Fritinancy

Introducing Mast Mobile

I’m pleased to introduce Mast Mobile, which was named by my company, Wordworking.

 

Mast is a new kind of mobile-telecommunications platform for businesses and their employees: a carrier, software platform, and device manager all in one. It gives business owners the power to manage productivity, costs, and security, and it allows employees to carry a single device with two numbers, one for personal use and one for business use.

When the co-founders of Mast Mobile—all of whom had extensive experience at large multinational companies—contacted me in January, their company was less than 18 months old and was operating in private beta under the name Grid Mobile. That name had evolved from an early plan to provide mesh networks as overlay on existing mobile networks. Now that the original strategy was no longer central, the founders wanted to replace a name they correctly perceived as having unwelcome connotations of infrastructure and “electrical grid,” and a static rather than dynamic and innovative sound.

Word of the Week: Hollanderizing

Hollanderizing: A proprietary process for cleaning fur garments, named for its inventors, A. Hollander and Sons Fur Care (originally of Newark, New Jersey, and later of Toronto and Montreal).

“Hollanderizing: Canada’s leading garment care professionals since 1930.” (Hollanderizing.com.)

I Got Plenty o' Plenti

And Plenti’s plenty for me, since the name has been claimed twice.

In May, American Express launched Plenti, a loyalty program that allows consumers to earn “Plenti points”—one for each dollar spent at 10 brick-and-mortar retailers.

 

The catch: Until some time in the future to be determined, you can redeem those points at only four retailers: Mobil gas stations, Macy’s, Rite Aid, and Exxon.

Plenti was designed to be a rewards card, not a credit card. But, rather confusingly, AmEx also offers a Plenti credit card.

And because one Plenti isn’t enough, here’s Yoplait’s Plenti, Greek yogurt stuffed with healthy stuff (“and other natural flavors”).

 

Just in case you’re unsure, the packaging spells it out: Plenti is short for “plentiful.” (Discovered at The Impulsive Buy.)

 

Speaking of plentiful, I note with moderate pleasure that the dating site Plenty of Fish now uses the URL pof.com. Its previous incarnation, plentyoffish.com, always looked to me like as “Plenty Offish,” which seemed plenty offputting. On the other hand, “pof” is perilously close to poof and P.O.S.

 

Unrelated, but also new this year from Yoplait: Greek 100 Whips! (exclamation mark sic).

Sweet, creamy, and well disciplined. Consenting adults only. Fifty shades of grape. Image via Midlife at the Oasis.

Answering Your Questions About Naming

I realized just the other day that I’ve never written here about my involvement with the question-and-answer site Quora. I’ve been participating since 2013, answering questions about names, taglines, and verbal-branding strategy. Anyone can post a question, and anyone can answer; the platform is free for users, and the tone is generally civil and helpful.

Here are some questions I’ve answered in recent months:

• Is a company name with four syllables too long?
• What should I call my men’s shoe brand?
• If a company name and trademark has [sic] been abandoned by the original company, can you open a company with the same name?
• What are some good names for an IT support business?
• What are some catchy names and taglines for a clothing brand?
• How much do naming consultants typically cost?

And here’s a complete list of the questions I’ve answered or upvoted.