Kindle vs. eReader

Amazon invented a new category last year with its iPod/iTunes-like Kindle and digital bookstore. Now Barnes & Noble is jumping into the fray with its own competitive offer…an e-bookstore aligned with the Plastic Logic eReader.

From a brand-naming perspective, the two products underscore a key concept I discuss in Branding Like The Big Boys…what makes a great brand name? A great brand name is simple, memorable, connotative and “sticky.”

“Kindle” has all this going for it. “Plastic Logic eReader” does not.

Time will tell whether the BN offer catches on. There are many pricing, distribution and brand-affinity issues that will influence the product’s success. The quality and usefulness of the product itself, as well as the variety of books in the digital store will matter. The name alone will not be the determining factor of whether eReader lives or dies.

But you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Consider:

Kindle: spark a flame, light a fire, “candle,” kinder, kindergarten, fire the imagination. The word provides a platform onto which Amazon can build all kinds of associations and emotional hooks and handles. It’s simple, quick, easy to say, easy to remember. It’s likeable too. Kindle has great brand thinking going for it.

eReader: well, read a digital book. Other than that it just lays there. Hard to build much emotional content or “stickiness” onto a word that’s so pedestrian and descriptive. Also, a bit undifferentiated from Sony’s “Reader.” (A Big Boy like Sony ought to do better than that!)

Plastic Logic: what the hell is that?

Nascent categories such as the electronic book marketplace make wonderful learning labs for all of us watching the development and deployment of new brands. More excitement will follow.