Minn Kota’s “Terrova”

The Need

 Minn Kota needed to develop a family brand name for a new trolling motor that would be premium quality, performance, and price. A trolling motor is a small electric motor, located on the bow or stern, that’s used for moving a fishing boat through the water quietly, to avoid spooking the fish. Minn Kota’s new “revolutionary” line of electric-steer motors would be positioned as the ultimate in trolling motors, a step-up from Minn Kota’s existing PowerDrive line.

The Name

After 3 rounds of presented names, the Minn Kota team chose Terrova. The root “terr” comes from Latin, where it means “earth” or “land”. This meaning is found in such words as: subterranean, terrace, terrain, terrarium, and territory. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is an unoccupied underwater robot that is connected to a ship by a series of cables. The word “rove” also means to travel constantly without a fixed destination or to wander. Combining those roots and words to form “Terrova” created a great name for Minn Kota as the name suggests that this trolling motor would seamlessly rove across water and elevate the fishing experience. The name was also easy to say and communicated the premium quality of the motor.

The Result

The Terrova trolling motor family was launched in 2007 and has become regarded as a very technically advanced electric steer trolling motor to this day.