About Jay
Co-Founder & President English learning for children
everywhere Venture-backed Launching 2010
Partner, BEMA Studios LLC Social sports betting on the
IPhone Launching January 2010
About Jay (pre-start-up)
Employee # 17146 PC on every desk, in every
home Public, $60B in revenue
Why is naming important?
Experience & lessons learned
Specific advice & tips
Show & tell
Not in scope: domain-hunting
Who The F*** Are You?
Names matter It’s all the marketing you’ve got (for
now)
It sets your position relative to competition
It’s EVERYWHERE you are
Experience & Lessons #1
Lessons
CUSTOMERS matter
Less is more
Have a decider
Pass the “Human” test
X
Removed “.NET” >1 quarter before
RTM
Experience & Lessons # 2
Lessons
Learn about naming
Use naming process (described herein)
Work fast—2-3 hours
Pass the “Human” test
Experience & Lessons # 3
Lessons
Use naming process (described herein)
Work fast
Pass the “Human” test
Link: http://www.igorinternational.com/process/igor-naming-guide.pdf
! !
Specific “Must Do” Advice
Get Free Naming Guide from Igor Top Naming & Branding Agency in SF Published its naming guide online in
PDF Doc covers its process and approach
4 Types of Names
Name Types Example Pros Cons
Functional
Betonline.comBetus.comSportsbook.com
Know what it is Not distinct
Invented
AgilentAquientOreoGoogle
Easy trademarkMemorable (or not)
Difficult to know if you’ve got a winner or loser
Experiential
NavigatorExplorerSafari
Make sense to consumer
Becomes common
Evocative Virgin (v. BA)Apple (v. IBM) Strong for positioning
Non-linear, meaning committees hate them
Source: Igor International
Igor’s Process (Adapted)1. Analyze competitors’ names
2. Establish your differentiation & positioning
3. Brainstorm potential names
4. Assess names against specific criteria
5. Check GoDaddy.com for availability
Naming Moonshoot
Step 1 : Look at Competitor TypesFunction
alInvente
dExperien
tialEvocativ
eK12.com Club
PenguinBaby
EinsteinLeap Frog
Cappela University
Head Sprout
Berlitz
Kumon
Aeon
Step 2: Our Positioning
Connected to a world beyond the horizon
Global Fun Forward-looking & ambitious Human Confident Aspirational Different
Step 3 : Brainstorm names Leapfrog (reference) LearnNow Cumlaude Global Edge Moonshoot Boost Sunray Camo Orbit Yoko Butterflyeffect …
Write them all down…
No matter how stupid they sound
9 factors for scoring names
1. Appearance2. Distinctive3. Depth4. Energy5. Humanity6. Positioning7. Sound8. “33”9. Trademark
10 point scale for
each category
Source: Igor International
Step 4: Score names
NameLeapFrog 9 8 8 9 9 9 9 6 10 77Moonshoot 9 10 9 9 9 7 8 8 5 74Boost 9 8 6 9 7 6 10 7 5 67Sunray 8 8 7 8 8 7 7 7 5 65Camo 7 9 8 7 7 4 9 8 5 64Orbit 8 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 61Yoko 8 8 5 6 8 3 9 6 5 58CumLaude 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 57butterflyeffect 6 7 7 5 7 6 5 8 5 56Global Edge 6 7 7 6 6 9 5 5 5 56LearnNow 3 1 3 3 3 3 5 3 5 29
Source: Igor International
Naming Smackdaddy
Step 1 : Competitor Types
Competitor Types Competitor Names
Online betting & sports books Betonline.comBetus.comBetfair.comSportsbook.comYouwager.com
Social Betting Sites DotbluBragsterSmarkets
Fantasy Leagues Yahoo Fantasy SportsCBS Fantasy SportsESPN Fantasy Sports
Social gaming sites ZyngaPlaydom
Step 1: Analyze Competitor Names
Functional Invented Experiential Evocative
Betfair.com Dotblu Bragster Zynga
Betonline.com Smarkets
Sportsbook.com
Playdom
Youwager.com
Fantasy Sports Leagues
Step 2: Our Positioning
Free & fun i.e., NOT betting for real
money
Entertainment
Approachable & simple
Sports-oriented/ themed
Rated PG-13
Mobile
Step 3 : Brainstorm names Berman’s (Named after ESPN host) Betdom Betspark Betr Challenger DaaBears Gamespark Hippo Mobbetz Mobbet Overxunder Write them
all down
Smackdaddy Smackdown Smackking Smashyou Smackzz Smakken Smakkr Schwakd
Step 4: Score names
NameSmackdaddy 10 10 10 9 8 10 8 10 10 85Betr 7 9 7 10 10 9 10 7 5 74Overxunder 9 8 9 7 9 8 7 9 5 71Betdom 8 7 8 8 7 7 9 8 5 67Smakrr 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 53Schwakd 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 44Overundrr 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 5 38Mobbetz 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 5 26Mobbetz 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 5 24
Source: Igor International