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Eating My Own Dog Food: Name Company, Win $100.

By Nalts • on May 28, 2009

If you’re going to help trusted brands engage in social media, you’d better “eat your own dog food.” So here’s an invitation to WVFF readers and you Twitterholics. Come up with the winning name of my new social-media consulting company and win a $100 gift-certificate to Amazon.com (or Paypal or whatever).

I look forward to surfing through the parodies in pursuit of a gem. Important note: the “creative brief” is available below (select more) or as PDF here: naltsco. You’ll want to at least focus on a few guidelines so you can see why I’m staying away from “CompanyofNalts,” “Viral Video” anything, or the word fart (even if I’m the second Google result for the term).

Naming Nalts’ Consulting Company

Objective: Create name for a high-impact but small marketing consulting practice that helps premier brand and companies irresistably engage with customers and audiences via social media, especially its most visceral form: video.

Prize: Winning name (posted below or via Twitter with tag #naltsco) wins $100 gift certificate at Amazon.com. Some guidelines:

Go for a name that’s bold and innovative but not “cute” or cliché.
It should be trustworthy and positive so large companies feel safe hiring the company.
Timeless and flexible so it can adapt as the company evolves. Best to avoid using terms like “social media” or “video,” which could be passé or limiting.
“Ownable” and unique so it is easily “Googled,” and won’t be confused with another company or infringe on another firm.

The Market Need: When American corporations do business abroad, they often hire local liaisons to help them with country-specific customs, laws and practices. Similarly, as marketers engage in social media (YouTube, Twitter, FaceBook, and emerging forums) they need a deeper understanding about how individuals behave. Many brands and agencies have spent millions — on beautiful flash sites and intrusive advertising campaigns — that are awkward or sadly ignored. A small oversight by a well-intending brand can often weaken impact or create embarrassment. The best programs tap those who “live” in these media.

The Solution: Brands are welcome in social media when they’re authentic/transparent, entertaining and add value. But the sustainability of social-media marketing likewise rests upon a fair value exchange between brands and consumers. Just as a consumer will “tune out” interruption marketing, corporations can only sustain marketing programs with an ROI (improving reputation, increasing awareness, and driving sales). There is a happy medium, and we help strike the balance.

Who We Are: We are a small and nimble firm founded by an seasoned marketer who also is one of the most prolific online-video creators. Our unique “inside out and outside in” perspective helps clients add value to both their company and their “target” market (customers, prospects, brand evangelists or large audiences). We are rare independent specialists of various “conversational” mediums, and we help brands engage with lower risk, greater agility and speed, and defined success metrics. We help trusted brands and companies succeed in a digital world where online advertising is giving way to consumer dialogue — directly impacting company and brand reputations and revenue.

What We Do:

Help premier brands engage in emerging social media: We help companies monitor, engage and measure the important social-media forums (YouTube, FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, etc) where customers, prospects and competitors are engaging. We offer a strategic perspective, but don’t stop with Powerpoints. We help deploy exciting online programs that entertain, educate, and engage people.
Focus on business impact above “cute” metrics. We establish success metrics that are meaningful to a brand team – we’re not interested in celebrating video views, Twitter retweets, or how many Facebook friends a brand has. We’re committed to boosting awareness, engagement, and improving attributes & intent that ultimately drives purchase behavior.
Mobilize organizations. Companies need to be flexible and fast in the age of “conversational media.” Where appropriate, we help companies create organization policies and communication to provide a foundation for deployment. It doesn’t need to take months or years to help ensure marketing, agencies, legal, public affairs, eBusiness groups are coordinated.
Play nice. We work with brand teams and agency partners to provide value where we can, and stay away from what’s working well. We don’t build websites, pitch design, or buy media. We know what it means to be an efficient and healthy contributor to multiple internal and external stakeholders.