Naming your brand is one of the biggest things you’ll do as a company. We've know how it goes. You're creating a new brand, or making one from scratch. And then we get to the biggest question of all. What on earth are we going to call this new brand?
In naming, it’s a fine line between something boring and something outstanding. So what goes into choosing a brand name? And how do you get it right? Our guide has got you covered.
The basics of brand naming
Your brand name has to work hard. Really hard. It has to both represent the company and stand out, while also capturing the essence of what your company is about. A tough ask for a word or two, isn't it? But it's possible. We’ve earned our stripes by naming everything from ventilators to brands. Here’s what we’ve learned over the years.
The best brand names are always different. But they’re also always:
Memorable
Engaging
Meaningful
One of the biggest mistakes people make in brand naming (and branding) is to over-estimate the extent to which people care about your brand. To draw people in you’ve got to get to the heart of what makes for a good idea. And what draws people in is humour, confidence, mystery and witty thinking. Here’s a few ways you can inject that into your own brand name.
1. Get sticky
Words are funny. Some stick in your head and won’t let go. And others are forgettable and as plain as they come. You need to pack a lot into a very small space - maybe just a single word. The bar should be set high here. How are we going to say something worth saying, in words that people can understand? Take Tesla as an example. They hijacked the name of Nikola Tesla, the man lauded as the creator of the electric age. Double whammy. It makes sense, and it's about as sticky a name as they come.
2. Make meaning
Think of your name as an even shorter elevator pitch. Imagine you don’t have 30 seconds to tell someone your story. Instead you’ve got 5. Now what do you do? Take for example the clothing brand Patagonia. It’s a stand out name, and a brand that people think of as high quality clothing, as well as a brand with high levels of corporate ethics. But Patagonia is a region of South America which has nothing to do with either of those things. Prioritising stickiness in the brand name is what helps Patagonia stand out.
3. (Don’t) make sense
Logic is great in the boardroom. It makes less sense in the bear pit of consumer attention. Sometimes you've got to dare to be different. Virgin Atlantic makes no sense as a name for an airline. It implies inexperience, which isn’t exactly what you want as an airline operator. Yet it works, because the brand has grown into its name. It’s now associated with being on the side of the consumer, and in its early days, it stood for innovation.
4. Show not tell
There’s a weird quirk in the human brain. If I tell you “you can trust me” then you’re actually less likely to trust me. Mad right? But this applies to naming too. Rather than talking about the thing you want people to know about your company, you have to prove it in other ways. Apple is a luxury technology brand, but you won’t find the words luxury and technology in its branding anywhere. And certainly not in its name.
5. Less is more
There’s a tendency to try and cram everything into a business name. This can either lead to a long and compromised name, or on that isn’t bold or interesting enough. Investing Intelligence Solutions is a great example of a name that tries to say everything and ends up saying not much at all. Being a generalist is great if you’re a supermarket. It’s less good when you need to grab someone’s attention. Twist the brief so you're thinking about the stuff that makes you different, and lean on that for your name.
6. Avoid see-say words
The easiest and fastest way to ensure nobody remembers your name is to describe what you do. Sure, you might well offer Flexible Global Payments, but is that an interesting brand name? Nope. (The same is true of logos by the way, you don’t have to show a green leaf if your brand is environmentally conscious.)
Wrapping up
If your names hits 2-3 of these 6, you'll be well on your way to a great name. If they help you tell a story about who you are and how you’re different, even better! You'll be a long way ahead of those who are stuck on a boring, vanilla name that blends in with the rest of the competition.
Happy naming!
