C'mon over to our new website and blog... we'll be waiting for you. All of the same posts are there so you won't miss any of the fun.
July 01, 2011
The Kitchen Sink blog has moved - www.eatmywords.com/blog
Please visit us at our new location:
http://eatmywords.com/blog/
May 10, 2009
Literally Eating My Words at Spoon Me
In town for Spoon Me founder Ryan Combe's wedding over the weekend (see next post), thanks to the GPS in my rental car, I managed to hit two Spoon Me locations (and eat Spoon Me at the wedding) in less than 8 hours. Spoon Me is the name that Eat My Words is the most proud of creating. Ryan and his partners David and Wayne have built a cult brand that transcends frozen yogurt and has become one of the hottest franchises on the planet, with projections of 100 new stores within the next 18 months. Spoon Me is a stellar example of how a brand can take a name and run with it. (That's why we call them names with "legs".) From the best-selling "Shut Up and Spoon Me" t-shirts to the "No Spooning on Sundays" hours sign, to the Spoon Me movie quote graffiti ("You had me at Spoon Me") in the bathrooms, there are endless ways to extend the brand through wordplay. Here are photos from my afternoon visit to the original store in Salt Lake City and my late night visit to one of the new super mod locations in Sandy, Utah. Thanks to everyone at Spoon Me for treating me like a celebrity. Can't wait to come back!
April 30, 2009
Announcing a fresh new name for Second Chance Coffee: I HAVE A BEAN
When some people thought the name Second Chance Coffee implied that the beans were recycled, the founders knew it was time for a name change. The name Second Chance stemmed from the mission of the company - to help ex-offenders help themselves by providing gainful post-prison employment, job training and a community of acceptance. The company positively impacts the spiritual, social and economic condition of their employees, their families and the communities in which they live. All that and they make what many people say is the smoothest cup of coffee they have ever tasted. (It's so smooth, most of their customers drink it black.) Second Chance wanted us to create a memorable name that they could monetize, like we had done for frozen yogurt franchise Spoon Me and the chain of laundromats we named Stuff a Sock in It. After reviewing dozens of names, the top contenders were narrowed down to Happy Joe Lucky, I Dream of Coffee, Thank God It's Coffee, and I Have a Bean. We felt that I Have a Bean made the biggest emotional connection and had the strongest potential to make our client rich through the sale of t-shirts, mugs and coffee canisters. The client agreed. The tagline we created, "Inspired Coffee" helps set the tone that the company is inspiring people to live better lives. We are thrilled with the package design, which was created by Carrie Dufour and her talented team at Sloat Design. We snatched up www.ihaveabean.com for $9.95 and the site and brand officially launch on June 1st. Until then, follow them on Twitter, at I Have a Bean.
Out of our minds for Brain Thaw
Ex-Microsoft guy John Grispon came to Eat My Words for a cool name and tagline for his new marketing consulting company. Since John helps people put "ideas into action," we named his company Brain Thaw. We love John and it's not just because on the side he's a dreamy print model and was George Clooney's stand-in on the new flick Up In The Air. Well, okay, that might have something to do with it.
We wrote the book on naming books.
A best-seller in the UK as well, Solemate is about mastering the art of aloneness. But it's not about being alone. It's a book for people who want to enhance the quality of their lives by improving their relationships with themselves and with others. Download an excerpt or order the book here.
March 23, 2009
Eat My Dust cleans up in Big Success Business Contest
Congratulations to Eat My Words' client Russ Goldin of Eat My Dust™ who is one of five finalists in the Comcast Big Success Business Pitch, taking place this Thursday night at the Westin in San Francisco. As you may know, Eat My Dust
is the first green commercial janitorial company in
Northern California with fundamentally different approach to cleaning.
They utilize a science-based cleaning system that removes up to five
times more dirt and pollutants than traditional housekeeping. They are
competitively priced and 100% sustainable for both the environment and
the cleaning worker.
THE CONTEST DIRT
The 5 entrepreneurs will compete in front of a live audience and a panel of distinguished judges consisting of seasoned entrepreneurs and angel investors. The winner will receive a grand prize of being featured by the local CBS news in an exclusive 5-minute interview. Judges include:
The 5 entrepreneurs will compete in front of a live audience and a panel of distinguished judges consisting of seasoned entrepreneurs and angel investors. The winner will receive a grand prize of being featured by the local CBS news in an exclusive 5-minute interview. Judges include:
- Kevin Hartz- limited partner of Sequoia Capital, seed investor of Paypal, and co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite
- Christine Comaford-Lynch- angel investor of Google, former VC and bestselling author
- Mark O’Leary – regional vice president of Comcast Business Class
- Amy Errett – Former CEO of Olivia.com and Venture Capitalist with Maveron
Thursday, March 26th
6:15 – 8:30 p.m
Westin San Francisco Market Street
50 Third Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Purchase Tickets Here
We hope to see you there and help Eat My Dust sweep the competition!
