It’s good to have fun and try to be clever when you’re trying to brand a product, but as Google reminded us yesterday, its more important to be clear and get your message across.
Froogle is a service by Google that uses the company’s search engine to help consumers search, find, and buy products online. As you can tell, the name ‘Froogle’ doesn’t help the average person understand what the service could be about. Because Google finally realized this, the company has renamed Froogle to Google Product Search.
Today, we’re making some changes to how we help users find things to buy. You may be familiar with our product Froogle (a pun on “frugal”). Froogle offers a lot of great functionality and has helped many users find things to buy over the years, but the name caused confusion for some because it doesn’t clearly describe what the product does.
This is a great move on Google’s part as far as acquiring new users is concerned. The new name clearly communicates to anyone who hears it, exactly what the service is about. So learn from Google, and the next time you launch a product or service, devote time specifically for branding. Think about your audience and how they will interpret your brand before you decide on that funky/clever name.