It Ain’t ALL in the Name

Contrary to popular belief, branding doesn’t start or end with the naming process. No doubt naming is a huge and very important part of the overall branding success of a company or product; but it is as well, just one small drop of water in the whole ocean of branding efforts.

Many small businesses might think that by choosing a brand that ‘feels good’ with the owner(s), they’ve picked the right name for the brand. In most cases this is rather off, and can become a gigantic obstacle in their marketing efforts further down the line. Let’s not forget that in branding and in many marketing objectives having “top of mind” in the consumers is of great importance and value. Can a poorly named brand become the top brand in its category? Can we pursue in marketing strategy, advertising, PR, and any other marketing/branding effort to construct a positive light and positioning statement for a terribly named brand? Should we really invest or perhaps spend that money in these tasks?

Personally, I consider a name must be: clear, concise, category related, never generic, inspired, understandable, reasonable, intelligent, targeted, easy to remember, easy to pronounce, appropriate, etc… (Feel free to add your own)

Now, just to close the post, I’d like to turn it over to the consumer side. Let’s never forget that a brand is the way the consumer will recognize, and hopefully love our products, services, experiences, treatment, etc…., and by such we need to create a name/brand that is appropriate for the company, the products, and most importantly, the consumer. Having a brand that sounds “funny”, “weird”, “tacky”, etc., will probably make it easier to remember in the consumers’ mind, but won’t carry the added-value, status, or emotional importance you have been working hard to add to the brand.