It would be nice to say that when we sat down to create 97 Bottles, the name just came to us like some divine inspiration handed down from the goddess of beer (Ninkasi, if you’re curious). But the truth is, we almost didn’t go with it. Getting there was one huge, long process.
Cornucopia of names
I know there are some branding firms out there who use hi-tech programs to come up with a list of names based off very specific criteria (a name-o-matic, if you will). But we at Blue Flavor prefer a much more human approach: The brain dump.
The brain dump is a quick and easy way to get out as many ideas as you possibly can. Everyone was asked to contribute every idea that came to mind, with only one ground rule: No critiquing. This allowed us to move quickly from one name to the next and to generate more names all around. Critiquing and judging came later.
In less then 5 minutes, we had over 100 names.
During the naming process, I found myself humming an old nursery rhyme, “99 bottles of beer.” I’m not sure why this came to me at 11 in the morning, but it did. I added it to the list without hesitation and moved on.
Narrowing it down
With over 200 names by the end of the brain dump, it was definitely time to get down to the hard work of judging our stash. There were a couple of criteria we had for the names:
- Had to represent the high level goals of the site: social networking for beer lovers
- Could not be cheesy or cliche
- Easy to say
- Had to have a decent URL, since it’s no good having a name if the URL isn’t useful
Many of the names got scrapped immediately, while 99 bottles started to make some headway. Unfortunately 99bottles.com was already taken, as was 98bottles.com. 97Bottles.com, however, was available. We were all set to create a story around the name and the site.
Selling it
Unfortunately not everyone was sold on 97 Bottles. We were still actively looking for names. Much of the concern was that people might not get what 97 bottles meant. Sure we all knew the nursery rhyme—but would everyone else make the connection? What about the other two bottles? Finally, Keith swooped in with the winning story behind the 97:
That’s 97 on the wall and two on the table, one for me and one for you.
Sold.
We now had our name for the super secret project. Next up, creating the identity for 97 Bottles.
I instantly made the connection with the rhyme, especially the “pass it around” line. It’s what I almost expected the site to have that as the tagline. As for DKR’s explanation, I think it’s awesome.
I like that you let the availability of a good domain name influence the branding of the product. It is always confusing to have a product name that might be interesting but isn’t in line with the URL (especially when web based).
Great work.
Have to admit, never thought about the name referring to the famous rhyme until just now. On the other hand, it’s still pretty memorable anyway.
I love this story! Especially how it all came together in the end. It’s a really fun concept that you guys can really play with, having fun with taglines and the little bottle caps. Yay!
I love that the rationale for the name came after but fits so well. I wonder how often that happens? Nicely done and I got the 99 Bottles reference right away.
Travis - Actually the rationale didn’t really come after. Kevin sort of glossed over a bit of the thinking involved, probably because it was all done in my head. We kinda liked an available variation of 99 bottles, but, because of the URL problems, didn’t want to go there.
There were a few other options but I started thinking about the rhyme and trying to see what I could pull out of that, as well as way to play off 99 Bottles. It did sort of come to me out of the blue after a bit of thinking, but there was some thinking that then lead me to push for 97 Bottles.
I had the explanation and rational (the symbolism of two bottles off the wall and being shared) before I pitched and lobbied for that name. I just hadn’t really articulated it yet. So, to everyone else, it seemed like I made it up on the spot to explain it.
The real test was convincing Jeff that people would “get it.” To which my general response was that they don’t really need to get it.
I actually thought of the rhyme right away, but wasn’t sure of the significance of “97” bottles until reading this. I really feel that 99 Bottles is a bit too cliche, but with 97 (and Kieth’s explanation) it just works.
Thanks for explaining the process on that. That tagline is just awesome.
Keith - thanks for explaining. I bet that happens quite a bit as well. Rolling ideas around in your head with a rationale for a name or concept sometimes things just fall into place nicely.
Excited to see the site.
Thanks for explaining the process on that. That tagline is just awesome.
Had to represent the high level goals of the site: social networking for beer lovers
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Great name, great name I have to admit.
Thanks, It ‘s great idea.
I like the name very much, but still not too sure how you came up with the 97 figure although it fits well.
The way you find the name is very funny. I like a lot this kind of acting ;p