?? Making mistakes

Hi there,

As cicadas re-emerge after their respective 13- and 17-year subterranean hiatuses, we’re taking notes—because no one nails timing quite like these bugs.?

What’s emerging from underground for this issue: OpenAI’s trademarking woes and what lessons it has to teach about naming, a plea to stop overhauling your website from our VP of technology, and where and why a new brand narrative can have the most impact.??

And we’re off.?

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?? Read This:?

“GPT” is an epic name fail: what brands can learn from it

“If OpenAI had invested more thought into developing a proprietary name to match its revolutionary technology, it could’ve inaugurated the age of AI with a world-building asset on the level of the iPhone.”

OpenAI’s bid to trademark “GPT” has been denied by the US Patent and Trademark Office. And anyone involved in the naming of companies or products should take notice.?

VSA’s Jeff Schulz was recently published in Print Magazine, where he wrote about OpenAI's trademarking woes and the naming lessons we can take from the stumble.?

Read: “GPT” is an epic name fail: what brands can learn from it

?? And this:

Stop overhauling your website?

Website overhauls don’t work. At least, not in the way they’re promised to. That’s the premise of VSA’s VP of Technology Thaddeus Ternes’ piece, featured in AllBusiness, where he explores a better way to approach website changes. Meet the “incremental approach”—a tactic that focuses on a continuous flow of quick(ish) wins instead of time-consuming overhauls.?

Read: Stop overhauling your website

??? Think on this:?

Do brand narratives really matter??

People forget facts; they remember stories.?

Associate Partner and Head of Strategy Michael Girts was recently spotlighted on LinkedIn talking about the purpose of brand narratives, and some of the reasons why clients are coming to us for a new one:?

1. Investors are asking our clients to tell their story in a more compelling way.
2. Employees want to know why to come to work every day.
3. If we do our job right, customers see themselves in the story, and they choose your brand in the marketplace.

To get his full take, click the link below.

Think: Do brand narratives really matter?

That’s all for now!?

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