Know-How Exchange : Branding

To be quite honest with you, we may not be your target audience. One thing we are most clear on is who are your target audience - we may (or may not) form part of that.

My point is to ask your audience if it sounds good - which as a name is fine, only it doesn't convey the idea of listening to the radio online. Only as an online listener, it never occurred to me that such an app would be needed. Well, that's not my problem, it's yours - and there's an easy way to find out if people like it and that's to ask them. Using the display network (like the ads you see on this site - and on newspapers, blogs and almost anywhere) you can start a general campaign just to publicize your app - and more importantly refine your name, tagline and overall direction. This information will be valuable when it comes to larger advertising spends in that you will already have discovered what your audience like.

Thanks Moriarty for your response:

There are many apps and services outhere that we never though would be needed. It is good to ask people what they need but people won't never tell you exactly how a service should be. If we think that way, there won't be innovation at all.

And you are right: we will know if our service will work, just when we try it in the market.

On the other hand, and assuming that people like the app, what is your opinion of the brand name?

"PlayMyWay" might be to broad, it could mean too many different things for different people. Better to narrow it down with "AudioMyWay" or "RadioMyWay".

Of course, there are several existing (brands) services already doing all or part of what you are planning. And those brands are not standing still. Where will your competition be by the time you launch in north america?

Hello Steve:

Thanks for your opinion.

Would you be so kind to tell me what services are already doing all or part of what we are planning?

Thanks a lot

I wish to defend myself when you say "There are many apps and services out here that we never though would be needed." - there are a great number of innovations out there which many people do not find useful. I know of quite a number of them, and an acquaintance of mine has just lost his house in believing too strongly that it was a good idea.

He did not test the waters (as it were) with a general information-gathering campaign of the kind I have suggested. There are those who truly have a nose for trends, and I have worked with several of them. They are very rare and special people - and the one thing I can say about all of them is that they listened very carefully.

Because innovations are two to the dime these days, the issue isn't innovation - the issue is whether it can find an interested audience. This is where Mr Goodman's advice can be put to purpose, you can narrow down your focus by finding out who is interested and what they like. All of this is remarkably easy given the flexibility of the Display network.

It is relatively inexpensive given the startup and development costs of such innovations. Organizing such things now will lead to information that will refine and temper your approach to your market by listening to its needs.

You wrote: "There are many apps and services outhere that we never though [sic] would be needed. It is good to ask people what they need but people won't never tell you exactly how a service should be. If we think that way, there won't be innovation at all."

You are literally correct, but part of the problem is that you may not be thinking about market research the right way. When you "ask people what they need," they probably will not come up with the answer you want. But if you structure your research to ask about their values, beliefs, attitudes, habits and practices, a smart market research professional can "read between the lines" and lead you to some hypotheses for new products based on what the target market said and how they responded to key questions. Then you can test those hypotheses and see how people respond.

Think about the old days when we didn't have products like underarm deodorant. Nobody would have said, "I wish there were some concoction I could rub on my armpit." But when you ask them about how they judge cleanliness, and what role body odor plays in their attraction to another person, etc., you might figure out that not-smelling-foul would be desirable. Then you could explore some product options to address the problem. You could get consumers to describe how they would feel if they (or a partner) didn't have strong body odor, etc.

And you would eventually end up with a new product that has become a mainstay in the health and beauty aisle, and is now a $2.5 billion industry in the United States. There are numerous other examples, of course.

The point is that market research has a place in guiding both product development and marketing. The key is to ask the right questions of the right target audience. That's why we have market research professionals. Amateurs usually get it wrong; asking the right questions isn't as easy as it looks.

Hello mgoodman:

Thanks for your smart insight.

But basically what I did was "to read between the lines"

Now, what do you think about the main topic of this question? Does The Brand Playmyway Make Sense? Does it Sound Good?

Thanks again

here's a list (from a 20 second google search) ...

https://www.androidtapp.com/10-best-streaming-radio-music-discovery-android...

All of these brands are in development to launch new product/services in 2014. Not to mention the brands that have "yet-to-launch" their competitive solutions. I suggest you perform an exhaustive search using the best keyword phrases to find your "yet-to-launch" solutions and discover what's already out there. It will take some time on your part, but it's best to have a comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape early on. And remember, the PERCEPTION of your target audience determines who's who in your competitive landscape.

PlayMyWay does not sound like a name for the service you describe -- at least not to a U.S. audience. The "Play" part of it has too many different meanings in English.

Let's get one thing straight: sure, we all speak English as natives.

Only when you say something like "Does The Brand Playmyway Make Sense? Does it Sound Good?" we're not the people to be asking. It's your buyers you need to consider here, not us.

I have said the name sounds fine, and you ignore me!

Most important of all is that your buyers find it a great sounding name. Take Steve's advice, tie it into the strategies I gave a broad indication of and for a few hundred dollars you'll know if it's the right thing to present to the market.

Put the cart before the horse. See if your idea meets people's needs. It's been done before, I worked with the guy who spear-headed the styling of the Mercedes A class. Everybody at Daimler-Benz said "no". His intuition told him "yes". He put his passion into gear and drove over the no-sayers.

It took the automotive industry by storm, and secured Daimler-Benz's future into the 21st century.

One man.

He managed this through his insights and his experience as a designer.

You can do it if you use the right tools. They are there and they are not hard to use. So use them!!

or perhaps this better reflects your thinking ..
https://www.customradiodesign.com/

Hello Guys ..

thanks a lot for your valuable advice.

I will take it into account.

Moriarty: I am sorry, I miss that part when you said the name was fine.. I just saw it... thanks..

Steve: regarding the services you mention in the top 10 list: I know all them, but songza.

I have researched all of them for a long time and we have a different aproach and an added value, they don't. (I am sorry if I sound presumptuous)

Thanks again

SANTIAGO

Because PlayMyWay can mean too many things at first glance, it's probably not a great name to launch with. MyRadioStation is closer, since it conveys the "what" better (but not the "why").