Back to the branding contest. Has this process been interesting to you? I hope that you can internalize some of this process to figure out your own personal, company or product brand issues!
In a previous comment someone asked to peek into the history of creating the name “JibberJobber.” Where did it come from? What were other names that we were kicking around? I hope you get a chuckle out of these ideas we had (these are from my notes about two years ago):
— available —
- careercontender.com
- careerweapon.com
- careerseekertool.com
- professionalcareerist.com
- careerwolf.com
- careercaterpillar.com
- careercheetah.com
- careercougar.com
- careervip.com
- careerhoncho.com
- careerwatchman.com
- careercurator.com
- careerwarden.com
- mycareertool.com
- careerhunttool.com
— taken —
- careerseeker.com
- careercreator.com
- itsmylife.com
- itsmycareer.com
- careergadget.com
- careertoolbox.com
- careerbox.com
- careerspecialist.com
- careerchaser.com
- careercat.com
- careerclimber.com
- careermogul.com
- careerboss.com
- careerdriver.com
- careerdog.com
- careercaptain.com
- careerarchitect.com
- careermanager.com
- careertycoon.com
- careerkeeper.com
- careerguard.com
- careerwatcher.com
- MyCareerHunt.com
- careerhunter.com
- jobhunter.com
- myjobhunt.com
I was running through this list with one of my buddies, Tige. You can see many of the name ideas have a clear theme, which I could reinforce throughout the user experience. For example, careercaterpillar would have a fun, cute caterpillar theme, or character, throughout your user experience.
The next day Tige called me up and said, “what about Jibber Jobber?”
Immediately I loved it! I loved it because:
- It sounded fun, and friendly. JibJab is one of my favorite companies, from their earliest videos. This wasn’t close enough that they could say I’m infringing on their name or trademark, and plenty of people have never heard of them, but they have helped the jib and jab sounds be known as fun.
- It sounded familiar. Everyone has heard of jibber jabber (aka, jibberjabber). The babbling. Apparently in the UK it is a much stronger, almost derogatory term, but here in the U.S., again, it’s playful and fun.
- Apparently Mr. T would say something like “Jibbe’Jabbe'” in The A Team. I kind of missed that but got a number of e-mails reminding me 🙂
- While it doesn’t have “career” in it anywhere, it does have “job” in there, so it’s tied to career ideas.
I’ve had three or four people who immediately disapproved of the name. They said it was too fun, too playful, or didn’t mean anything.
Considering these people worked in stiff, bureaucratic, almost-government organizations, I figured I had made the right decision. I could go with something more descriptive, but wouldn’t that paint the company into a corner?
And with regard to not “meaning anything,” I wonder what the following company names meant before they were branded:
- Dogpile
- Amazon
- Nike
- Yahoo
- … the list could go on and on.
Of course, they mean something to you now, right?
So does JibberJobber – almost two years later, something that meant nothing now evokes some kind of emotion.
What is the emotion, or impression, that you get from JibberJobber? If you want to participate in the branding contest, for $900 and more in prizes, do it on the Contact Us form.
(thanks to Pamela Slim at Escape from Cubicle Nation for the cool picture :))
I think having such a unique name for your site helps the site stand out. As your list shows, there are a number of sites which already use “career” as a basis for thier names. Having an off beat and unique name differentiates you from those sites a lot more than just adding a different word to career would.
As to what impression I get from the name, I’ll admit that the A-Team thing did cross my mind when I first found it. I do think it conveys a sense of fun and being outside the norm. It also implies an alternative look at things beyond what a more generically named site would give.
David Tillinger
Jason, I remember being on the phone with you over the span of a few days talking this whole thing over. I believe in one our conversations, we were exploring the boundaries of names for the job/career web site and I believe Monster.com was mentioned: “Now, what the heck does a monster have to do with job searching?”
We started exploring well outside the box, thinking beyond just definition and more about the branding aspect. We began looking for a name with Personality, not necessarily functional designation. The name JibberJobber followed that line of thinking… and it turned it out to be quite catchy in a way without too much deviation from its real purpose.
But, I distinctly remember feeling energized and motivated the moment we stepped out of that box. Coming into the name JibberJobber gave the project Life! I was excited to see it launched and watched as the site has grown into such a distinct and meaningful experience for users.
Kudos, Jason!
– Tige Nishimoto