I used to teach marketing and selling at a local college here in Ottawa. And one of the things I used to teach with (I also use them all the time when I want to learn and remember new things, too) were mnemonics.

Mnemonics are tools or devices that aid retention. My best form of mnemonic are acronyms.

Do you remember the little ditty to remember all the planets taught mostly in kindergarten? It goes, "My very eager mother just served us nine pizzas," where the first letter of each word represents the name of each planet in our solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto).

Similarly, I use acronyms to teach about copywriting. I do this to help you remember, appreciate, and understand the process I go through when I write copy. Here they are, with their meaning (they are also linked to their respective articles covering the formula in detail):

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Part of my job as a copywriter includes, from time to time, creating names for businesses, products, and services. Choosing a name may be the single, most important business decision you will ever make.

We are constantly bombarded with marketing messages. Limited by people’s very short attention span, your marketing message has to be effective to the degree that it must communicate its essence and create top-of-mind awareness within an extremely short amount of time.

Names are often the best tools — and sometimes the only ones — for accomplishing this efficiently.

In the game of positioning, your name has to stick firmly in the mind of the marketplace and must do so instantly. While uniqueness is an important factor, there are many other elements that can help the anchoring process — elements that help a name become memorable as well as chosen when a customer experiences a specific need or desire.

So, here are some simple rules to follow when choosing a name for your company or product.

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