Names are not just anything.
A good name contains the essence of the brand and must have the ability to capture your identity, and continue to do so as the company evolves.
Even more than any logo, our company name is often what the general public will remember, so it is interesting that the name not only catches the eye, but also offers a clear idea of what our intention is as a brand.
To illustrate this, below we give you some examples of companies that have made a difference, and the meaning behind their names.
Some names: do you know why these brands are called that?
If we think of examples of highly recognised brands, we see that their name is much more than a label. It is a statement of intent.
Apple
The Apple brand revolutionised the market so much that it is now easy for us to think of its products before the fruit. The brand's co-founder, Steve Jobs, chose this name inspired by his love of the fruit, but the decision goes much further.
The idea was to come up with a name that sounded friendly to the public, not at all intimidating, something unusual in the tech sector. As a detail, he also took into account that, by starting with the letter «A», it would appear early in telephone directories and, in fact, he liked that it appeared before Atari (Jobs's former company).
When we think of Google, it may remind us of swimming goggles. Although, of course, we would think first of this browser and business giant.
In reality, the word «Google» is a variant of the mathematical term «googol», which represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. Curiously, the origin of the term was determined by a child, the nephew of mathematician Edward Kasner. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google, chose this name to symbolise the vast amount of information available on the web.
Nike
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory. The name reflects much more than sport; the company's entire approach is based on success, but above all on effort and perseverance, everything needed to achieve victory. For this very reason, the famous logo, brilliantly minimalist, represents the goddess's wing.
Amazon
Meaning: Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, chose this name because he wanted his online shop to be «exotic and different». In addition, the «A» at the beginning of the name and the «Z» closing it were intended to refer to the company's very extensive selection, from A to Z.
Sony
«»Sony« is a combination of two words: »sonus«, the Latin word for sound, and »sonny", a Japanese colloquial expression meaning young. The name not only clearly refers to the field in which the brand works, it also reflects its vocation for originality and youth in technological innovation.
Microsoft
Microsoft is a clear example of a company that, with its name, makes clear its intention and the position it occupies in the sector. The name is a fusion of the words «microcomputer» and «software». Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, as this name reflects, the company focused uniquely on the development of software for microcomputers.
Volkswagen
In German, «Volkswagen» translates as «people's car». This name reflects the vision of Ferdinand Porsche and the German government, which wanted to create an affordable car for the people during the 1930s. Beyond that, today, this name highlights the brand's approach of offering a product for all of society.
Why are we called CatalogPlayer?
We have already seen that many companies use a name that not only manages to synthesise what they do, but also their methods and brand philosophy.
Now it's our turn, why are we called CatalogPlayer?
The first part of the name, «Catalog», refers to commercial catalogues. From the beginning, our intention has been to transform the use given to the commercial catalogue and enhance it thanks to the opportunities offered to us by new technologies.
A catalogue is a tool with a long history in the world of sales and one that reminds us of a very visual idea of what commercial actions are. But it can be much more, so we wanted to give it «play».
The second part of our name, «player», is the action that, as a company, we want to take with commercial catalogues. Just as with a «reader» you can read your documents, with CatalogPlayer you can play with your catalogues.
To better illustrate this idea, we share with you a video of Arian Ribell, co-founder of CatalogPlayer, explaining where the idea for the name came from:
From our beginnings, at CatalogPlayer we have wanted to convey to our clients the belief that selling is something that can be gamified and that catalogues have much more potential than being a viewer for your products.
With the platform we help you win the game, because, as Arian Ribell explains:
«Every sales process is like a challenge».
