubber products since 1909 especially, motor racing tyres. So too did Michelin and Dunlop.

Sumitomo is a surname and their Marketing team soon realized that name would not fly, even though some surnames still have a place of longevity in the naming world.

How do you pronounce Srixon correctly?

Aside: I asked once again for clarification from my resident linguistic colleague in Japan.

ts スリクソン、surikuson (the ku is relatively quiet). So the main feeling is “slick” + “on”

Also, in Japanese, R and L are not easily distinguished from each other as there is only one sound they have which is similar to both of them. They often will mix these letters when translating to Roman characters, such as writing rice as “lice” etc.. so Srixon should have been Slixon if they had carefully considered the name for English speaking customers.

Global English speaking variations on the name Srixon.

These are for information (but please refer to the correct Japanese pronunciation above) to company directors and product managers how important it is to say your name out loud on the international markets before committing to the name on the table. You may not have a century to prove your brand worth!

Below are a few of the more common one’s heard around the golf fraternity

Sir-icks-on;
Sh-ryan;
See-ree-on;
Six iron -(Where did that come from as syllables are transposed?)

Conclusion.

I wasn’t seeking out Japanese words/products/names per se. I was merely fascinated by the spelling compared to how different continents would pronounce that morpheme “srix”. Fortunately, the mispronunciation has caused no harm in this case and the Brand is strong with world recognition and lasted over a century.

Furthermore, setting aside the Japanese prefix element the suffix “Xon” is a person’s first name that means “God is good” and is of Hebrew origin. It sounds like <Shon> but is common among modern-day naming of Asiatic children.

Srixon (always designing new products) holds the largest number of golf ball patents in the world! The product name works- it flies off the golf shelves as fast as it flies off the tees! It has that soft feel and tone to it. If you missed this golfparty.es because of ‘lockdown’ there will be many more supporting this strong brand name – S-R-I-X-O-N.

TOkyo SHIBAura Denki name changed to K I O X I A

April 26, 2020 / Rosie Reay / 0 Comments

The coined abbreviated historic founders’ name of T O S H I B A Memory announced in April 2022 their brand name change to Kioxia.

Etymology

The new name is a commingling of the parent manufacturing company’s home language of Japanese and Classical Greek, to form a smooth tone, a sleek unique global name that will ‘be heard above the herd’ of their competitors.
K i o k u is Japanese meaning memory
A x i a is Greek denoting value
End result equals K I O X I A
So how do we say it in Global English: Key-oh-koo-she-uh
Spelled out in Japanese it’s キオクシア (My thanks goes to the pronunciation guidance from a resident Japanese speaking Naming Consultant colleague.)
On their website, they have ニュース beneath the name. By merely looking at the graphic image of that word as a non-Japanese speaker I read it (with a tongue in cheek quip) as ‘equals 1 name from 2 words’.

Why the name change?

Damage limitation to a global name that incurred a massive financial disaster investment in the American nuclear reactor industry and as a result, suffered a tarnished brand image.

Now Toshiba has a complex infrastructure and a nightmare of a headache to bring all their global companies of varying names from creation or from mergers and amalgamations to all fall inline under the new and I’m sure what is going to be an eye-opener of a strong, unified umbrella shouting out Kioxia.

One of the European companies to undergo a radical name change is OCZ Storage Solutions Ltd in the UK. The OCZ part of the name flies out of American parentage originally. Yet the ‘Storage Solutions’ is very generic and to someone not in the know, it could imply any kind of general storage and not necessarily Memory. Thus, metamorphosis has seen Kioxia Technology UK Ltd emerge.

On the continent, the formerly Toshiba Memory Europe GMBH embraced their new name as Kioxia Europe GMBH

Product Branding Architecture.

The innovative new-look corporate logo of a silver Kioxia is refreshing – encircling cleverly the different and individual product colours of magenta, light green, orange, yellow, white the light blue, and black writing enhances the final touches of the brand image “Communication colours.”

The reasoning behind the colour branding is to make them highly recognizable and customer friendly so they can select and recall quickly the right product for their specific memory application solutions.

Kioxia Aim

The heritage foundations of the mature Toshiba still exists but this progressive memory technology is the new growth and the core creating uplifting choice experiences to be the world leader of ever-evolving Memory.

Under Covid-19 Conditions

More and more people are being forced under Covid-19 virus lockdown restrictions to stay safe at home and need to continue work online remotely from their normal workplace. They need a product that is reliable for their comprehensive Memory Portfolio.

Kioxia is so dedicated to expanding their new brand and customer needs they have continued manufacturing at two plants in Japan: Yokkaichi Plant and Kitakama Plant even while the Japanese government extended the State of Emergency across the whole country.

October 2019 they formally altered the company name but all the marketing and opening out globally was planned for April 2020, and they tried not to succumb to the Covid-19 pandemic as a deterrent to their evolving new Memory businesses. Yet their care and safety to those employees on the production lines have been increased, monitored, tested, and is paramount to the Corporation of Kioxia.

TranQuini relaxes you just by name

April 4, 2017 / Rosie Reay

Born in the beautiful high Alps and rivers of Austria, TranQuini® epitomizes the image of relief you look for in a refreshing, revitalizing and calming drink. Even their tagline Positively Relaxed is prominent on all their packaging to help drive this message home.

Tranquil or tranquillity image – a perfect name with an international flavor that travels well across the globe and nestles in well throughout Europe, mingling among roots from all the romance languages – tranquilo(a), tranquilidad, (Sp. & It.) or tranquille(Fr.) where the mountains kiss the Mediterranean shorelines.

This product name is so easy to pronounce and remember, even though it is a coined word. The drink has such a smooth name, that easily rolls off the tongue. Indeed, a memorably named new drink. I wonder if it tastes as good as it sounds!

Full of herbal extracts, tasty teas and natural fruit juices oozing with Vitamin B12 it delights, excites and re-enhances your positive energy levels while encouraging relaxation. Thus, it is a very clever marketing ploy that they package two cans in a gift box with a pair of flip-flop sandals, that silently shouts “beach time – let’s go unwind.” The alliteration expands more with the thought it creates of Tranquini – bikini time.

This is where a blend of product naming doesn’t fall far from the apple tree – the company name!

by Rosie Reay

Posted in Branding, Consumer Goods, Food Names, Trademarks

Category: Branding

OPPO…opportunities or something else

QUDINI – queuing solution applications

Houdini-QUDINI

Retail Choreography – a business-critical strategy

Name style, origin and tone

Quality of a Company’s brand

ASTRA ZENECA – a brighter name for a brighter solution

Covid-19 Vaccine

Product Naming

Company Naming

Origin of zen

Origin of astral

Conclusion

Srixon golf balls

TOkyo SHIBAura Denki name changed to K I O X I A

Etymology

Why the name change?

Kioxia Aim

Under Covid-19 Conditions

TranQuini relaxes you just by name

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Tutoring

Brighter Naming

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