THE 30-SECONDSTARTUP NAME

GENERATOR

MY STARTUP IDEA…“The world’s first male

enhancement app for iPhone.”

1. PICK A WORD. Make sure it’s related, or at least sounds related to your concept.

2. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.A. Add a foreign domain. (.ly, .me, .sy)B. Drop a letter from your word. (Tumblr, Flickr)C. Add a letter to your word. (Digg, Reddit)D. Add a fun, popular prefix of suffix. (Insta-, Good-, -Now, -ify)F. Attach another word. (TripIt, SimpleNote)

CONGRATULATIONS! MeggaBonr.me

InstaSchlong.ly

Click4CheapViagraFromTotallyLegalCanadianPharmacies-ify.tv

WHEN BAD NAMES HAPPEN TO GOOD STARTUPS

what golden-age branding can teach us about naming modern startups

On second thought, maybe you should vote for (and visit) us

at SXSW 2013 for our presentation:

AD AGENCIES DID.(OOPS. SORRY.)

The fact is, as much as we make fun of it, startups didn’t invent The Art of the Bad Name.

GREAT TRIUMPHS IN AD AGENCY NAMING

AAA Auto RepairAAA Electrical Services

AAA PlumbingAAA Photo SupplyAAA Advertising

A LOT HAS CHANGED. EVEN MORE HASN’T.

In 50+ years, we’ve named hundreds of products, brands and campaigns for everyone from Fortune 500 companies and

national nonprofits, to local ice cream parlors and yes, digital startups.

THE TEN EIGHT THREE ONERULES FOR NAMING A

COMPANY, PRODUCT, OR BRAND

(A brief message from our 80-year-old founder.)

MODERN DAY TRANSLATION:

You aren’t naming a startup brand. You’re naming a brand.

AND A BRAND NAME ISN’T JUST A NAME.

It’s who you are. It’s also your only chance at a first impression.But unlike first impressions, it’ll define your personality, approach,

tone of voice, and even your business decisions, forever.

WE WANNA HELP YOU FIND THE RIGHT ONE.

At SXSW 2013, we’ll share just a handful of experiences and lessons from a few decades worth of successes

(and failures) in brand naming. Things like…

THE 5 TYPES OF NAMES(And which types work best for startup brands.)

5 TOUGH QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE NAMING

YOUR STARTUP BRAND

(And why “Can I get the .com?” ain’t one of ‘em.)

5 TOUGH QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF AFTER NAMING

YOUR STARTUP BRAND(And when to ignore your own answers.)

WHY YOUR URL DOESN’T MATTER

(Except for when it does.)

WHY YOUR COMPETITION DOESN’T MATTER

(Except for when it does.)

HOW YOUR STARTUP IS LIKE A PIRATE SHIP

(And other useless, cliché analogies.)

A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE TOOLS & TECHNIQUES (Like the one that helps you not get sued.)

MUCH, MUCH MORE!

And as we say in the ad business…

SO. GIVE US A VOTE?We very much look forward to meeting, learning and

exchanging cocktail recipes with you next March.Thanks for reading.