Author Topic: Project Pizzeria (Read 7034 times)

OZZIEPIE · « **on:** November 07, 2006, 10:08:49 AM »

ok..found a place that has been run down by some burnout here in oz ..the name its currently got is very ethnic and out dated..I know the old cliche if it aint broke dont fix it..well guys this place is broke :-Dits sooooooo..I need a catchy name thats not so ethnic..wanna move away from the dolce vitas and campaniolas ect.ect..was thinking little cesears..as it doesnt exist here yet in australia..i googled it and yes its a big barnyard francise from the motherland...not 100% on the name yet but it is catchy..cool..little cheeky..and hip..first off if i decided to go with this name could HQ in america put a stop tooo me doing so..even though im on the other side of the globe??and secondly what do you fine peeps think?ripped off ,un-original?the thing is theres a place here named little chezs and i had been thinking little cesear would sound better,so thats when i googled it and had a

lol..so please people i would appreciate some feed back on some hip cool name..prefrably from some indy joints down your way..nothing too spacy catchy want people to have it stuck in there head with light advertising..any all help would be bonza

SteveB · « **Reply #1 on:** November 07, 2006, 11:44:49 AM »

I always wanted to open an Italian restaurant with the name Sal Monella's, but I don't think the Health Department would approve (it wouldn't exactly bring in the customers either)!

David · « **Reply #2 on:** November 07, 2006, 12:11:22 PM »

Whatever you decide,IMO your name should be easy to spell and easy to remember.It should give some idea of your product /concept , and IMO Original .
(Not a copycat eg. Pizzas 'r' us , Famous Rays,etc,etc.)
If i see a place that has obviously knocked off their image etc.from a franchise ,I immediately think that the product will be inferior to the original as the owners didn't have the creativity to come up with their own branding / concept ,so their product will most likely be as unimaginative.It's a small world we live in,and you will have people familiar with little ceasars come to your Pizzeria. If you are in some way using their identity,then it will be noticed,subliminally or not.I can't get the image of Shakys out of my mind now,and will forever associate that with UPN as he has used a Shaky quotation on his menu,particularly as he is doing everything verbally and creatively to distance himself from that type of Pizza.I believe that in some way we all copy somethings we see,but that is no excuse for lack of originality.Some color combinations work particularly well for food branding,but are horrible for other applications.Some colours / typeface immediately bring to mind and are associated with a particular Brand (Dominoes,Dunkin Donuts,Krispy Kreme etc.)Give it more thought.I hope this helps.

DNA Dan · « **Reply #3 on:** November 07, 2006, 01:17:53 PM »

I always thought that "U-Kneada-Pizza" was a fun name.

For an Italian restuarant, common Italian people names are popular, "Giovani's" "Lombardi's" "Guiseppe's" etc. You can get a bunch of these by searching for "baby names" on the internet. I personally think "Bianca's" or something would be quite trendy and hip.

Some ways to come up with your own unique name is to think about the product.
I have seen places reference to how a pizza is cooked "Red Brick Pizza" "Fire cooked Pizza" "Apple wood Pizza"

Other's still use a street or location for their name "Willow Street Pizza" "First street Italian Deli"

I think if you look at the establishment in terms of product, what's unique to where it's located, something should strike gold with you. Good luck!

November · « **Reply #4 on:** November 07, 2006, 01:31:56 PM »

David is right about originality. It would be better that patrons come without any expectations. If someone comes in because of a name that sounds familiar, but the pizza doesn't taste familiar, you might have just lost a customer. It should definitely be simple and easy to remember. From a practical standpoint, in my opinion (because of my background) it should also be easy and inexpensive to advertise. If you pick a really long name, or a logo that's difficult to reproduce in print, it will cost you extra every time you want to get your name out there. One of the commercial art case studies I did a long time ago was Prudential Financial. Over the many decades they've been around, their logo has changed from a very detailed illustration of the Rock of Gibraltar to the currently simplified line drawing they use today. Simple is better in terms of memorable impact and advertising cost.

With that said, I'll list a few of the names I always thought would be interesting for a restaurant to have (not necessarily just a pizza restaurant).

Monday (to compete with Friday's)
Joe's (with a classic cartoon theme because of Tex Avery's famous "Eat at Joe's" gag)
[I'll post more later]

Bill/SFNM · « **Reply #5 on:** November 07, 2006, 01:45:55 PM »

OK, this is corny based on the similar pronunciation of pizza and "piece of", but if you are really passionate about your pies, how about .....

Pizza My Heart

Yeah, probably to corny.

Bill/SFNM

November · « **Reply #6 on:** November 07, 2006, 01:56:24 PM »

Mangiare Qui (trendy and subliminal)
Bistro Italiano
The Slice (hip)

Or just pick a theme based on what you might consider a specialty that no other Italian restaurant has.

