11 Naming 4: A Big Hint

11

NAMING 4: A BIG HINT

Modern names often encapsulate a vision of their brand identity. Companies like innocent drinks, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, One Coconut Water, Whole Foods Markets in the real world or StumbleUpon, YouSendIt and Facebook on the Internet; they all have names that give you an idea of what they do.

There’s also the king of the big hint, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.

The idea The Body Shop was set up in Berkeley, California, in 1970 by Jane Saunders and Peggy Short. The big hint is pretty obvious; this is a shop that sells things for your body.

Before the 1970s, a body shop was a place you took your car to have the bodywork fi xed, dents beaten out, chips repaired and the like. In the automotive industry, it still is. In those days, calling a cosmetics store The Body Shop was an interesting twist in the language, a brand name that borrowed an established term from another industry. Jane and Peggy got their inspiration from their building’s former use; it really had been a car body shop.

There is a sequel to this particular story. The Body Shop is better known in its second incarnation. Anita Roddick visited California, went to The Body Shop and decided that it was such a great idea, she returned to the UK and set up her own version, opening her fi rst

shop in 1976. As The (Roddick) Body Shop expanded around the world, they were unable to open shops in the US as the registered trademark belonged to the original owners. In 1987, Roddick’s Body Shop bought the rights to the name from Saunders and Short, who agreed to change to Body Time. So they had to start again with a new brand name with a new a big hint brand name, with a comforting bonus of a lot more funding second time around.

In practice • Ask yourself how people would describe your new organisation, your brand or your idea. What would they really say about it? What does it do? What is it for? Write down all the answers. Your brand name could be on the list. • Sometimes the name comes fi rst; you have such a great idea for a brand name that you have to invent an organisation to match it. However, usually it’s a case of sitting down with a pencil and paper – or standing up with a fl ipchart and marker pen – getting the most creative people you know into a room all together and not letting them out until they have written down all their ideas. • Check that the name is legally available as a trademark in all the countries you intend to operate. And not only that. Also do the localisation; check that it’s not offensive or culturally inappropriate in other areas. One big hint brand name from the US is for a monitor you put on your child to check that they don’t stray out of the area. It was called The Little Bugger. Not appropriate in the UK.