354: How to Break Into the Brand Naming Industry w/ David Placek, Lexicon Branding [Espresso Shots]

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David Placek, founder and president of Lexicon Branding, is responsible for driving Lexicon’s strategic and creative vision. Under his leadership, Lexicon Branding has continued to focus on the development of brand names and brand architectures that make significant contributions to the sales and marketing goals of its clients. For over 30 years, David has been the author of an unconventional approach to creativity, using small teams, linguists, and computer modeling to create new ideas. His approach has led to the development of such category-changing names as Sonos, Pentium, Swiffer, and BlackBerry. Because of these global brands, Lexicon has been described as one of the most influential brand-development firms in the world. According to David, traditional views on naming are wrong. The purpose of a name is not to “capture the product’s positioning” or “tell a story in one word.” The purpose of a name is twofold: first, give the new idea power, and second, begin the process of helping people think differently about products in a category.  Press play on this fun and fascinating T4C K-Cup episode and learn how David built Lexicon Branding even though he never studied branding or marketing!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

• How writing a great thesis paper might help you score a job in the brand naming business
• Why recent graduates with mathematics degrees may be well suited for branding
• Why conceptual skills are essential to cultivate in college 
• Which type of graduate degree, if any, is ideal for higher-level branding positions
• How studying behavioral sciences could help you succeed in this field
• Why reading “The Undoing Project” and “Ship Of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea” is a must for those looking to go into this field
• Why persistence and grit are necessary skills in the advertising and branding business
• Why to listen to David’s main Time4Coffee interview episode #236