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b"\\u201cYou don\\u2019t want your brand name to be tame. You can\\u2019t afford to be tame!\\u201d As the verbal identity expert behind names for brands ranging from frozen yogurt to Burger King, Alexandra Watkins knows how to develop names that make people smile\\u2014and we talk about that a lot on the On Brand podcast. She\\u2019s also the author of the newly revised Hello, My Name is Awesome. We discussed all of this and more on this week\\u2019s episode of the On Brand podcast.\\nAlexandra Watkins\\nAlexandra Watkins is a recognized expert on brand names with buzz. She the founder and Chief Executive Boss Lady of Eat My Words, a boutique firm that specializes in creating brand names that make people smile instead of scratch their heads. Her name hall of fame includes Burger King's Mac 'n Cheetos, the Neato Robotic Vacuum, Spoon Me frozen yogurt, the Church of Cupcakes, a Spanish language school named Gringo Lingo, and a San Francisco nail salon named Hand Job.\\nAlexandra is the author of the newly revised creativity book, Hello, My Name is Awesome: How To Create Brand Names That Stick. Awesome was named a Top 10 Marketing Book by Inc. and most recently, a Top 10 Branding Book by The Branding Journal. This week her book was shortlisted for a 2019 OWL (Outstanding Works of Literature) Award in the Sales & Marketing Category.\\nAlexandra lives in San Diego in a pink Barbie Dream House. She has commandeered the pool house as her office and can often be found chained to her desk, which is shaped like a purple Easter egg.\\nEpisode Highlights\\nAlexandra\\u2019s SMILE acronym helps people develop sticky brand names. Your brand name should be \\u2026 \\u201cSuggestive\\u2013evokes something about your brand. Memorable\\u2013makes an association with the familiar. Imagery\\u2013aids memory through evocative visuals. Legs\\u2013lends itself to a theme for extended mileage. Emotional\\u2013moves people. If your name captures all five of these qualities, you\\u2019re ahead of the curve.\\u201d\\nLikewise, her SCRATCH acronym describes the seven deadly sins in naming a company or product. What should you avoid in your brand naming? \\u201cSpelling challenged\\u2013looks like a typo. Copycat\\u2013resembles competitors\\u2019 names. Restrictive\\u2013limits future growth. Annoying\\u2013seems forced, frustrates customers. Tame\\u2013feels flat, descriptive, uninspired. Curse of knowledge\\u2013speaks only to insiders. Hard to pronounce\\u2013confuses and distances customers. An easy way to think about it is, if it makes people scratch their heads, you should scratch it off the list.\\u201d\\n5 Awesome Company Names\\n\\n\\nPinterest \\u2014 clever mashup, easy to understand, spell and pronounce\\n\\n\\n23andMe \\u2014 a fun nod to DNA, personal connection\\n\\n\\nTesla - a nod to inventor Nicola Tesla, works for every business they are in\\n\\n\\nAmazon \\u2014 strong metaphor, everything they do fits under it\\n\\n\\nDoorDash \\u2014 descriptive yet fun, nice alliteration\\n\\n5 Bad Company Names\\n\\n\\nFlickr \\u2014 I'd like to buy a vowel please\\n\\n\\nTrivago \\u2014 forced mashup (trip + vacation + go)\\n\\n\\nRakuten \\u2014 says nothing about \\u201ccash back\\u201d (there are even TV ads devoted to mispronunciation of the name)\\n\\n\\nPostmates \\u2014 \\u201cpost\\u201d implies mail as opposed to fast door-to-door delivery\\n\\n\\nCasper \\u2014 disconnect with mattress comfort and sleep\\n\\nWhat brand has made Alexandra smile recently? Alexandra pointed to Jimmy Buffet's Latitude Margaritaville as an example of a retirement community with an immersive, engaging brand naming system.\\nTo learn more, go to eatmywords.com to find an interactive SMILE and SCRATCH test for your brand name. You can also connect with Alexandra on LinkedIn.\\n\\nUntil next week, I\\u2019ll see you on the Internet!\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices"