The name identity of a business will now be the only measure on how a name works in a micro-multi-national-formation in a maze of countries and cultures. Economical powers are defined by their cyber-presence and simultaneous accessibilities in targeted countries. Here, big cumbersome visuals are replaced by fluid URLs thus creating a new name-economy.

E-commerce, recently hatched by Internet and Websites is now a fully matured mammoth and has connected with a few big punches in the first round of fights between old and new economy. What was just a simple information page on the Net is now in majority of cases, a powerful web-portal-come-real-money-making-gatekeeper to the entire organization. This fight also created a thick forest of strange and weird brand new online name identities, jamming and clashing with each other, causing massive confusion among names of corporate organizations, institutions, products and services of all types and all sizes. As the tidal wave of our net-savvy cultures becomes a global phenomenon, organizations are now faced with critical issues of re-branding and re-naming to stay in this new race for better name identity and global visibility.

Local or Global-Cyber-Branding

At this very second, organizational names are skating at bullet speed on this digitally formatted flat new earth, without borders, passports, or time zones. No delays, no barriers, no major costs, just access. Across the street or across the continent it is basically the same format.

Today, it's all about an organization's names and their high visibility on global e-commerce, instant accessibility on the net, quick search-ability on the Web, distinct memorability of names by an overly strained populace, easy type-ability by tired fingers, and pleasant vocalization of such names and web experiences by the customers all over the world.

The name identity of a business will now be the only true measure on how a name works in a micro-multi-national-formation in a maze of countries and cultures. Economical powers are defined by their cyber-presence and simultaneous accessibilities in targeted countries. Here, big cumbersome visuals are replaced by fluid URLs thus creating a new name-economy accessible only through online name identities.

In contrast to the old fashioned big branding with flashy logos, colors, stripes, and fancy fonts, it's now all about short, simple, highly effective, globally trademakable names with matching dotcom URL's. It is all about a real alpha-structure of a name and its direct functionality on search engines rather a logo design. Good names have a direct impact on corporate persona and positively affect customers, members, media and influence public opinions at large. It's time to explore the real power of names, new laws of marketing and learn how to play this sophisticated name game on this, one single digitally flat earth. Discover the fine art of global business naming.

All the good names have gone..really?

Organizations, believing that all the star-quality names were taken, and had no choice but to accept a silly, weird domain names to fit the websites. A myth by branding firms was established about a serious shortage of business names. If there never was a shortage it was only in the naming expertise. Basically, names must be sober and respectable, related to the cause, clearly available and globally protectable with an identical and matching dotcom.

Chasing new customers for new products and services in new markets with new brand names is the new game. This borderless marketing provides unlimited access to new customers as long as they can see you and find you on the net. Good names climb to the top on search engines and appear pertinent therefore quickly inviting readers to open your site. So name properly, there is a huge difference between a massive branding exercise and a highly specialized naming expertise. What types of names will hurt your marketing big time?

Three Types of Names

1. Long geographic names. This seriously hurts international marketing. The same long names get initialized, causing massive confusion with strange companies worldwide, and are impossible to find on the net.

2. Words on a string. All kinds of names for all kinds of reasons are neck laced, combined strategically or accidentally like M&A sometimes making no connections at all. Customers hate them, yet corporations prolong the agony.

3. Initials. The entire global business sector has the strangest and most unusual collection of initials. Initials were simply collected and appended as a proof of their long history while somehow the customer is living in today's time and with no regards to the previous century. Acronyms often emulate different personalities causing confusion.

Right now, only a very small percentage of business name brands can pass the acid test of global suitability and registrability as majority have serious faults. It is imperative that executive be fully aware of such faults so they can formulate their long-term corporate communications strategy. Sometimes, different departments are blamed for lack of results and no one dares to question the name or its peculiar structure with negative hidden messages it may be broadcasting. The facts should be on the table, no matter how bad. The name-economy is here to stay and today to identify or search or access a company or a product on e-commerce there is no other device known to us except a name. What's your brand name?

Naseem Javed, author Naming for Power and also Domain Wars, is recognized as a world authority on global name identities and domain issues. Javed founded ABC Namebank, a consultancy he established a quarter century ago, and conducts executive workshops on image and name identity issues. He can be contacted at njabc@njabc.com.

(The views expressed here are those of the author and indiantelevision.com need not necessarily subscribe to the same)