We found the most interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on golf ball naming. The article A Plea for More Poetry on Golf Balls by John Paul Newport brought some interesting questions to the table, mentioning that the combination of words like “Tour” or “Pro” along with “Z”s and “X”s usually form a golf ball’s brand name. Normally, when it comes to brand naming, we usually combine keywords that describe the product we’re selling, or use other tactics such as Literal, Synthesized and Metaphorical naming strategies that we’ve discussed in 
a previous IDeas BIG posting.
The history behind golf ball naming shows a consistent “lame name” pattern. How have these companies been able to accomplish such great sales with less-than-interesting brand names? Perhaps some continue the Pro + Letter naming pattern because of research. Newport explains the history of Titleist’s approach to golf ball naming based on such concepts.
The naming of golf balls brings up some good topics for brand naming in general. What other products or services have you noticed to follow a product category-specific naming convention? Which products or services could use some TLC when it comes to naming? Which product names seem to be most interesting or equally as lame as golf balls?
Be sure to share your thoughts on the above in the comment box below, and share this posting with others to generate a discussion on this naming concept.
