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Gaboogie & the truth about Web 2.0 names

Gaboogie sounds like a great service. Web centric conference call organizing, mobile features, etc. I’d love to recommend its use here in my blue chip day job world.

Unfortunately, many of my peers and superiors are even further out-of-the-valley than I am, and I just can’t see the service being taken seriously with a name like “Gaboogie.” Cute names do not convey enterprise-strength credibility, reliability, etc. to a group that deals with IBM, EDS, Microsoft, and Sun on a daily basis.

Call it ridiculous or superficial if you want, but names communicate. Given that the conference calling target market is principally businesses, why not have a brand that speaks to them? Gaboogie sounds like something for kids. In the case of Yuuguu, which suffers from a similar naming problem, I suggested a brand split - a professional version with a professional sounding name, and a tweens version with the cute/funky name. Same thing could apply to Gaboogie - split it in two with proper branding around each, and I bet you’ll get better adoption of each. The marginal cost of creating a second branded version of your creation is (generally) extremely low as well, especially when taken relative to the potential benefits.

This discussion also calls into question the whole concept of market segmentation. I know that in the era of $12,000 throw-it-at-the-wall and see-what-sticks projects “segmentation” isn’t really cool - but its useful. Even if you’re doing a Kawasaki-esque “no business plan” launch, at least take the time to decide who you want your target demographic to be, and let that knowledge inform your design & brand decisions - and avoid the perceived disconnect between brand and product that Gaboogie has.

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