Definition | Meaning
- Any variation of an existing product or service which shares its parent brand’s key characteristics but which is distinguished by a new benefit (flavor, size, etc.).
Compare | See
- parent brand
- sub brand
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lexicon
Definition | Meaning
- The inventory of words in a given language, dialect, or idiom.
Example | Illustration
- the English lexicon can be found in an complete dictionary.
- this dictionary is an effort to record the lexicon of branding and naming
Etymology | Origin
kenning
Definition | Meaning
- A name created from a poetic, compound metaphor.
Example | Illustration
- The Rain Bird Corporation, an American manufacturer of sprinkler systems, contains a kenning for ‘sprinkler’.
jargon
Definition | Meaning
- The specialized vocabulary or set of idioms shared by a particular profession or sub-culture.
Example | Illustration
- geekspeak
Compare | See
- idiom
invented spelling
Definition | Meaning
- The use of non-standard spelling to achieve a desired effect or to otherwise distinguish a name.
Example | Illustration
- Cingular is an intentionally altered spelling of the word ‘singular’.
inventive name
Definition | Meaning
- Any brand name which did not exist in the lexicon prior to its creation.
Example | Illustration
- Kodak
- Oreo
Etymology | Origin
Compare | See
- fanciful name
- coined name
interrogatory sentence
Definition | Meaning
- Any brand name composed of a complete question.
- An interrogatory sentence is designed to engage the consumer by encouraging him or her to answer the question the name poses.
Example | Illustration
- Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? educational software
Etymology | Origin
ingredient brand
Definition | Meaning
- Any brand, typically owned by another company, which is promoted as a key element of a host brand.
Example | Illustration
- the “Intel Inside” campaign
Etymology | Origin
Compare | See
- host brand
initialism
Definition | Meaning
- Any name formed from first letter or letters of the words in a phrase (IRS, the Internal Revenue Service), the syllables or components of one word (TNT, trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP, extrasensory perception) and usually pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one.
Example | Illustration
- The few advantages of a commercial acronym are that it may challenge the consumer to ‘solve the puzzle’, as if it were a vanity license plate (TCBY, The Country’s Best Yogurt), or else present the consumer with a prefabricated bit of upscale slang (DKNY, Donna Karan New York and MGD, Miller Genuine Draft).
- The chief disadvantage of an initialism is that it may be unintelligible and forgettable without a prohibitive investment in advertising. It took James Earl Jones to make“This is CNN” a meaningful phrase.
Etymology | Origin
Compare | See
- acronym
imperative sentence
Definition | Meaning
- Any brand name which is a complete call to action, often marked with an exclamation point.
Example | Illustration
- Microsoft Picture It! personal imaging software
Etymology | Origin