Product Naming As Positioning
Product naming as positioning is the idea that a name teaches buyers what a product is, how it should feel, and whether it belongs in their life. In BOARD GAMES 3: What’s in a name?, Planet Money and Exploding Kittens learn that the title of a board game is not cosmetic; it shapes category expectations, tone, and shelf behavior.
The used-car theme fits [[MarketForLemons|The Market for Lemons]] intellectually, but the source says it risks making shoppers expect a racing or vehicle game. Sell Me a Sasquatch wins because the phrase is fun to say, implies a trading market, and gives the art team a vivid creature world to build around.
Key Claims
- A product name can carry mechanics, mood, audience, and retail category in one short signal.
- Literal naming can fail when it teaches the wrong purchase frame.
- A good consumer name must survive repetition, gift explanation, box art, retailer pitching, and quick shelf scanning.
- Naming is constrained by Cross-Market Naming Friction when the strongest local phrase is hard to translate or unfamiliar abroad.
Connections
- Sell Me a Sasquatch, Exploding Kittens, and Planet Money - source case.
- Retail Shelf Appeal and Game Mechanic To Retail Product - retail problems the name solves.
- Cryptid Theme Legibility - cultural material that makes the selected name memorable.
- Consumer Brand Moat, Story Led Consumer Branding, and Visual Brand System - broader brand-memory concepts.