Fresh Energy

A Non-Profit Environmental Group in Minnesota

Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ME3), an environmental lobbying and legal advocacy group based out of St. Paul, Minnesota, needed a new name. Many people couldn't remember what the group's acronym stood for, including some of ME3's own employees and key members of the media. Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy was often cited in the press as just "a local environmental group in St. Paul."

The new name needed to speak to the vision and goals of the organization, which included promoting renewable energy. It also needed to stand out from a crowd of other alphabet soup, environmental group acronym names.

The "renew" root was evaluated for inclusion in the new name but dismissed as overused, not evocative enough and not ownable as a trademark. The NameStomers decided to apply some of their cross-industry experience to this project, considering words and phrases that had gained traction with the public in other industries. One of these industries was food and beverage, which ultimately yielded the Fresh Energy name.

Fresh Energy put a new spin on renewable energy, bringing lots of positive associations immediately to the table. Fresh equated to good for you, good for the environment and good for the economy. The word "fresh" also tied in nicely with "green" as in friends of the environment, less pollution and the energy of the future. It also lended itself to some very appealing, inviting graphics and visual associations.

Fresh Energy has moved forward with their new name, quickly capturing the attention of legislators and the general public.