Viva Vivera !

HP has branded their ink cartridges with a new name. I guess they didn't think that the respected HP brand was enough to differentiate their inks from the lower-priced refills and substitute cartridges marketed by after-market suppliers.

So they're now promoting their Vivera inks.

But the radio ads I've heard recently for their inks reveal a real problem with coined words.

In this particular case the very articulate voice-over was speaking so fast that the word, Vivera was swallowed and blurred into garble. Hard to promote a brand if it's not articulated.

Did HP consider audio-exclusive applications when selecting Vivera?

Another problem: how well does the verbal pronunciation equate to the print on the retail package?

It's important that coined words are pronounceable, and that they can be recognized equally and correlated in all media.

Coined names can be hazardous. Consider them carefully from all perspectives before adoption.

Martin Jelsema
Signature Strategies

Helping smaller companies profit from the power of branding