In an article about Toshiba pulling the plug on HD DVD, a spokesperson for the company commented that "Marketing was a weak point for Toshiba." That is the understatement of the year.
 
 In the continual discussion about how to properly market to today's consumer - whether offline or on the web through banner ads, PPC advertising, search engine optimization, viral marketing or otherwise - one thing seems obvious to me with the demise of HD DVD: Toshiba's marketing department did an absolutely horrendous job of choosing a name for their product.
 
 From day one, HD DVD didn't stand a chance against Blu-ray merely because we like to say "Blu-ray" and we hate to say "HD DVD." It does not matter now that it may actually have been a better and more useful technology for the masses, because we'll never know as a a result of bad branding.
 
 I try to not be critical of others, especially in areas that are not my specialty, but the victory of VHS over Betamax decades ago is not a clue as to how to name a product for today's marketplace. That should be obvious to any creative director.
 
 The clues are everywhere as to what types of catchy names have been attached to successful new brands in the last decade: Google, iPod, Starbuck's, Scion, MySpace, Facebook, Panera's Bread, Under Armour, and many more. These names flow off your tongue and are pleasant to utter and repeat over and over. I iPod this; I Google that; I Facebook you; I MySpace me; and Under Armour for all.
 
 Not too many recently introduced brands that I can think of have initials as their main focus. The MD in WebMD was already a universally used acronym, so it brought recognition and value to that brand's name. With FUBU, you pronounce that name like a cool word.
 
 Congratulations to Sony for finally winning a format war and getting the Betamax monkey off their back. Pretty soon "Blu-ray" will be a verb that describes the action of shooting hi-def video footage. "I was there and I blu-rayed it!"
 
 So, when you want to introduce a new product, be sure to remember the lesson of HD DVD, and stay away from a long string of initials for your brand, which needs to convey a warm and fuzzy emotional relationship with your target audience, not an initialed, commoditized, and cold connection.