We Have  a Winner!Congratulations to Jennifer Hirsch for being the first to correctly name founders Jane Harmer and Victoria Major as the "H" and "M" in the original HM Composite name. Jennifer won some fun gift cards.

"How to Transform Your Nursing Home"

This dynamic culture change presentation is coming soon to 4 more cities in March and April. Registration is only $10.00 for a great seminar that will help IDT's and dietitians as well understand the importance of culture change.

Why did oranges get named "orange"? Carrots are orange. Why didn't they get the name? With this naming convention bananas should be called "yellows" and apples "reds". Well, there is a name "red delicious" but it still needs the noun "apple". Branding can be so confusing.

A great name is the beginning of a great brand. It positions the company to consumers for making a positive impression on the target market. A name can suggest the content or subject area of the business, be literal, or create an emotional feeling. A great name should be memorable and have pizzazz! Company names need to be broad enough to include long-term brands and business expansion.

Reasons to rename a company include:

• Name no longer reflects the business focus
• New business
• Acquisition, merger, or change of ownership
• Change in core business
• Change in targeted customers
• Positioning for new perception (Honda vs. Acura)
• Name is too generic
• Product is better known than the company
• Expanding into national or foreign markets where name doesn't work

Naming Tips

Developing HM Composite's new name was done with proven marketing data. We discovered that it was best to avoid initials, and invented or real words are easiest for our clients to remember. Shorter names are better and one-word brands are most effective because lengthy multiple word names lead to abbreviation (HMC, HM Composite, the Composite) causing loss of control over the brand identity. The idea behind the name is to distinguish rather than describe your brand in your name.

Contest to Guess the New HM Composite name!

In case you missed it in the last RDNews, a $100 VISA gift card will be the prize for the first person to correctly guess the new name. Each week in RD News a few more letters will be revealed. Here are some hints:

• Only ten letters (followed by Inc.)
• Only one word
• Letters in the name from last week:   R    U   C
• New letters for this week: I and P (You now know half of the letters)

·       Got it? Be the first HMC employee to email Lee.Tincher@hmcomposite.com and you are the winner of the $100 VISA gift card.