I’ve been working with a client to name a piece of proprietary hardware technology. We need to call it something memorable.

Something competitors can’t easily copy.

Most importantly, we need something we can trademark.

This got me thinking again about the art of strategic naming, and how the right branded term can transform an ordinary feature into something special.

Think of Crest toothpaste. Ever wonder why they don’t just say “sodium fluoride” on the tube?

Because everyone else does. “Fluorstat” sounds way more impressive. More scientific. More ownable.

It’s completely made up. But it works.

No other toothpaste can have Fluorostat, even though it’s just good ol’ sodium fluoride!

One of my favourite examples of this naming magic happened in the 1970s when I was growing up. Chrysler wanted its Cordoba‘s leather seats to sound more luxurious. Enter Ricardo Montalbán, with his magnificent Spanish accent, purring about “rich Corinthian leather.”

Pure fiction. (Chrysler even made Montalban say “Cordoba,” coincidentally his father’s hometown in Mexico, in an inauthentic way!) Regular upholstery leather, fancy name.

But it became automotive legend.

Montalbán talks about it in this classic David Letterman episode:

(If the video doesn’t display in your email reader, you can see it in the web post. Link at the end of this article)

The goal is absolutely not to deceive customers.

It’s to make your innovations memorable and distinctly YOURS. The buyer’s tank brain knows the difference between a lie and smart branding that twists in a bit of marketing fiction.

Consumers prefer fun, memorable names.

W. L. Gore could have called its Gore-Tex “waterproof breathable membrane.” Instead, they created a name no competitor could touch. Same with Kevlar, Velcro, and Lycra.

Sometimes these names become SO embedded in our culture that we forget they’re trademarks. 

Bubble Wrap isn’t simply what we all call that addictively poppable packaging material from Sealed Air — it’s their registered trademark. 

Formica countertops? That’s not a material (as my interior designer wife recently reminded me), it’s a trademarked brand name that started as “for mica.” Likewise for its competitor, Arborite.

The strategy works across every industry. 

Pfizer didn’t really create Viagra — they created “PDE5 inhibitors” and renamed those chemicals in a word (that thankfully didn’t have a “P”, “F” and a “Z” all smooshed together in it). 

Intel doesn’t simply make super fast processors — they make processors with “Turbo Boost Max Technology.”

Even the mattress industry, which in most people’s mind still sells rectangular foam blocks with springs, has mastered this game. 

Purple‘s “GelFlex Grid” (remember the egg test?) and Casper‘s “Snow Technology” turn basic components into owned features.

Mod Podge, basically white glue in a jar, is short for “modern decoupage”.

(I looked that one up after noticing my daughters have some with the same hippie label design I remember from my childhood. Something sticky there!)

The “flip” from want to need often hinges on perception. A memorable, ownable name is a massive anchor for that perception.

A few more to chew on:

• Tempur-Pedic‘s “TEMPUR material” (memory foam)
• Nike‘s “Dri-FIT” (moisture-wicking fabric)
• Whirlpool‘s “AccuBake” (standard temperature sensing)
• Weber‘s “Flavorizer Bars” (regular metal heat shields in a BBQ)

Action for today: Take a fresh look at your product’s biggest features. Which ones could benefit from a distinctive, trademarked name? Don’t just describe — differentiate.

Did I miss your favorite? Hit reply and tell me!

Laurier

Product Payoff: When Johnson & Johnson launched Band-Aid, they could have called the product “adhesive bandages.” Instead, they created a name so powerful that it became the generic term — and they still own the trademark nearly 100 years later. “Band-Aid” definitely made it better.