Ries’ Pieces – When Naming Goes Bad
Laura Ries (branding expert)?has changed her?blog name to Ries’ Pieces. Ah, huh?
This is the first thought that came to my mind when I saw the new name:
Here’s a snippet of why she made the name change:
Last week it occurred to me what the perfect name would be. Ries? Pieces. Pieces is a great triple entendre that describes my blog posts, TV appearances as well as the correct pronunciation of my name.
Now I must say that I’m a big fan of Laura but this name change is weird to me. What’s her brand identity or positioning? Certainly not the fact that she’s a triple threat. And doesn’t it seem juvenile? Help me out here, am I off?
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August 27th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
It does seem strange and a poor choice. I have to agree with you on this one, Scott!
August 27th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I can get the best people to agree sometimes
August 27th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Thanks for passing the news on this one. I hadnt seen the name change and frankly had to read the post twice to believe it. Seriously, she claims to be a branding expert and makes a chance like this? Wow….
August 27th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Scott, i agree with you. the name seems off. it should have been something more sophisticated
August 27th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Scott, I guess we both subscribe to Laura’s blog. Somehow I knew you’d have something to say about the name change. She only changed the name of her blog, not the company. All the same – I thought the picture was pretty interesting too. It reminded me of one of those stop-action-fade-to-commercial tricks they used to do at the cliff hanger of Bionic Woman (from 1977 or when ever).
Laura does a lot of TV spots that are focused on the unsophisticated-in-marketing crowd. So, I’m thinking that the new name is a friendly access point for those people.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Yes, very Lindsay Wagner!
August 28th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Thanks for discussing me!
My name is Laura Ries. My company is Ries & Ries. My video reports at RiesReport.com and now my blog is RiesPieces.com.
I would never change the name of my company which is a serious business enterprise consulting with top companies. I don’t make any money off the blog, it is just my “pieces of advice” on the business of branding. The previous title was horrible, i just used the title of a book (a book that never became the bestseller we hoped it would mind you!)
Piece is a word used frequently by the media. David is right, I spend a lot of time these days doing television from Scoreboard on Fox Business to O’Reilly on Fox News to Mike & Juliet on Fox. So the title is a reflection of appearances, pieces and my personality which really comes across on television. I think I deliver information in an interesting and animated way.
The blog title is not meant to look like the candy brand. It is a play on words to help make it memorable. Have you ever seen Dennis Miller on the O’Reilly Factor, guess what they call his segments? Miller Time.
One of the biggest problems I face on a DAILY basis is: How do you pronouce your name?? Even life long fans have no idea how to pronouce it. This solves that problem with a rhyme. And a little controversy is never a bad thing. So keep talking! And if you have a better name suggestion I’d love to hear it.
- Laura
August 28th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Welcome to the blog…
Dennis Miller is a comedian not an expert brander like you, so for him it’s okay.
Laura, if you’re open to a better name there are a lot of folks who would love to help. You write a fantastic blog and I for one am a fan, even if this blog post was critical.
Say the word an I’ll open it up to my readers and Facebook group and see what they come up with.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Can’t we all just get along? lol. Half of the time I say “rice” the ther half “reese.” There’s only one book written between Trout Ries and Ries that I haven’t read and I still get the name wrong – well, not any more.
I don’t want to overly defend Laura (she can handle her own) but I am miserable at marketing myself… it’s the most paranoid feeling. Knowing what I do know about marketing and marketers, I never feel satisfied with anything that I do for my own image. I like to think that my work speaks for itself but even you have a post about not just relying on word-of-mouth.
The ends of any opinion that I have on marketing is “how will the customer behave with respect to what we do?” If Laura’s readers like the change then she succeeded. And, if WE think the change is a little odd ball, the the heck with us.
But it is blogs like this that keep us thinking and hopefully improving…. and getting more attention!