I think you're missing the point.
Choosing ONE brand name and making it stick = good. Choosing seven words where one would do = bad.
For instance, I just found myself browsing through a list of new Microsoft products. I found a mouse there called the "Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Limited Edition".
That's just hilarious. Anyone can see that that's hilarious, and not effective branding.
Re:Please, call a spade a spade
by function_seven on Friday February 24, 2012 @07:10PM
(#3631675)
My first laugh-out-loud experience with this was the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch. That's exactly how the TV adverts introduced it. I couldn't keep up.
Samsung really has a knack for branding, I especially like their Nexus line.
There's the Nexus One, the Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy Nexus S, the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S Plus and the Galaxy S2.
Give or take a few...
Re:Please, call a spade a spade
by AndrewDucker on Saturday February 25, 2012 @07:21AM
(#3632782)
The Nexus One is an HTC phone, because the Nexus line of phones are a _Google_ brand, which switches manufacturer (and follow on from the G1).
The Galaxy line is Samsung's brand. Obviously, the two brands have crossed over a couple of times.
"Microsoft" is an extremely well known brand name. Standing behind that name rather than diluting it with 10 other sub-brands makes a lot of sense.
But if Instagram called itself "Camera" or "Camera Filter" or "Social Camera" or something exceedingly simple, it would not likely have caught the same traction. The name Instragram has now come to mean something unique. The same way the word "Microsoft" is now loaded with all sorts of connotations.
I agree that forcing users into a new vocabulary doesn't make much sense, but startups need to differentiate themselves on branding. Throwing in a word like "tweet" to compliment "twitter" makes a lot of sense.