Develop Your Naming Strategy Your brand strategy influences your naming process. Start by determining which type of brand you are building and how your name needs to reflect that type. [Brand Strategy can help] What type of brand is will your name represent? BRAND TYPE
DESCRIPTION
Corporate
You’re branding your company, so the company name needs to support that brand. You’re developing a unique brand identity for each of your products and services; the name needs to reflect that brand identity only for that specific product/service. You’ll also need to consider the level of differentiation you want between product names – should they be somewhat similar, or complete opposites? You’re developing a brand around a group of products/services. Same question posed in the product line – think about how the family names need to work together.
Product
Family
It’s helpful to understand the four basic types of names:
1. DESCRIPTIVE NAMES
Descriptive names describe what the company (or product/service) does, or they’re variations of the names of the company’s founder(s) or partners. Examples: Automatic Data Processing; General Motors; Bob White Accounting.
Check off any pros or cons that are important to you: PROS
CONS
Customers / prospects immediately know what you do
Generic -‐-‐ there are only so many words that can
Easy to say and spell
Conveys no brand, positioning, or benefits
Very traditional
May limit your ability to expand into other areas
May have more trademark issues (see
Naming Develop Your Naming Strategy
be used to describe the business
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PROS
CONS “Trademark” section)
If you already have a name, does it fit in this category? Based on the pros and cons listed above, is this category a good fit for your company?
Y
N
Y
N
2. CREATED NAMES
These made-‐up names are meant to evoke certain emotions, meanings or ideas. They may be completely new words or variations of words based in other languages. Examples: Agilent, Accenture
PROS
Easier to trademark because they’re new You’re more likely to get the URL More unique and interesting than descriptive names Can convey or evoke brand associations
CONS
May be difficult to pronounce Market may not understand what it means May require more marketing expenditures to explain what it means
If you already have a name, does it fit in this category? Based on the pros and cons listed above, is this category a good fit for your company?
Y
N
Y
N
3. EXPERIENTIAL NAMES
These names are more benefit-‐oriented than descriptive names-‐-‐they tell a customer what to expect from an experience with the company. Experiential names typically include a verb or an adjective followed by a noun. Examples: Outward Bound, Netscape, Microsoft
PROS
Easy to understand
More memorable and unique than descriptive names
CONS Frequently used in a variety of industries, so difficult to trademark & find URLs Could also be difficult to understand
If you already have a name, does it fit in this category?
Y
N
Based on the pros and cons listed above, is this category a good fit for your company?
Y
N
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4. EXPRESSIVE NAMES Emotional and compelling, these names evoke the core of the brand itself. Expressive names are typically a word or words used out of traditional context – they aren’t meant to be taken literally. Examples: Apple, Yahoo!, Target, Oracle, Caterpillar
PROS
CONS
Viewed as more risky
Highly memorable, differentiated
Requires an explanation of what the company does
Completely supports the company’s branding Not tied to a single type of product or service May be easier to trademark
If you already have a name, does it fit in this category?
Y
N
Y
N
Based on the pros and cons listed above, is this category a good fit for your company?
REVIEW YOUR COMPETITORS’ NAMES
Now do an analysis of all of your competitors’ names. It will help you to see what kind of name you’ll want to pursue. Include all of the other companies that provide alternative solutions to solve your customers’ problems. [Competitive Positioning can help] How compelling is TYPE OF NAME (CHECK ONLY ONE) List your competitors below it? (0 = forgettable; 5 = Descriptive Created Experiential Expressive fantastic) If you already have a name, what type is it?
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à à à Considered better “brand names” à à à
In the chart below, insert each competitor into the box that corresponds with its rating and name type. Put your existing name in the grid as well (if applicable). The best brand names tend to fall within the upper right-‐hand quadrant, but feel free to draw the conclusions that are best suited for your business. à à à Considered better “brand names” à à à Rating Descriptive Created Experiential Expressive 5 4 3 2 1 0 Does it need to be really creative? It depends. For example, if your brand is all about creativity, then your name should be creative as well. If you’re about innovation, then your name should be willing to take a risk. If risk is the last thing on your customers’ minds, then be conservative. PROS OF A HIGHLY CREATIVE NAME
CONS
Differentiate yourself from competitors You may need to educate people about what it Easier to protect means – and that can be expensive Convey your creativity if that’s your business Review your brand personality traits, the three things your brand should mean to your customers, and your brand promise. Do these traits point toward a really creative name, a descriptive name, or something in between? PREFERRED NAME TYPE
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NOTES
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Creative
Descriptive
In between
A few further considerations: CONSIDERATIONS
RESPONSE
Do you have a traditional product or service the people already understand? For example, most people expect a law firm to be named after its partners. A creative name may confuse the market. Will the majority of your customers be acquired by phone or face-‐to-‐face sales? Are you in a conservative industry? Is the company/product/service’s reputation important?
Yes No
Yes No Yes No Yes No
Total YES Total NO Which option did you choose more frequently? Yes: consider using a descriptive name
No: consider using an inventive, experiential or expressive name
RESULTS: NAMING REQUIREMENTS To differentiate your company from those of your competitors, you can focus on creating a name of a different type and better rating than your competitors. Type(s) of names to pursue Other comments Now list all of the additional criteria you think the name needs to accomplish. This grid contains some basic criteria to get you started, although you may decide to delete or alter them.
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Once you’ve generated the list, rank the criteria in order of priority (High, Medium, Low.) No name is going to accomplish everything, so knowing what’s most important will help you when you start to pick your finalists. [Brand Strategy can help] PRIORITY BRANDING CRITERIA COMMENTS (H, M, L) The name should supports our value proposition ( ) The name should evoke our 3-‐5 brand personality traits: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. PRIORITY GENERAL CRITERIA COMMENTS (H, M, L) Memorable Easy to spell Easy to pronounce Has a pleasing appearance Has a pleasing sound
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