March 17, 2009
Shut Up & Spoon Me - Now Available Online
It seemed as if Hell would freeze over in frozen yogurt before this happened, but after months of anticipation, Spoon Me loot is finally for sale online. Now you can buy your own "Shut Up and Spoon Me" t-shirt and stop trying to steal mine. As most of you know (because we talk about it every chance we get), Eat My Words named Spoon Me, which has become the hottest frozen yogurt franchise on the planet.
Spoon Me has turned their name into cold hard cash by slapping it on everything from bumper stickers to booty shorts. We love making our clients rich and are proud to be the only naming firm that monetizes names through merchandise. (How many t-shirts do you think Spoon Me would have sold if they stuck with their original name, Zenyo?)
Check out the Spoon Me store to see all of the stylish fashions.
September 11, 2008
Frigid, Mixin' Vixens Stuff a Sock In It
If you guessed that Frigid, Mixin' Vixens, and Stuff a Sock In It are all cool brand names created by Eat My Words, congratulations! Bonus points if you figured out that Frigid is the name of a gourmet ice cream store, Mixin' Vixens is an all-women bartender service, and Stuff a Sock In It is a laundromat. When you see or hear an "Eat My Words name," you'll never ask what it means, how to pronounce it, or "What were they smoking?!" Our super-likable names make powerful emotional connections, build instant brand affinity, and make our clients rich. Yes, rich. We are the only naming firm that monetizes names. For instance, we turned the name Frigid into cold hard cash for our client by creating a t-shirt for them that says, "Not tonight dear, I have an ice cream headache." Ca-ching! Our Stuff a Sock In It client will be slapping their new logo on laundry bags, t-shirts, and other merchandise geared at their college kid customers. Ca-ching!
Of course, the client who is monetizing the bejesus out of their Eat My Words name is Spoon Me, the frozen yogurt store that is one of the hottest franchises in the country. They are selling Spoon Me pajamas, booty shorts, underwear, baby clothes, stickers, buttons and of course t-shirts with slogans we created like "Shut Up and Spoon Me." Ca-ching! Ca-ching! Ca-ching!
Would someone buy a t-shirt with your company or product name on it and pay you to advertise your brand? To see if your name has potential, take the Eat My Words SMILE & SCRATCH Test, which was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal.
June 30, 2008
Ahoy matey! Our newest name, Emerald Island, sparkles brilliant green.
We're thrilled to announce that we can finally let the cat out of the bag and tell you about Emerald Island, the cool new eco-inspired virtual world for kids that Eat My Words named for one of our favorite clients, Fluid Entertainment. On Emerald Island kids become part of an engaging storyline and work together to save Emerald Island from the evil (yet adorable) ‘Pirat’ antagonists. Along the way they grow into champions for the environment and become trusted eco-heroes of Emerald Island, The game is currently in beta testing and you are welcome to give it a whirl... just email [email protected] and tell them we sent you. (Currently the game is only available in a PC version – the Mac version coming soon.)
Jennifer Chapin, VP of Marketing at Fluid Entertainment recently wrote this gushing testimonial about working with Eat My Words...“It was the 11th hour and
our product needed a name. In swooped Eat My Words to save the day and
the rest is name history. We had spent several months generating and
qualifying names for our new kids product. We were ready to test the
names with kids. It was obvious we had some good names but we didn’t
have what I believed to be a great name. The question became, were we
ok launching with a name that was good enough? As the person tasked
with leading the naming process I felt strongly we needed not only a
great product but a great name to compliment it and most importantly a
name that kids loved. In stepped Eat My Words. It was a tough brief ¬¬–
could you come up with a name in a week? They rose to the task and
unequivocally came up not only with the favorite name among kids but
with the internal team as well. A matter of fact it was the only name
on an exhaustive list of combined of names (our internal list and Eat
My Words list) that we had complete consensus on. It was a joy and
relief to work with Eat My Words and I’d work with them again in a
heartbeat. They love what they do, are incredibly passionate about
naming and it shows! This comes with my highest recommendation. If you
want a fabulous name and a group that’s fun, professional and works
outside the box then definitely work with Eat My Words."
Congratulations to everyone involved with the launch of Emerald Island. See you there!