What’s Einstein got to do with it?
Naming products is both an art and a science. Marketers work hard to come up with names that resonate with their target customers, maybe evoke a specific emotion, maybe tell you what the product does. Sometimes its a hit, sometimes its a miss. Heck, we named our company Sugar and then decided SugarCRM was closer to home. Either way, the name “Sugar” was stepping outside the bounds of normal back in 2004 and it’s been a hit for us.
It’s certainly fun to watch all of the companies out there name their new AI services. From IBM with Watson (that’s their founder’s last name, not Sherlock’s sidekick) to Microsoft with Cortana (which cracks me up as a Halo fan) to SugarCRM with Candace (Candace…candy…sugar…get it?), we are seeing a whole new set of opportunities for marketers to make their impact with compelling names and creating compelling identities. It was exciting to announce Candace back in June 2016 and describe the future of CRM and AI together.
Our friends at Salesforce joined the fun a couple weeks ago and announced their approach to CRM and AI. They chose to name their AI service “Einstein.” But I’m going to pause on the obvious for a moment. Einstein? Really?!
Personally, I think Marc Benioff and his marketing team have let their hubris finally get to them in a big, big way. To try and steal the “Einstein” identity away from Albert Einstein, one of the greatest legends of modern history, is absolutely ridiculous. It is simply yet another illustration of how Salesforce continues to lose touch with their customers and believe the hype they spout about themselves everyday.
My fellow marketers at Salesforce, this is beneath you. Here’s a wag of the finger at the Salesforce marketing department.