Brand Naming

With that said, unless you have a big, endless budget, I say… Avoid like the plague:

Dumb generic names
Dumb generic names like Computer Solutions, Performance Printing, or Innovative Technologies. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, but these names will just make you spend more and work harder at building a brand. They don't have legs and will likely drown in the sea of sameness. Avoiding generics names is also critical in consumer package products, especially when private label copycats by mass retailers are showing up. Many times the name can be the strong point of difference.

Copycat names
I also think copycat names or those that sound like a competitor or some other big brand are not worthy of much.

Names that are hard to spell or pronounce
Finally a name should be something most people can spell and certainly pronounce.

Whatever route you take, be it working with a naming company, a creative consultant, rallying your troops and making it an internal company project, enlisting strangers in a naming contest, or combining several of these methods, you have created an extensive list of possible contenders. Now what?

More big naming questions
How will the market receive the name? With supporting context, will the market get it? Will it jive with your strategic positioning of the brand? Are there negative connotations or associations with the name? Is it available to use? On the earth? On the Web?

Once you've boiled down the list of prospects, you can organize unscientific opinion polls (i.e., in shopping malls, in bars, at office gatherings). You can also conduct focus groups to test reactions further or you can do an expensive quantifiable study to gauge understanding, acceptance, likeability, or associations with your name prospect.

Is there a magic, fool-proof method for testing names? No. In fact, sometimes too much analysis just delays decisions and defeats the whole mission of naming your brand before the next decade. I recommend that you test a little, listen a little to people you respect, listen to your gut feelings, and proceed with a choice.

Great Brand Names

• Are emotional
• Stick in the brain
• Have personalities
• Have depth

While the brand name is very important, a brand cannot survive on name alone
The brand name and how the brand is executed are equally vital for a successful and sustained brand life. A great brand name can serve as the anchor to your cause, a symbol to your story, a point of difference in your marketplace, a memory trigger, or just one important part of your branding arsenal. Go get you a great one!

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