Today, we are happy and proud to make three major announcements that we think will all have a great positive impact on how we can serve our community of backers, customers and friends.
Our CEO Martin Källström says it best in his open letter – we recommend you read it for the full picture – but to summarize:
- Memoto can not be called Memoto any more. We have come to the conclusion that the brand Memoto can’t be used on a global scale, specifically because it conflicts with similar trademarks in the market. After painfully realizing we have to give up Memoto and search for a new name, we are very pleased with what we have found. The company previously known as Memoto is now called Narrative. We think Narrative resonates very well with what we try do to and under this new name we can even better explore our ideas for the future.
- Narrative have received a funding of $3M in a round led by San Francisco-based True Ventures. Fitbit, MakerBot, Kiip, GigaOm and 9GAG. We recommend a read of their blog post about the hardware revolution.
- Finally, we can announce the starting date for the shipping to Narrative’s Kickstarter backers and pre-order customers: on November 1st, the first batch of cameras will roll out from the factory in Taiwan. From there on, we will continue shipping as quickly as possible. In a couple of weeks, we will have an interface ready where you can log in with your email address to see an estimate on when your unit will arrive.
As always, we appreciate your feedback. Because of the name change, some of the contact points have been updated:
- Facebook: www.fb.com/getnarrative
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/getnarrative
- More information: www.getnarrative.com
We wouldn’t have come this far without our fantastic community and we want to thank you for all for your support and faith in us. Please head on over to the former Memoto website to read a letter from Martin, our CEO.
Much love,
Narrative team
19 Comments
I love the new name! Fresh, understandable and will expand your possibilities of growing in the field. And you don’t risk being connected to the not-as-cool-as-you Google brand Motorola..
I think Narrative is an excellent name. It is a word that contains a richer world of relevant associations than Memoto and it will integrate very well with the storytelling around your offering. The challenge you faced when encountering legal constraints with Memoto certainly transformed into your opportunity by landing a better and stronger brand name. The timing of the name change is also great since you do it in conjunction with communicating the launch date of your product and the confidence-boosting news of your True Ventures funding. Well done! The one downside is that you had to go for getnarrative.com instead of narrative.com, but that’s how things go. Better to go with such an excellent name as Narrative than with a poorer name with a ‘cleaner’ .com domain. Anyway, best of luck! Am very excited about trying your product out!
Cheers,
Magnus.
Brand Strategist | http://magnuskahler.com
Great name and great news. I am really looking forward to taking my Narrative Clip out mountain running…
I thought I liked “Memoto.” I absolutely love Narrative! You sound like the Swedish company with a fresh new idea, not just another Japanese camera company. I also love the new website name. With getnarrative.com, there is the implied action. It is a call for us to get moving; get narrative through our photos. Congratulations!
Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to try to stay focused on what I need to get done during October . . . all the while, most of my brain will be thinking, “Is it November yet?”
I hate the new name. It sucks and memento was intuitive. Narrative zzzz Motorola honestly??? I would have told them to shut themselves down before folding. Moto? Really Motorola motorcar who cares that isn’t a trademark.
Narrative. Eh, ok. Doesn’t grab me by the collar, actually it sounds like scriptwriting software, but call it Marion Cotesworth Hayes the 3rd for all I care…just finally deliver it.
More detailed info on what will and won’t be there for the clips delivered between Nov 1st & Christmas. http://www.slashgear.com/narrative-clip-glass-wearables-and-the-next-memoto-chapter-with-ceo-martin-kallstrom-03300214/
I don’t like the new name at all, for me it will be “The device formerly known as Memoto”, like The artist formerly known as Prince….
You can call it whatever you want! I just want it!! I would have called it “Super, awesome, happy fun” but no one asked me. Cant wait for November!! W00T!!
Narrative is by far the better of the 2 names. IMHO
im fucking PISSED ASS AMERICAN IVE SENT 3 EMAILS WITH NO REPLY IVE HAVE MOVED ACCROSS THE COUNTRY NOW I NEED TO UPDATE MY ADDRESS REMEMBER YOUR NEARLY 6 MONTHS PASS THE ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE
Hi Roberto! The email you sent to our support was answered on October 4th and your shipping address has been updated – if you haven’t seen the reply, please check your spam folder. I understand your frustration and we’re working hard to get the Narrative Clip in your hands as soon as possible!
Best /Niclas, Narrative Team
Sorry I was such a bitch, lol thank you so much…..I worried because of my nasty ex bf living at my ole address…..as for the name i liked Memoto and I’m gonna keep it that way lol changing the name to narrative was dumb doesn’t make it as intriguing as before people are dumb small thing like this make them look elsewhere or wait for the knock off……..remember if a superstar in america eats a mcdonalds hamburger then all the idiots follow suit
Thanks for all the comments. To those who love Narrative as our new name – we love it too! To those who liked our old name better – we loved Memoto too, and believe us it was HARD to let it go! We’re very excited about the path ahead of us and we appreciate the engagement and support from all of you.
Best /Niclas, Narrative Team
Are you going to provide an update?
The name Memoto is much luvier. Narrative is hard and has no me2. I would suggest a name between them. For example: Mamative.com [url is free.]
Heyho! I (and surely many others) would like to know the newest progress, when will the interface for checking the sending date be ready? Will the clips be sent directly from factory? How realistic is the shipping date 1.11.13?? Regards, Harald.
Hi Harald, Thanks for getting in touch! Here’s the link to check your shipping date: http://shipping.getnarrative.com/
We’ll update it twice a week. The cameras will be shipped from the US.
Best,
Sarah
nice name for a great product