They say that choosing the right brand name for a product or service is crucial for its success. It’s not an easy and a simple task. This one decision will have significant branding consequences for years. After all, it’s an organization’s entire story, distilled down to one or two words.
When one is developing a name for a business, a product or a service, there are a number of different branding routes one can take.
- Use the founder or inventor’s name (Hewlett-Packard)
- Describe what you do (Southwest Airlines)
- Describe an experience or image (Sprint)
- Take a word out of context (Apple)
- Make up a word (Google)
While traveling last week in train, my co-passenger had this brand of mineral water bottle.
Water Balls!! Water is ok but why Balls? Let us try to understand this brand name by focusing on how both the words identify with a mineral water brand. Water is not available in pellets or balls. Nor is this is packaged in a ball like container. Water-balls are water toys that are played on the water surface, but then how is it related to packaged drinking water? So, these interpretations don’t make any sense with reference to the brand in focus.
Let us now deconstruct the two words in the brand name separately and understand the rationale of this unique brand name. Water is clear to us. Balls could have different meanings. Let’s try and understand what could it mean with reference to packaged drinking water.
- Ball – Spherical object or entity – Nope, water is not a spherical entity so the brand manager could not possibly mean this.
- Balls – Any of various rounded, movable objects used in various athletic activities and games – Again, a package drinking water and a playing ball are far from related.
- Balls –Vulgar slang – I am sure nobody in their right mind would use this for their brand of water.
- Balls – Testicles – This is out-rightly ruled out too.
- Balls – Courage, especially when reckless – Do we need reckless courage to drink this water?
- Balls – An exclamation of strong disagreement, contempt, annoyance, etc – Really?!
How did this company come up with this brand name. Wonder, what would be the story behind this brand name! For the life of me, I can’t figure this branding strategy for a packaged drinking water. Can you?
42 Responses
Sometimes, a silly name is given to a product for PR/Word of Mouth spreading reasons. They’ve managed to get a blog post from you, right? 🙂
Destination Infinity
Yes, out-of-the-ordinary names certainly attract attention!! And yes, this brand even got a blog post and so much of discussion on it even though they might not be aware of its existence! 😀
Most probably, they’ve used this name to get attention.
They’ll get attention all right, but will they get buyers? I don’t think so.
Yes, attention they have got! Must be a small time brand from a small place and am sure people there wouldn’t even think of a brand name, the way we are analyzing it 🙂
Made me chuckle…and you did such a good job dissecting what it would actually mean. Nice!
Vella time, velle log 😀
Haha.. that’s a weird name to keep for a water bottle. Had fun reading your analysis. 🙂
Totally weird!! 🙂
Ugh! Seriously?
LOL, yes 😀
They had to have chosen the shock factor to stand out… that would be my guess 🙂
By the way, there’s one more ball to consider – the gala event (winter ball, ballroom dancing) . Maybe if this is a truly elite brand (:p) , they were trying to convince us that this is a hi-fi water 😀
Oh, then they truly shocked us! 😀 Yes, I missed that ball. Thanks for sharing that, Roshan 🙂
Ha ha…perhaps it’s the perfect water for making ice-golas? 😉
The other day I came across a shop selling mobile phones called The Big C! 😛
Ice-Golas… now that’s very creative thinking and very niche marketing 😀
LOL @ The Big C 😆
Haha now that is an interesting line of thought! I can’t figure it out myself…maybe it’s someone like me who has names it..Did you know I was going to name my sister ‘Aaam’ and no she didn’t look like a mango! 😀
Aaam! That’s hilarious! Thank God, you didnt get to name your sister, Nabanita!! 😀
Selecting a name is very important because people should immediately identify with the product. IBM – Computers, Xerox – Photocopying, AT&T – Telephone service, Google – Search engine.
True. Deciding on a brand name is not an easy task! It has to be a well thought of strategy as your brand can make or break you!
The idea is to make the consumer remember the brand – just like you did. Brand goal achieved!
I think that must be a short term goal! 🙂
Strange brand name for bottled water , like you neither can i figure the reason behind the name …..but water balls is the name of a pani-puri vendor near my home.
Water Balls for a pani puri vendor, still makes a lot of sense 🙂
Shilpa, that brand name had me laughing my heart out. But it’s effective!! Truly!
Aah! You think so too 😀
hahaha I think you did more analysis than the company would have actually done 😀
You post made me realize that we always try to come up with different and unique names, but Apple gave a simple word a revolutionary change in meaning.
LOL 😀 Yes! And sadly they are unaware that their brand is creating waves in the blog-word 😀
True, some brand names are amazing stories! Like the one about Lady Gaga. “I was performing in New York and my friends started to call me Gaga,” Stefani Germanotta told Barbara Walters. “They said I was very theatrical … you’re Gaga.” And, as the story goes, a stage name with “natural correctness” was born. Amazing na?!
Very hilarious post. You have analysed different aspects of naming water,in different ways, in your own unique style. Nice post.
Thanks Ma’am 🙂
hahaha…..what an unusual name; but yes, it did get all the attention it wanted to with its name 😛
Yeah, attention they got it, right! 🙂
This is hilarious!! Can’t imagine how they came up with this one unless they were all drunk out of their minds, got to laughing, and came up with this, laughed themselves silly, and woke up the next day with monster hangovers and thought “Water Balls”!! YEAH! Ha ha ha! Thanks for the giggles Shilpa! Love it. I would drink water balls simply because of the looks I would get and the giggles it would create…yeah that is me. HA HA HA!
I loved your story, Kathy! I think that explains it for us, no further discussion 😀
Really, can’t say.After reading your blog,I am convinced whoever gave the name,wasn’t sure himself
I think Kathy in her comment above, got it right 😀
Really silly.
But I guess they want to be infamous, and at least get some publicity in the process. Phew. Look at how the standards have gone down.
May be! Wish they come out here and explain their stance! Though I am loving Kathy’s interpretation the most 😀
lol, That’s funny
You bet 😀
Maybe this was there intention. To make others notice their brand cos of their weird name 😀
May be 😀
Hmm…tricky eh!!
Weird is the word, I would say 😀