- red.november

DNA Dan · « **Reply #7 on:** November 07, 2006, 02:27:55 PM »

Quote from: Bill/SFNM on November 07, 2006, 01:45:55 PM

OK, this is corny based on the similar pronunciation of pizza and "piece of", but if you are really passionate about your pies, how about .....

Pizza My Heart

Yeah, probably to corny.

Bill/SFNM

Funny you mention that. There is a pizza my heart near my house. It's a take and bake type of place.

I like "the slice". I think that is hip and original. Good Job November! Now just line me up 800K in financing so I can open up my parlor!

November · « **Reply #8 on:** November 07, 2006, 02:53:33 PM »

Quote from: DNA Dan on November 07, 2006, 02:27:55 PM

I like "the slice". I think that is hip and original. Good Job November!

Thanks. I could come up with names all day long. When I used to be in the commercial art and corporate branding business almost 15 years ago, creating corporate themes, logos, and product brand names was part of the routine. Even though my work is almost exclusively scientific/software related these days, I've still managed to create several commercial brands over the past decade. Sometimes I create brands just for fun with no commercial value, like Uncle Salmon. (Trivia: If anyone has seen my logo for Uncle Salmon, the UPC barcode is an actual bar code for Atlantic Salmon.) I like to keep up with practice.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #9 on:** November 07, 2006, 03:11:38 PM »

OZZIEPIE,

I think what you may want to do first is to determine what image or message you want to convey with the name. Is it quality, price, speed, delivery, convenience, etc.? What consumer segment are you looking to serve: locals, low-income customers, high-income customers, a general mix, etc.? Will the name be used for more than pizza, or only pizza? Do you want an Aussie sounding name or a foreign sounding name to carve out a unique niche? Will the pizza be sold cheap and in volume or will it be gourmet in nature? Will the name lend itself to expansion if you later decide to open other stores in other locations, cities and towns?

Usually the best name is one that is not descriptive of the business (good examples are Dominos, Little Caesars, Papa John's). The weakest mark--the kind that others are likely to use without permission or legal liability--is one that is either generic or highly descriptive (e.g., Bill's Pizza). Trademark laws are governed on a country by country basis, but you might be able to find a trademark that is used in the U.S. but not in Australia. I would stay away from all the names used by big U.S. pizza chains because they usually try to tie up their marks in most countries where they might end up doing business. And they have plenty of money to defend their marks. For you, I think a good starting point is to go online and take a look under "pizza" at an online Yellow pages directory of a major U.S. city, like NYC, to get some ideas. You might find a name used by an individual mom and pop (independent) pizzeria that is unlikely to ever be used by the pizzeria outside of the United States.

Once you find a name you like, or a few possibles, you will perhaps want to get it/them cleared for use before you spend a fortune with all the signs, advertising and promotion materials, menus, box toppers, magnets, business cards, directory listings, web-page designs, etc. You might also find it useful to create a logo to go along with the name you finally decide to use. If you go that route, it should also be cleared for use before you invest too much in it.

Maybe you can create a list of possibles and run them by the members here

.

Peter

November · « **Reply #10 on:** November 07, 2006, 03:33:42 PM »

Peter,

The full names of the businesses or the artwork that accompanies the names are quite descriptive of the product. Check out the full name (for Dominos) and/or the logo and tag-line of each company:

http://www.dominos.com/Public-EN/Copyright/
http://www.littlecaesars.com/
http://papajohns.com/

I would also argue that Pizza Hut is the most successful pizza brand in the United States.

DNA Dan · « **Reply #11 on:** November 07, 2006, 04:23:04 PM »

Quote from: November on November 07, 2006, 03:33:42 PM

I would also argue that Pizza Hut is the most successful pizza brand in the United States.

But certainly NOT the best pizza! funny how that is?

November · « **Reply #12 on:** November 07, 2006, 04:34:38 PM »

"But certainly NOT the best pizza!"

Well, that's definitely something for OZZIEPIE to deal with in his own way. He just asked for advice on a name. Since he has already owned a restaurant before, I imagine he already knows something about trademarks, copyrights, and legal liabilities. I would hope he already knows how to make a pizza better than Pizza Hut too.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #13 on:** November 07, 2006, 04:49:58 PM »

November,

I think you may be mixing up trademarks with copyrights, which are separate forms of legal protection under the U.S. intellectual property laws. Copyrights protect the original expression of ideas, which would cover the artwork you mentioned (as well as any other original creative work). Trademarks (a.k.a. brand names) are symbols or other designations that identify and distinguish the trademark owner’s products and services from those of others in the trade. Tradenames (a subset of trademark law) are used to identify the business itself, and it is not at all uncommon to use the tradenames in relation to a product or service, such as the three companies you mention do with “pizza”. Most big companies perfect multiple filings on all forms and versions of their trademarks. Someone using any of the three companies’ trademarks/tradenames or anything confusingly similar in connection with pizza will soon hear from the lawyers of those companies.

