According to Kotler, a brand should be memorable, distinctive, easily pronounced, say something about the nature, benefits or properties of the product and have no negative foreign meanings.

What insiders call ICBINB

It was a Unilever strategy for a while to name brands that “are what they say on the packaging”.

Unilever examples: “I can’t believe it’s not butter” (pictured on the right), “Too good to be true”, or “Chicken tonight”. I hate that sort of branding, to a Brit it’s just oozing tacky American garish selling. But let’s be honest, it sometimes works.

Well the worse brand I ever met was called something like “Gee, your hair smells wonderful this evening, honey”. Yeuk!

But what about this… it’s memorable, distinctive, easily pronounced, says something about the nature, benefits or properties of the product. Ok, it has some negative meanings, but it works too…

By the way: I once saw a similarly daring painters’ company in London. Run by industrious Indians. On the van it said, “You’ve tried the cowboys, now try the Indians”. I wonder how they’re doing.