Your first question is probably “what will you pay me” followed by “wait, what?” According to Mashable.com, a web developer short on cash has decided to auction off the rights to have his name legally changed to the name of the highest bidding company (most people sweat over providing a product or a service, but this guy is genius). This process will land him in the Guinness Book of World Records along with the highest bidder- talk about exposure! Leave it to a dude in cargo shorts and a wrinkled screen T to create a brilliant marketing plan- he’s pimpin’ out his own name!
This leads me to ask three things:
(1) Do you have a way to market yourself, your product or your services that is more unique than your competitors (or more unique than ANYONE for that matter)? Cargo shorts dude certainly did and his ingenuity will likely pay his bills while he’s chillin’ in the blogiverse (you know he’s got to be a blogger) in his La-Z-Boy!
(2) Here in Austin several Realtors have actually changed their names- not after their brokerages, but perhaps to look cute on a business card. There are several ladies who have changed their names to the likes of Sunny Happy Day (who is really named this, is a friend of my mother’s, but not a Realtor). Too cheap for lipo or implants? Change your name! Would YOU do this for business? I’m thinking of changing mine to Snarky Chick Anglin…
(3) What’s your guess for his highest bidder? Can you imagine meeting a guy at a party and him saying “Hi, my name is Cola. Coca Cola.” Or, “what’s up, I’m Banana Republic!” “Thank you for calling, this is Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, how may I direct your call?” Share your ideas for funny brand names that could end up simultaneously making this dude rich while scarring him.
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Comments are encouraged!
Vicki Moore says:
Marketing idea I was thinking of today for the back window of my car:
REALTOR WILL WORK FOR FOOD. 650REALESTATE.COM
What do you think?
August 28, 2007 — 6:39 pm
Lani Anglin says:
It reeks of desperation like selling the rights of your name, it would get people talking… it just might work, Vicki!! 🙂
August 28, 2007 — 8:08 pm
Steve Jagger - Ubertor says:
CI Host paid a guy a few years ago for a tattoo on his head (pic here – http://www.carrierhotels.com/news/April2003/humanbillboard1.jpg )
Word is CI Host got 800 clients out of it
http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-tattoo-recruits-800-new-clients-for-web-host-c-i-host-647.html
Cost them $10,000 – worth it?
August 28, 2007 — 8:19 pm
Jay Thompson says:
Interesting. This very evening as I was daydreaming away in broker’s classes I thought about changing my name to “Phoenix Guy”, middle name Real Estate of course. I thought it would be cool when the instructor called out and said “Is Phoenix Real Estate Guy here?”
“Amazon” would be a cool name. Just one word, like Cher. Or Madonna.
August 28, 2007 — 10:13 pm
Mike Mueller says:
Hey Lani –
What if it’s not really a guy named Stan Oleynick but instead it’s a certain web geek (who also lives in Sacramento) who no longer has an income producing website?
Casey Serin – How twisted would that be?
I checked the Whois but that didn’t prove it one way or the other.
August 28, 2007 — 11:06 pm
Lani Anglin says:
HA- what a thought; you’re a regular sleuth, Mike!
And Jay, I have no doubt you’d wander into a government building some day to randomly have that changed- be sure to first tell your wife that her name is changing to “Guy.”
Steve, that’s actually pretty cool! It reminds me of the college kids who rented out their car as a billboard which was minorly successful but nowhere near tattoo head…
August 29, 2007 — 6:40 am
BR says:
Well, to bad for this guy if the highest bidder is a plumber. His new new name could end up being “Ron’s Ceptic Tanks.”
I’ve always been a big fan of sponsoring streets, & kid sports teams. Selling your name is nothing new, but for a neighborhood specialist, lending your great name (and some cash) to a local school stadium would be cool- “Greg Swann Memorial Stadium”
I’ve personally wanted to approach our city and ask to sponsor a section of the park. Offer clean-up, use it to sponsor cool things in the park like blood drives, 4th of july ice cream parties, and maybe offer wireless internet with a cool splash page about you and your park. I’ve often wondered why more corporate sponsors do not do this already. What great PR and very inexpensive.
Another thing you could pimp out is in your neighborhood, offer free wireless with splash named after your street (from your house). What a cool way to remind your nighbors day after day that you’re the specialist of your neighborhood (works best with a range booster). Put a picture of your home on the splash and offer a day of the week to offer an open house to your home- an ask your realtor session. We do this from our offices now, and it works great. Since starting it in January we’ve had about 3 calls from the apartments across the street and several from our business neighbors.
Theres lots of things you could pimp out if you’re afraid to pimp your name…
August 29, 2007 — 7:09 am