Thursday, December 07, 2017

New Product Names in Taiwan - A 25 year odyssey


Company A: We need a name for our new motorcycle. It’s not fast, but super reliable.
Me: Call it the Centurion
Company A: Too violent. We’re going to call it “Hartford”

Company B: We have a new kind of machining center, very high capacity.
Me: Call it Hephaestus
Company B: Too weird. We’ll call it “Golden Lucky”

Company C: We need a new name for our USB flash drive lineup.
Me: Coeus, Celeritas, or Reposita
Company C: We don’t understand any of those. We’ll call it “DashDrive”

Product Manager of Company D: Karl, we are developing a system that integrates IoT with vertical farming for better management and improved crop yield. We need a cool name for this system.
Me: *Sighs* OK…  
Product Manager: But here’s the thing. I don’t want a name that’s some variation of ‘Tech’ or ‘Net’ or ‘Link’ or any of those. They’re all overused. Can you think of a name that’s a classical reference? Like is there an ancient god of farming or something?
Me: *tears of happiness streaming down my face* Demeter, Greek goddess of agriculture. The system is called Demeter.  
Product Manager: Perfect! Thanks!

Me: *retires*

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