Kathie Lee Gifford spells this company’s name out for you because otherwise, you can’t spell it..
We often talk about the radio test when it comes to domain names. If someone hears the name of your website can they spell it when they type it into their browser?
The same goes for apps. When someone goes to the app store to find an app, can they spell the name correctly?
Name Ninja Bill Sweetman sent this commercial featuring Kathie Lee Gifford to me. It’s for an app called Takl. But it’s pronounced tackle, like tackling a job on your todo list.
If you hear the name of the app there’s no way you will know how it’s spelled. Unless the company spells it out for you, and that’s just what they have Kathie Lee Gifford do at the end of this commercial. Click the image at the top to watch the ad, especially the ending.
The company uses the domain name Takl.com.
But wait, it’s a .com so all is forgiven.
I was just thinking the same thing.
Fiverr.com (no problem here)
Flickr.com (no problem here)
cakes.nyc (terrible domain name, even if you sell cakes in NYC)
Flickr was a problem. They lost gobs of traffic to flicker.com and eventually got into a lawsuit over it.
I have heard the radio commercials in the NY area over the past year and all I kept thinking about was how they fail the radio test. If you have to use 10-15% or more of a commercial spelling your name that is not the greatest use of the time/money.
At least snoring company Zyppah adds into into their commercial that the website is “Happy Z” backwards- which helps it stand out a bit but still fails the radio test.
Another one is investment guru Ric Edelman- on his radio spots he tells folks to go to RicEdelman.com or “Rice Delman dot com” which works well since many people would not know to spell rick without a “k”!
Cheers,
Mike
I saw this advertisement over the weekend. With the assistance of the image in this article I was able to recall that I saw it (otherwise no way I would remember I ever saw the ad). While watching the ad, I recalled thinking to myself “what is she talking about?” (I was multitasking (folding laundry)but good advertisements need to be able to cut through that) . At the end of the advertisement I still had the same question and thought to myself, “what a waste of money”. Only thing I know from reading this article is that it’s for an app. named TAKL…which I thought was a typo of “Talk” until I read on.
Ok so I watched the commercial on the link provided in the email and now realize (at least think) I did not see the second part of the commercial. I get it; it’s a odd job service aggregator . Just based on the first half of the commercial not memorable, from seeing the second half, I get it but the spot needs polishing and is unremarkable. As I mentioned I was folding laundry so good chance listening but not looking….would never thought to search for takl, if I was interested in the service.
Passing the radio test is a bonus, but ultimately it’s not crucial.
Many successful brands don’t pass the test. For example: Google, Fiverr, and many fashion brands.
The success of a business depends largely on whether its products/services are favored.
Good business idea but I bet they will be looking to buy the dictionary version of the word.