Right product name means a lot, say vendors

To increase consumer recollection of their products and communicate the capabilities of these goods, IT vendors are finding that "marketing names" reflecting the features of their products can help.

Bo H. Choi, vice president and head of mobile communications marketing at LG Electronics Asia, said manufacturers are recognizing the need for marketing names that help consumers identify specific products or product lines.

These names make it possible to maximize the effectiveness of retaining the product's image in consumers, Choi explained in an e-mail.

LG started giving names to its products in late-2005 with its "Chocolate" phone that went on to sell more than 21 million units globally, according to Choi.

This success made LG introduce the "marketing name" for flagship products to replace the conventional official code or model name that is usually a combination of numbers and letters, said Choi.

"That [conventional model name] is complex and hard for consumers to remember and recall," he explained. A "friendly and effective" marketing name would contribute to a higher level of product awareness, recognition, recall and distinguishes it from the competition.

Irene Ng, strategic marketing director at Samsung Asia, said to break through the clutter of mobile phones in the market, Samsung's strategy too is to name its products.

These names reflect the category to which the product belongs, as well as the features of the model. For example, Samsung thus named the "Jet" mobile phone because it possesses a fast high-performance processor.

LG Electronics uses "LG" as the primary brand for all its products. Together with this, it also sees the importance of naming its flagship products in a way that focuses on the category, function or the unique selling point of each product, Choi said.

For example, its Arena mobile phone with a WVGA (Wide Video Graphics Array) screen, is so named because it is designed to evoke the feeling of watching a performance or sporting event with "maximum visibility" within an enclosed area.

Beyond the name
Both vendors noted that naming a product is only one important factor in their quest to better position their products in the market.

Choi said the design, function and price of the product are equally important.

Ng said the way the products are communicated to the audience is important too.

Communicating the product name through different channels such as public relations, advertising, online and point-of-purchase marketing, have provided positive customer recall and awareness of the products, she said.

Based in Singapore, Konrad Foo is an intern with ZDNet Asia.