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Here at Addison Whitney, the Verbal Branding Department is geared up and ready for National Dictionary Day celebrated on October 16th, 2009! This day in history has been dubbed Dictionary Day in honor of the birthday of Noah Webster, Father of the Dictionary.

How do you plan on spending this National Holiday? Here are a few suggestions: Play a game of Scrabble, Make a list of all your favorite words, Complete a crossword puzzle, or Eat a bowl of alphabet soup. Whatever is it you choose to do, at least take a moment to pause and think what a different place our world would be without words and the meanings we have attached to them …

Contributed by: Carrie Friedrich

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Coining new words and phrases as a branding strategy seems to be rising in popularity among today’s advertising campaigns. Natural Light, who primarily focuses on a target audience of drinkers aged 21 – 35, has created an entire advertising campaign focused on coined words and humor to give their brand a fresh new edge. During recent times, beer drinkers have been shifting towards cheaper beers. In accordance with this shift, Natural Light Beer, a division of Anheuser-Busch, has revealed its first television advertising campaign in Continue Reading »

Thought Subway’s new “Fauxbesity” lingo sounded strange? Check out another coined word that is gracing the pages of our magazine advertisements. In response to looming economic concerns, Kraft has teamed up with other snack food vendors to put the hungry tummy at ease. These powerhouse snack sellers have created a line of combination snacks in order to satisfy your cravings without leaving a huge dent in your wallet. While advertising these products, Kraft has used the increasingly popular tactic of coining a brand new word in order to define a common scenario facing many consumers today. Thus, the introduction of a “snackrifice” (www.whysnackrifice.com).

Kraft’s introduction of “tasty snack combinations” begs this question of consumers: “why snackrifice?” They want to know why you would give up snack time when “you can have a delicious snack for about a dollar.” These and many other companies are very aware of how consumers are consciously cutting back on going out to eat and spending money on unnecessary products. They have planned marketing campaigns that highlight the benefits and convenience of packaged goods, and demonstrate how snacks can still fit into your budget. The Kraft Snackrifice campaign, and many others, have appealed to consumers by promising more bang for your buck.

Snack on.

Contributed by Carrie Friedrich

Westinghousing: a term used in the late 1800s for the death penalty administered by electrocution

Interestingly enough, the term Westinghousing is attributed to Thomas Edison, who famously competed against the Westinghouse Corporation in the “current wars” of 1887. So why would Edison give a competitor free publicity?

Thomas Edison had patented Direct Current (DC) electricity and with it, created the standard for electricity in the 1800s. The system was hugely inefficient, which opened the door for Nikola Tesla, a professional and personal rival to Edison, to devise a more streamlined technology. Tesla patented AC, or alternating current, and partnered with the Westinghouse Corporation to establish alternating current as the new standard for transmitting electricity.

In attempt to protect his royalties (and name), Edison launched an intense publicity campaign against Tesla’s invention. When AC was put to use in electric chairs, Edison realized the power of name association and suggested that the process of electrocution be named Westinghousing.

It was a good try. In one word Edison had linked his competitor’s name to a gruesome act, and also reminded consumers that AC was lethal, and therefore, potentially unsafe.

But Edison’s branding tactics were not enough to overcome the simple fact that AC was the superior method of electricity distribution. Tesla’s alternating current became the standard and (among many other inventions) is still in use today.

Contributed by: Maghan Cook