Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

Searching For A Massage Business Name ...

Posted by Anonymous on 8/21/2015 at 2:58 PM ET 250 Points
I am a licensed Massage Therapist and I am opening a place for clients to receive massages. I have always liked the movie, "Wizard of Oz" and have a preference to the Tin Man. I would like a business name that would tell people that they can come to me if they, too, have "stiff joints", "rusty & achy pain" and need to be "oiled" and "lubricated" back into everyday life. I like the concept but need some assistance with conveying the concept of the Tin Man. Now, I'm sure that not everyone will "automatically" get the concept right away so I am planning on using a Tin Man with an oil can in the pictured logo, as well. I just need help with the wording of the business. Any assistance will be helpful. Thanking you in advance. (Alan)
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 8/21/2015 at 4:53 PM Moderator
    You may want to be careful with any depiction of the Tin Man. While the book by L. Frank Baum is in the public domain, drawing "an exact replica of the book’s characters can result in MGM [sic] suing you,"* based on the derivative motion picture which is still copyright protected.

    This area of copyright law is front-and-center among attorneys in the area. According to New Media Rights, "... characters in the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz are copyrighted."*


    *New Media Rights is a non-profit, independently funded program of California Western School of Law. They provide legal services, education, and public policy advocacy for Internet users and creators.

    **** I am not an attorney, and this should not be construed as legal advice. ****

    Here's a link. You might want to watch the video. It is directly relevant. https://www.newmediarights.org/business_models/artist/wizard_oz_public_doma...
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/21/2015 at 5:00 PM Accepted
    If you name it something like "Tin Man", in addition to people not "getting it", you risk conveying the wrong target market ("Man"). So perhaps you'd be willing to share a bit more about your target market, location, and special training/services to better create a name that might be more appropriate.
  • Posted on 8/21/2015 at 5:22 PM Author
    Thanks Jay & mgoodman for your responses. I will admit that I did not think about the legal ramifications nor the "man" portion. I am definitely flexible regarding the logo and without undertaking my clientele I can go on and take out the "Tin Man" portion. What about something dealing with "Oil Can"??

    Alan
  • Posted on 8/21/2015 at 9:28 PM Accepted
    In my experience, when you try to be too cute you usually sacrifice clear communication. This often happens when you don't think through your positioning very well and don't have a unique and compelling benefit for your primary target audience.

    Let me suggest that we approach this as a Positioning project first, and then get to the naming issue.

    Who is your primary target audience? Where? What do you know about them? Since you've been working with these folks for awhile, perhaps you can ask some of them what they like about what you do for them. Listen not just to the ideas they express, but also to the words they use. Try to get at the core benefit they think they are getting from what you do.

    A good name is more about the compelling benefit the target audience gets than it is about what you do, what you think you deliver or what you wish it were. I'd suspend your love of "Wizard of Oz" for now and forget oil cans for a while. Don't try to be too clever. Just focus on articulating a sound Positioning for your business. The name and a possible tagline will come later.

    Let's treat this as a serious marketing issue.
  • Posted on 8/21/2015 at 9:58 PM Author
    Thank you so much for your assistance. I've got some more thinking to do. Alan
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