part 16. what nestle could have done instead - how not to name a brand

the marketing objective behind nestle's give-me-a-name website effort could have read something like this : "generate interest, excitement and anticipation over the launch of the new product".

to deliver on that objective, nestle's brand management team could have done other things other than what they had done. in fact many other things, only if they had thought it through. this is one of them.

first, they should have looked at the characteristic of the internet, a website, as a medium of communication. the internet website has the potential to capture millions of viewers, it's immediate, real time and more importantly it's interactive, not a static one-way medium. they don't just want to get as many people as they can, they also want to get as many excited over the naming of a new brand.

i would have asked a professional naming company to give nestle 5 names at least as a start up list, to seed the contest. the website could have started with the announcement that they are looking for a new name, and that they want the help of its audience in determining which one.

the point is - rather than what they had done where the effort was geared towards getting suggestions from its viewers, they should instead turned the web effort into simply asking for the help of its viewers to choose the name. and more importantly, rather than giving prizes to the authors of the names (viewers will no longer be asked to give name entries), they should have given prizes to those helping them find one. they can give daily, weekly and monthly prizes to those going to the website and giving their votes or opinion on the listed names.

the point of the effort is to generate excitement, interest and anticipation among as many viewers as it can, so giving prizes to those who go to the website will do that as it will make internet surfing rewarding. the potential of winning a prize by just going to a website will get more people to visit the website. that is what will serve as a magnet or incentive to for many to visit the website.

the nestle effort is misplaced as it was giving prizes to the submissions of names - let's be real here, how many people have the ability and creativity to name a brand? not many are as creative nor are confident to do that. the results speak for themselves where there were only less than 65 entries sent. let's do some theoretical math here - 65 entries meant 65 people sending in names, add 5 friends per author, 325 people could have gone to the website, and let's double that number to 650 to add incidental views from other sources and thats it! they spent millions of pesos to get 650 people to view the website! that's probably one of the most expensive marketing effort nestle has ever run in it's history on a cost per person basis!

the idea is to make the effort as some kind of a "betting" game much like the efforts run by noontime tv shows and game shows in the philippines --- the audience will be asked to select the name they think will be chosen and prizes will be given to one or a few among those who select the "winning" name. they can add more mechanics and contests that will give viewers prizes on a daily and weekly basis. (the mechanics are not being detailed here, but just giving the core idea.)

the point is give rewards and prizes to the viewers of the website to deliver on the marketing objective of creating excitement, interest and anticipation among as many viewers as it can pre-launch of the brand. you use an advertising and marketing medium such as the internet to reach and capture as many audience as you can. that's the point of all of advertising and marketing media.


to be continued.....