I agree with you that Pizza Hut may be the most successful pizza brand in the U.S. Part of that success comes from the fact that Pizza Hut was the first major pizza chain and has the largest market share. How Pizza Hut chose its name is itself interesting, as explained in the following excerpt from an article about Pizza Hut:

Pizza Hut debuted in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas. Dan Carney was working at the family market when the owner of the tavern next door, who wanted out, showed him an article about pizza. Dan and brother Frank borrowed $600 from their mother, recruited somebody who actually knew how to make pizza, modified his recipes, and took over the tavern building. The name came because the brothers wanted to use "Pizza" in the name, and the existing sign on the building only had room for three more letters. Somebody said the building looked like a hut. History was born.

Peter

November · « **Reply #14 on:** November 07, 2006, 05:04:19 PM »

Peter,

What exactly did I say that led you to think I'm confusing trademarks with copyrights? I have copyrights, trademarks, and service marks of my own and have helped several companies with their own.

- red.november

Pete-zza · « **Reply #15 on:** November 07, 2006, 05:18:04 PM »

November,

It was your reference to the artwork. Many people often confuse the two forms of protection and I thought you might have also.

Peter

November · « **Reply #16 on:** November 07, 2006, 05:37:57 PM »

Quote from: Pete-zza on November 07, 2006, 03:11:38 PM

Usually the best name is one that is not descriptive of the business

A name rarely stands on its own. Companies spend a lot and of time and expense on artwork. Even the font used for the company name is chosen or created very carefully. The reason I referred to the artwork was to make a point about being descriptive. For instance, on Papa's John's artwork it specifically states, "Pizza." On Little Caesar's artwork it shows a caesar eating pizza. In essence, saying that choosing a nondescript name is actually contradictory to the goal of branding in general. You want to advertise your product with as little effort and cost as possible. When someone thumbs through a listing of restaurants, you don't want that person to guess what kind of food you serve, especially when they can find dozens of others at their fingertips. You want to provide the consumer with as much information about your business for the fewest dollars spent.

I'm still not sure how by merely mentioning artwork I might be confusing trademarks with copyrights.

- red.november

Pete-zza · « **Reply #17 on:** November 07, 2006, 06:15:08 PM »

November,

I did not mean to suggest that one shouldn't use the word "pizza" in the name of a pizzeria. In fact, that is a good idea, for the reasons you mentioned. What I meant is that "Domino's Pizza" is likely to be a stronger name than "Bill's Pizza". If it so happens that Bill's Pizza ends up with a lot of stores, the owner of the name may be able to stop newcomers from using the same name and confusing the public as to the origin of the goods.

I apparently misunderstood your reason for mentioning the artwork. I thought that you emphasized the artwork because the Domino's page for which you provided a link has a copyright notice relating to its website, and the LC and PJ pages for which you provided links are both copyrighted, as indicated at the bottom of the pages. It's possible that not all of this will apply in Australia.

Peter

November · « **Reply #18 on:** November 07, 2006, 06:53:26 PM »

Peter,

I'm not sure what you mean by, "the owner of the name may be able to stop newcomers from using the same name" since you originally said that a name like Bill's Pizza was bad.

I provided the link to the copyright notice page because it served to demonstrate the full legal name of the company. My link had nothing to do with copyright law. All I said was look at Domino's full name. It was easier than trying to describe where to look on their main page. Of course the LC and PJ pages are copyrighted. All company's website pages are copyrighted, but again all I said was check out their logos and tag-line.

- red.november

Pete-zza · « **Reply #19 on:** November 07, 2006, 07:31:58 PM »

November,

I believe that it is far better to pick an arbitrary or fanciful name rather than a more common one. In that vein, it would not be the best idea to pick Bill's Pizza as a name, although one could certainly do that. If it so happens that Bill's Pizza ends up with hundreds of stores, it could develop rights through long period of use and become strongly associated by consumers with pizza. It might then be able to stop newcomers from using the name but it could be tough to defend the name in litigation, and you might not be able to do anything with others who used the same name before you did. You would have a much stronger case with an arbitrary or fanciful name. In a former life, I had a lot of experience in this area with a multi-billion dollar company and one of the hardest parts of the job was to get employees to come up with non-descriptive terms for products and services. They all wanted to pick names that were almost impossible to register and protect and defend.

As I mentioned in my last post, I misunderstood your reason for referencing the artwork. Thanks for the clarification.

Peter