Playback speed
×
Share post
Share post at current time
0:00
/
0:00
Transcript

Big Names in Naming: The Mark Gunnion Episode

"Namers are like bass players—they're always supporting someone else, and they rarely get to play together" -Mark Gunnion

I talk with Mark Gunnion about:

  • His first-ever naming assignment

  • How the adoption of search engines and rising dot-com scarcity in the 90s grew naming as a profession

  • Getting his start working with all the naming legends

  • Creating a *shockingly good* name for Nike

  • How Paper Mate Flair pens are the best pens in the world (even though I wave a Le Pen around throughout the episode)

  • His namer dreams of naming a perfume, a blockbuster movie, and a "midlife crisis car"

  • How naming your own creative work feels different from naming businesses, products, and services

Plus, we play That Can’t Be Real and Mark has to guess which wacky animal-themed brand names are fake.

Plus, plus, PLUS, so much more. I admire Mark immensely, and it was an honor to interview him. I hope you enjoy it.

About Mark Gunnion. Mark is a Name Consultant and Freelance Namer. He got his start naming 28 years ago and hasn't looked back. He lives in Southwest Oregon with his wife and two cats, and in his spare time, he writes action and thriller screenplays. You can learn more about him and his naming work at Gunnion.com, and you can read all about his screenplay work at 500Haiku.com.

Big Names in Naming is a Naming for Everyone podcast. For more naming resources, live and self-guided classes, and a weekly newsletter, visit namingforeveryone.com. And if you're a major brand in need of naming help, you can work directly with Caitlin's studio, Wild Geese Studio. wildgeesestudio.com

Naming for Everyone
Big Names in Naming: A Naming for Everyone podcast
You name it, they named it. Big Names in Naming is the show where expert namer Caitlin Barrett interviews other namers to go beyond the “What’s in a name?” headlines, and unearth what it really takes to make a living making names. Plus, we play a little game at the end.