Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick Paperback – September 15, 2014

Alexandra brings wit, humor, and a truly refreshing perspective to the names many of us take for granted. She'll show us those that are in her Hall of Fame (Baconator? You ate her words) and those that are well-qualified candidates for her Hall of Shame. The only thing missing from her book is a chapter entitled "I just can't make this **** up!" which would be the real groaners that make you say "What in the world were they thinking when they came up with that?!"Alexandra is as real as her words, and lays out an amazing blueprint for branding and marketing genius, which shows you how to test any brand name you are thinking of to make sure it does not leave you scratching your head. If you are a marketer, love branding, or just wondering how some names came about - or Alexandra's opinion on some of the common names we know, like and enjoy - this is THE book for you.And if you are just looking for a book of pure humor - this book is guaranteed to make your stomach hurt laughing!

You know a book is good when you buy the audiobook... and you have so many notes you want to take, so you buy the kindle book as well 😆 I have so many good things to say about Hello My Name Is Awesome.First, the content ROCKS. The SMILE and SCRATCH framework makes creating incredible names 100x easier. Add that to the brainstorming techniques and other tricks of the trade and you'll never worry about being stuck naming something again.Second, Alexandra found the BEST narrator for the audiobook (Claire Buchignani). Seriously one of the best narrations I've ever listened to -- she captured the witty nature of the book using multiple accents, tonalities, vocal variation... I found myself laughing out loud listening multiple times!This book is my new bible on naming, and I'll be returning to it time and time again!

Alexandra Watkins’ Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick is a practical guide to picking inventive company names and mastering the art of branding. Mrs. Watkins’ marketing handbook provides the reader with the necessary information to successfully name a company or product. Her branding expertise and humorous writing style make this marketing guide to branding a must read. The name is a huge part of a product and the branding associated with it. Mrs. Watkins attempts to help the everyday entrepreneur avoid the pitfalls of unclear and whacky company names. Keeping in mind the 5 qualities of a super-sticky name and the seven deadly sins, one can arrive at the perfect company name while promoting a desired brand strategy around a product or service.In Watkins’ guide, she determines a tipping point when it comes to company and product naming. Entrepreneurs and business owners must struggle with the difficult task of standing out from the crowd while engineering an understandable and fitting name for a company or product line. Small details must be thought over and the smallest intricacies can make one brand name lasting and effective and another confusing and ineffective. Brand names serve as a first impression between consumers and producers. Watkins believes that a satisfactory company or brand name should turn heads, generate buzz and spark sales. Brand names characterize a company or product in a few simple words or a short phrase. The brand name is the single most important marketing attribute of a company and can doom a company from the start if not given enough attention. Following Mrs. Watkins’ tips to creating lasting brand names can make or break a company before its’ products or service are even produced and released in the consumer market for consumption. Alexandra Watkins does a great job in explaining her criteria and process for generating effective and lasting brand names. Her ideas are well backed up with satisfactory examples and real life instances where her method was implemented to create real brand names used in the market today. Watkins believes that, “the most powerful brand names connect with people and move them to buy because they are based on familiar words and concepts that they understand and appreciate.” In fact, Alexandra Watkins mentions Kryptonite locks, Mayday tech support, Obsession perfume, Leap Frog toys and Ninja blenders as companies with brand names that speak volumes. She believes that a brand name tells the story a producer wants to get across to its potential customers. Following her method will ensure a practical brand name that clearly explains the overall aura attached to a product. However, she also cites the many pitfalls associated with brand naming. Some of the companies she identifies as lacking in the brand-naming department include: Sur La Table, Iams, Flickr, Saucony, Eukanuba and Xobni. The author provides many real life examples to back up her argument for successful brand naming, while at the same time citing companies who failed at creating effective brand names. I believe that if followed correctly and analyzed in the correct way, Alexandra Watkins provides a sound method for brand naming. She is very successful in her interpretation of powerful brand names and the importance of an effective brand name. She provides the reader with the proper tools and prepares them for the difficult task of brand naming. Though her system isn’t foolproof by any sense of the imagination, it can give someone struggling to find a suitable company name a push in the right direction. I would recommend this book to any entrepreneur or future business owner who may one day struggle with the task of engineering a suitable brand name. If the task of brand naming is something you’ll ever have to deal with, reading Watkins’ guide for anything more than entertainment would be a waste of time. However her writing style and interjected humor make it an easy read and gives flair to what seems to be a pretty bland topic. All in all, I would recommend this book to any company or entrepreneur making or slated to make a decision in brand or product naming.

Having read many business and marketing books over the past few days this was my least favourite. I found it to be an 'all-over-the-place' format, some of the advice given isn't necessarily the best and much of the content isn't as applicable to the UK consumers, rather it is suited to US consumers who differ quite considerably. The names suggestions for the new company in Utah raised concerns when Cold Comfort was favoured in the list but surely this would have trade mark infringements on Southern Comfort (a very famous brand in the US)? Trade marking is discussed in detail in this book and is clearly seen as extremely important however I wouldn't suggest any small business/sole trader seeks to trade mark a new business name as soon as one is created as it costly and there are unregistered trademark rights in the UK.It feels as if this book is aimed towards larger corporations and unfortunately as a sole trader/small business owner (in the UK) this book wouldn't be that suitable.

This is a good book to have, I heard Alexandria on the madebrave podcast, i really liked what she had to say and how she came across so i picked up this book.It's really helpful as i am a student doing digital design at GCU, for a few projects now I've been tasked with branding a company and launching a mock product/event. While i already find this process to be really fun, Alexandria's book helps me see things in black and white and helps me refine my processes and really understand the why behind everything.Recommend this to every design student in a similar boat and for anyone in marketing/advertising as it will help you dig a little deeper and hopefully come out with really clever and original ideas for your projects.

This book is a brilliant piece of work. I really liked the SMILE and SCRATH tests as they give you a nice way to quickly sense-check early ideas before you invest too much time and resources into a potential SCRATCH. The advice on purchasing domains is invaluable and can save you a a lot of stress and money if you are trying to buy an exact-word domain name. But what I personally found most useful was the creative brief template and worked-out example, which Alexandra generously provides in her book. I used the creative brief template to develop my own creative brief and it helped me streamline and focus my thinking on the core message. The questions are simple and clear and take you through a thorough process. The book is a very pleasurable read and you don't realise how much knowledge has been packed into a small package. It is a must read not just for naming projects but as part of your overall business acumen.

If you are looking to name something, except perhaps a baby, then this book should be your first port of call. It is concise, provides an excellent framework, is well structured, is full of examples and sparks the imagination.I've read Alexandra's book, got her SMILE and SCRATCH test loaded in my mind, put my Creative Brief together (to name a new personal productively app I'm developing) and can't wait to get into the brainstorming part of the process. Let's hope I come up with a good name - no pressure.

I'm so glad I found this book! This book is a fantastic resource which is filled with fun and practical advice on how to name a business, product or service (basically anything actually!). I read the book in a day and it's packed with so much useful content. Alexandra has a real fun way of writing which also makes it a very enjoyable read.