Al and Laura Ries are completely right when they wrote in their book “The Origin of Brands” that the most difficult job in brand building is coming up with a category name. A new category is the name of the new concept that an entrepreneur selects to build her or his uniqueness.
By uniqueness, I mean uniqueness of product, service, company and/or the person.
I always advise clients to let scribes do the job for them. Journalists are the ultimate wordsmiths and have a tendency to concoct words, terms or expressions that are simple, easy to remember and self-explanatory.
Recently, I was reading a TIME magazine article and the author referred to pornographic content produced especially for portable devices as “pocket porn”. That’s an easy to remember, simple and self-explanatory category.
Entrepreneurs in such a field may consider using that description to identify the type of content they are delivering. The first brand to take the term and run with it may be the most recognized name in this booming market segment.
Of course, the entrepreneur pressed for time does not have to wait for the press to coin a category. The best scenario is to describe the USP or Unique Selling Proposition to a commissioned writer, copywriter or other communications experts and ask her to name that category using the guidelines provided.
Now for the obvious disclaimer: the pocket porn example was an example to illustrate a strategy principle. That does not mean that I, my companies and affiliations, do condone pornography or serve clients in the adult entertainment industry.
