Naming a company is one of the most important and one of the most challenging tasks you may face. The name of your company is the first impression you make – it is what your company stands for, and what it offers.  So where do you start? When naming a company there are several approaches you can take. From word combinations to new creations, the verbal branding experts at Addison Whitney compiled a list of three major categories you can use to build a company name.



Current Usage: These are words found in the dictionary

Examples: Quaker, Apple, Target


 

Hybrid: Two words are fused together to form a new word

Examples: PowerBar, Comcast (from communications and broadcast), Citigroup

Neologism: This is a coined or created word

Examples: Yoplait, Kodak, Kashi

On July 23, 2011, Addison Whitney participated in another successful Helping Hands volunteer event for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation at Reedy Creek Park.  Reedy Creek Nature Preserve protects 737 acres of natural, forested habitat within Reedy Creek Park. There are over ten miles of hiking trails in the nature preserve for the outdoor enthusiast, giving visitors the opportunity to explore a variety of terrains, while enjoying scenic views of small lakes, forests, fields, streams, and wild life.

Addison Whitney helped to resurface the Nature Center’s garden area. Volunteers also installed several hummingbird feeders around the Nature Preserve. Reedy Creek volunteer coordinator, Pepe Chavez commented, “Our garden was in desperate need of some love so we started right away weeding the walk ways resurfacing them with a fresh layer of screening in preparation for Hummingbird Festival; a special event on August 27 that attracts over 2,500 visitors to the nature center making this our biggest special event at Reedy Creek.” Additionally, donations provided will cover the cost of slide mats for a nearby playground area.

Despite the rising temperatures in Charlotte on that Saturday morning, all participants left the event with more knowledge of our county’s parks and eager to continue giving back to help beautify our parks!

Find Reedy Creek Nature Center on Facebook to find out about other upcoming events!

Contributed by: Cathleen Foley

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I told myself I wouldn’t get addicted to Angry Birds. But as soon as I demolished those squealing, snorting little pig targets, I knew I was hooked.

I’m not alone in my obsession; there are over 100 million users who play Angry Birds monthly. The game clearly has a loyal following, and has become a staple in American pop culture.

Rovio, the Finnish company who created the game, recently announced plans to take Angry Birds to the Chinese market. The company wants to increase brand awareness with a lofty goal – to become the first global entertainment brand with more than one billion fans.

Instead of creating new games and expanding the master brand’s umbrella, however, Rovio wants to capitalize on Angry Birds alone. Game-themed plush toys, cookbooks, and even merchandise stores are in the works.

“We are betting everything on Angry Birds,” Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka said unabashedly at the Casual Connect game show in Seattle.

Rovio is depending on Angry Birds’ unusually expedient success to carry the company far. According to the aforementioned article, Angry Birds is the third most-pirated brand in China after Disney and Hello Kitty — a remarkable feat, given the game is less than two years old. Even more astonishing is that the game has grown faster than any other technological brand in history in terms of active users, according to Rovio’s research data.

These impressive statistics, coupled with Angry Birds’ addictive and quirky brand personality, make for a promising run in China. If the game is already raking in the kind of demand seen for massive, established brands like Disney and Hello Kitty, it’s effectively conveying a brand image of desirability and high regard.

But is Rovio, as a brand, being overshadowed by the Angry Birds brand itself? The company claims it wants a billion fans as an entertainment brand — but people may only become fans of Angry Birds, and not of Rovio, its creator. It will be interesting to see if Rovio’s tactics will help the company’s brand gain prominence on its own as a gaming innovator, or if it will be always be eclipsed by the Angry Birds game.

Regardless, it’s clear that reaching a wider audience of people is vital to Rovio’s strategy.

“It’s not all about monetization now,” Vesterbacka said. “It’s about keeping the fans coming back and building the brand.”

Contributed by Allison Meeks

From new sizes to a new logo, the Starbucks brand has seen many changes in the last year. Following the introduction of wine and beer to its menu options, Starbucks has also extended its food offerings.

Starbucks is introducing a line of “ bistro boxes,” in snack and entree sizes, priced from $4.95 to $6.95 and all under 500 calories. The initial entrees are chipotle chicken wraps, sesame noodles, chicken lettuce wraps and salumi and cheese. The new menu items reflect a ramped-up emphasis on food at Starbucks, which has generally focused on breakfast sandwiches and pastries.

From booze to bistro boxes, Starbucks has moved far beyond the classic cup of joe. The Starbucks brand started with a focus on coffee. Baristas were trained in coffee knowledge and served high quality coffee due the strict control over the quality and processing of the beans. Aroma, atmosphere, flavor and store design stimulated all five senses and contributed to an overall “Starbucks Experience.”

Though food items are nothing new, previously served pastries acted as complements to the coffee. As the menu at Starbucks keeps growing, edible items are standing out on their own. I don’t want to wash down my chipotle chicken with a vanilla latte. Add other innovations such as books and music to the mix and it’s no surprise  Starbucks dropped the word “coffee” from its name and logo.

New ideas and expanded menus don’t appear to be a problem for Starbucks loyalists. With corporate restructuring plans in place and new stores opening in India and Vietnam, expansion of the Starbucks brand doesn’t seem to be slowing any time soon.