FOCUS GROUPS ... Why do they fail? Names are not for a group of people! They are for the masses. One of the major reasons why so many names fail nowadays, is because most companies still follow the now ancient and justly discredited "Naming School of the '50s." Here are listed its dangerous characteristics, which one must never follow today: This is how major international names were created back then: As a start, companies formed many carefully selected and managed focus groups, lead by a trained psychologist who was skilled in this area. All members of each group were usually from only one nationality, and were specially chosen for their skills with language. Their task was to develop words, word-roots, analogies, phrases and ideas, in line with chosen themes. During this 2-to-3 hour session, a group of six to eight people created up to 500 to 1000 names, words, and roots in total. Copywriters would then "build up" from this consumer-based data an extensive list of potential trademarks-- often as many as 10,000 names, even more. Computers were also used, to search through dictionaries; identify names which possessed "required attributes" (such as manly, exotic, stylish, etc.); and take existing names.and use word-splicing techniques to build "new and more interesting" ones. These thousands of names would then be pared down to manageable proportions by eliminating all hard-to-pronounce words, hard-to-remember ones, those with no trademark-ability, names where were too long, etc. When down to a "preferred short list" of some 20 to 30 names, the lucky winners were checked in all languages, tested with consumers, and ranked according to preference. Consumers were asked to rate the names on a "like" versus "dislike" basis, only occasionally noting "male vs. female," "weakness vs. strength," and so on. After "legal screening," the list was cut down even further; a full legal search now began, using extensive trademark and legal staff, admittedly both expensive and time-consuming. Some type of name was eventually created! Focus groups! Just the sound of the phrase has a magical quality: To be "focused" is to have your head on straight; to have your eye on the main goal; to know precisely what must be done. And "group" radiates with a warm sense of involvement, caring--yes, of democracy. To paraphrase the famous quotation, democracy is a lousy system, but it's still way ahead of anything in second place. Or, to quote directly from a famous essay by the great British writer E.M. Forster, "Two Cheers for Democracy." It's a wonderful system of government. But it is no way to choose a name for a company or a product! Do focus groups have any value? You bet. They are superb for gathering new research on a concept; for creating interesting, often highly creative ideas; for discovering public opinion about something. But they are not for developing names! To invite ten people off a highway with a coffee/donut/dinner incentive is simply not the correct way to determine what something new should be called. The participants, both confined and obliging (and probably hungry as well), are all longing for human interaction far more then they are interested in solving your problem. Indeed, They are, more often then not, on the "research circuit " of several different focus group organizations. Focus groupies, if you wish. Let's picture it for a moment: a group of men and women, who are (in fact) quite unfocused when first gathered together, who begin to act and pretend, like a jury, in an attempt to pass judgment on a name. Arguments fly. Questions and hands are both raised, and then lowered. Is this name capable of killing the competition? Is this name too soft or too macho? Will this name kill the entire venture, or will it make it take off like a rocket? Are the discussions, and the decisions, logical? Or are they simply part of a process of selecting something in an "eeny, meeny, miney, moe" fashion? Two hours later, the verdict is in. The game is over. History is about to be made. Excerpt from: Naming for Power: Creating Successful Names for the Business World. Copyright 1993 Naming For Power: Creating Successful Names for the Business World Linkbridge Publishing, New York . Toronto New York: 212-876-5363 Toronto: 905-794-2864 Email: info@linkbridge.net