Hello, My Name is Awesome Book Summary - Hello, My Name is Awesome Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

Hello, My Name is Awesome summary

Alexandra Watkins

How to Create Brand Names That Stick

4.1 (22 ratings)
11 mins
Table of Contents

    Hello, My Name is Awesome
    Summary of 4 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 4

    To leave a great first impression, ensure your brand name is super “sticky” and makes people smile.

    Do you remember the first time you heard of a website called Facebook? What was your immediate impression? Did the name make it sound like a hip place to be?

    Chances are, the answer is yes. And that’s exactly how it should be: a good name should create positive, brand-aligned associations without being difficult to understand. The name Facebook, for instance, instantly conjures up thoughts of people connecting.

    Flickr is a more challenging brand name. Even though it’s a successful company, this photo-sharing platform has long struggled simply because people don’t know what its name stands for. You definitely don’t want people drawing a blank when they hear your name.

    That’s why, in order to discover the perfect name for your company, you should follow a conceptual approach captured by the acronym SMILE. It stands for:

    Suggestive: Amazon is a great name because it implies that the retailer carries everything from A to Z, and is massive like its namesake river. If the company had initially been called Bookshop.com, it probably would have followed a very different path.

    Meaningful: to convey meaning to potential customers, don’t name your company after yourself, since strangers don’t associate anything with your name.

    Imaginary: an evocative, visual name is hugely powerful. Think of Timberland, which suggests woods and outdoorsiness. This was exactly the effect intended by the founders.

    Legs: choose names that create space for wordplay. Ben & Jerry’s is masterful at doing this with its ice cream flavors: think Chunky Monkey and Half Baked. Choose fun, playful names people might even want to see printed on a T-shirt.

    And finally, a recent Fast Company article showed that 50 percent of every business is driven by emotion. For instance, just think of the fragrance, Obsession.

    Above all, making people smile when they see your name is key. Because as we’ll see in the upcoming blink, you definitely don’t want to leave anyone scratching their head.

    Want to see all full key ideas from Hello, My Name is Awesome?

    Key ideas in Hello, My Name is Awesome

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is Hello, My Name is Awesome about?

    Hello, My Name is Awesome (2014) is about the most important decision a new business faces: choosing a brand name that will launch the company into the stratosphere where it belongs. You might think picking a name is straightforward, but you have a lot to learn! This is your guide to negotiating the snakes and ladders of the brand-naming process – and coming out on top.

    Who should read Hello, My Name is Awesome?

    • Anyone who’s trying to come up with a great brand name
    • Anyone who wants to better understand branding
    • Business owners who suspect that their company name may be alienating potential customers

    About the Author

    Alexandra Watkins is the founder of the naming firm, Eat My Words, and a recognized expert on brand names.

    Categories with Hello, My Name is Awesome

    Books like Hello, My Name is Awesome

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    28 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial