What's in a name?

I will attend a regional competition for the Pacific Northwest District - Optimist International Oratorical Contest today.  That's rather a stuffy, old-fashioned program title, don't you think?

That's why these catchy titles of other Optimist Club projects caught my attention this morning:

• Talk Derby to Me:  Marco Island, FL Optimist Club fund raiser on Kentucky Derby Race day
• Safetypalooza: Free bicycle helmets and safety programs from the Christian County Optimist Club, Nixa, MO

I will enjoy the thoughts and poise of the students when they speak on the international theme "Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem?" at the contest,  but I will be wondering if we would have more entries in the contest if it were called something else.

With a nod to the popular television program Glee, maybe "Speak" would get the message across.  I've personally always liked the name of the program aimed at younger children "Kids Speak Out."   Lose the "kids" and "Speak Out" would do quite nicely for all age groups.

The role of advertising is to create interest; therefore, we need to be more creative in our approach.  What do you think? Do you have a great title for an oratorical contest in mind?  Please share it here.