Dive Brief:

• The New York Times delves into the time-consuming and costly naming process surrounding many of today's popular ed tech companies, such as 2gnoME, Edgenuity, Ednovate, Grockit, and Smarterer.  
• The sometimes zany names that have become synonymous with ed tech are necessary for multiple reasons: They help the companies standout, ensure a web domain is available, set the companies apart in terms of intellectual property, and, when translated into a different language, won't be anything offensive.  
• Danny Altman, the founder of A Hundred Monkeys, a branding company that helps ed tech companies develop names, told the New York Times that typically three to four people collaborate to create a name for a company. They typically come up with 25 to 30 choices, and the process ultimately costs a company $35,000 to $50,000.  

Dive Insight:

Diving into the world of ed tech naming is fascinating, if only because it confirms that you are not alone in your struggle to pronounce some of the wackier names.  

The article details the naming process of Ellucian, a new (non K-12) firm that brings software and services to higher education. To create the name, the company hired a consulting company and brought together 15 of its staff members to work with them. Initially, 2,000 choices were brought to the table, and this number was slowly whittled down until the company landed on Ellucian — a hybrid of “elucidate” and “academician." Ultimately, the process took three months and cost the company $50,000.  

It would not be surprising if some educators reading this are baffled as to why so much money is being spent on something as superficial as a name. However, that thinking ignores the fact that, in today's world, education has been pushed beyond classroom walls and into a booming marketplace where everything from name to font can make or break a company.