Freedom? Winthrop? New Prospera? What should we call it?
This American town was founded by ex-slaves and was named Freedom. Decades later, a barbed-wire factory brought jobs and the town adopted the founding family’s name, Winthrop. Today, an internet mogul is preparing the community for an influx of white-collar workers, and wants to re-brand it as New Prospera.
Truth or fiction? Fiction, actually, in a novel titled Apex Hides the Hurt by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday).
Marketing, advertising and other media creatures have long been the centerpieces of literature that comments on American consumerism. A classic in the field is Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
But this novel may be a first: Its protagonist is a naming expert (excuse me, he prefers “nomenclature consultant”) who remains adamantly nameless throughout the tale. His claim to fame is the Apex brand of the book’s title: The world’s first multi-culturally hued Band-Aids, perfect for any skin tone. (The tagline delivers the punch: “Apex hides the hurt.”)
The author sees company and brand names as a tethering force, connecting people, places and objects to some shared history. Here is his take, with a dollop of scorn, on the process of naming:
- “Much of the work went on in the subconscious level. He was making connections between things without thinking and then, bam on the subway scratching a nose, or bam bam while stubbing a toe on the curb. Floating in neon before him was the name. When the products flopped, he told himself it was because of the marketing people. It was the stupid public. The crappy thing itself. Never the name because what he did was perfect.”
Here is the protagonist’s mocking rationale for the proposed new name for the town:
- “Prospera, that could have come from anybody on the team. Had that romance-language armature, he was pretty sure it was a Spanish or Italian word for something. What it means in those languages, that was unimportant, what was important was how it resonated here. The lilting -a at the end like a rung up to wealth and affluence, take a step. A glamorous Old World cape draped over the bony shoulders of prosaic prosperity. Couple a cups of joe to clear the head, anybody in the firm could have come up with that one.”
And in responding to a reporter, who corners our nomenclature consultant in a hotel lobby and asks what makes “New Prospera” such a great name?
- “Winthrop is a traditional place-name, insisting on the specific history of the area and locating it in one man. The man embodies an idea, and the name becomes the idea. Standard stuff. (But) Winthrop is a mystery to outsiders. Who was Winthrop, what did he do? You have to come here to find out. Why should I care, make me care – this is what outsiders think. But New Prospera, you start making up all sorts of stuff the moment you hear it. It has associations and images.”
For some non-fiction naming insights visit here. For non-fiction place branding insight visit here.
For more on brand naming order Brand Aid, second edition, A Quick Reference Guide to Solving Your Branding Problems and Strengthening Your Market Position
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education
