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A great name is like extra octane in a brand. A bad, boring or sound-alike name won't necessarily kill a brands chances for success. In most cases however, it dramatically dilutes the brand equity and potency.
Do You Have A Name That Basically Sucks?
If so, shame on you. If you acquired it, I send my sympathy.
Should you change it? Yes. It will cost some bucks, but it's also a great opportunity to get a lot of great attention and renewed momentum. Weigh it out, look at the cost versus the benefit and remember that change can be scary, but a lame brand can be scarier!
Birthing A Brand Name
The task of developing that killer name has become quite complex.
For years, business owners and management named their offspring,
then creative service firms and ad agencies jumped in, often with
a sprinkling of college talent, finally, the general public added
their wisdom in naming contests. I'm sure all have produced their
share of brilliant names as well as some very scary ones. Now
this field of art, science, skill, and luck has gone
professional. Naming brands is big business and can come with a
big price tag. Hire a professional naming company and expect a
bill of $10,000-$100,000 or more before the graphic execution or
production.
So What Is A Great Name Worth?
The answer: a lot. If your brand is properly nourished, it grows
and has a long shelf life or history - do the math.
Not All Great Brand Names Cost A Lot
Nike? is one of the best examples. Nike is Greek for victory and
is also the Greek goddess of victory. The name came in a dream to
Jeff Johnson, Nike's first "real" employee, and replaced the
original name of Blue Ribbon Sports. It beat out Phil Knight's
own name change idea of "Dimension 6." However, the company did
pay Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State
University, $35 in 1971 to design the trademark "swoosh."
When faced with the challenge of naming, start with your ideas
and those of your staff. No matter what, even if the names you
come up with stink, it's a good creative exercise about defining
your brand essence. If you have the budget, outside input and
other naming solutions can also be a valid investment. Remember
that the life and benefit of your brand name may last for years.
It will be plastered on lots of things including your market's
mind. Whatever you spend, divide it by the projected years of use
and value. This same formula applies for investments in corporate
identities and tagline. They are as valuable as a great employee
or, piece of manufacturing equipment.
Whether you decide to outsource or to create on your own name, I
suggest walking through the following preliminary exercise.
Ask Yourself The Following:
Who will ultimately decide the name? One person or a team?
Whoever that is should be involved in the criteria-building
process. What kind of brand are you naming? Company, consumer
product, business service, or event? What is the expected life of
the brand name? Does the name fit into a larger family of names?
Will it be used only in the U.S. or will it go global? Remember
that today "global" can mean the Internet too. Who is your
primary audience for the brand names? Are you creating a new
category or joining an existing one? If joining a category, what
are your competitors' names? What are the primary strategies for
building your brand?
Once you've completed your basic criteria or framework, you can
proceed with the grueling task of a name dump of endless
possibilities.
Should A Name Be Literal And Descriptive Or Obscure And
Emotional?
My tendency tilts toward obscure and certainly emotional,
primarily because I'm a strong proponent of distinctive brands.
However, I also believe each case is unique and sometimes brand
names get passed down and changing them would take an act of
Congress.
An Obscure Or Unfamiliar Word Can Be A Brand Home Run
Consider Apple?, Nike?, Google?, FUBU?, and Yahoo?. They all have
visibility/frequency, brand-story telling communication, and
brand performance. They are all hugely successful brands but,
started as small companies.
Although not my favorite, literal and descriptive words can work
in some brand naming situations. Generally, though proceed with
caution because they can be more easily copied or imitated,
leading to buyer confusion. Such confusion usually defeats the
purpose of a sound brand.
If you have a big branding budget, you can salvage or sustain a
boring, generic, or literal brand name with some other compelling
messaging. Take, for example, Southwest Airlines. Their
consistently creative and "on brand" advertising has transformed
a somewhat nonexciting name into a great brand name. However,
most companies don't have the luxury of Southwest's media budget
or have not engaged a great ad agency like GSDM in Austin, Texas.
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-packaged 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
nonscientific opinion polls (i.e., in shopping malls, bars,
office gatherings). You can also conduct focus groups to test
reactions further or you can do a pricey quantifiable study to
gauge understanding acceptance, likability, 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
1) Are emotional
2) Stick in the brain
3) Have personalities
4) 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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Karen Post, The Branding Diva? is a national speaker, author,
and branding expert. For more than 23 years, she has worked with
Fortune 500 organizations and emerging small businesses in both
consumer and business-to-business sectors to grow their
businesses with a landed brand.
Karen is the monthly branding columnist for Fastcompany.com., she
has been featured extensively in national business media outlets;
and her writing is published internationally. Karen newest book
"Brain Tattoos, Creating unique brands that stick to your
customers" minds (AMACOM). To contact Karen visit her Web site
at: http://www.brandingdiva.com.
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