Stay Human: names
General Stay Human discussion here
Joel says:
The name has to be more accessible for people. A name like Stay Human might be fine with those of us who have some understanding of the angchap/social justice/counter-cultural/Judeo-Christian world view etc etc, but I feel a name like that isolates us too much from the outset. The name is crucial because it’s our brand, it is the first point of contact that someone makes with the station and it is a reference point which takes on meaning once that person starts to discover what the station is all about. Stay Human is a fantastic name for a radio show, maybe one dealing with counter-cultural ideas and issues, yet as a name, a brand, it doesn’t work.
My own concerns about that particular name are these. Firstly I feel it is trying to say too much. I understand that in terms of the humanizing goal of the station the name fit’s perfectly, however I would rather let the programming do the talking than have a grand name which can also peg us into a hole. The name has to be much more subtle.
One name which Geoff and I came up with a while back was ‘The Funnel’. could also work as Funnel FM. One reason for this is that it works well visually as it is also the shape of a loud-hailer or speaker. And it carries connotations of channeling stuff into a specific point… a concentration of information, ideas etc. What do you guys think??
Chaplain Tim McKenzie says “David Newton is adamant that the name must reflect the values contained on the chaplaincy website, and therefore have a slightly subversive tang. At the moment, he thinks “Stay Human FM” is the best name by a country 1500m, and will take a lot of convincing otherwise. But he is open to other names, provided that they reflect the values of the chaplaincy etc.”
- Body Politic
- Commonweal
- Grace
8 responses to “Stay Human: names”
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“Body Politic FM”
“Commonweal FM” [that’s a bit obscure, and will never fly, but look it up in the dictionary, and you will see why I like it…”
Kick in the Pants FM
The goal of the station is to relfect the ‘humanisation’ call of the Chaplaincy (see the front page of our site near the bottom), and to fit with the ‘Healthy Campus’ policy of VUW which also talks of humnaisation etc. The ‘subversive’ aspect to the name only arises since to asert the human in a coinsumer driven environment is inherently subversive. None of the above will cut it… also… Tim McKenzie is a spineless toad = not to be confused with The Toad.
FundiFM
I quite like Body Politic, it sounds a lot slicker than Stay Human. It could also be quite easily confused with ‘Bloody Politics’, which is not a bad name itself. Bloody Politics FM.
F and / or M. Gets my vote. It’s innuendo as well as being factually.
Or something vaguely scientific like that.
Before any final decision is made on the name there are a few issues regarding branding and chaplaincy ministry that I have to work through with David Newton and Tim, but I’ll keep you posted on this front.