Seems like we’ve been working on a lot of naming projects lately. Which is both fun and intimidating. After all, a name is the first impression. The embedded PR. The two-second summary of all your insights, strategies, and planning. It’s how customers know you before you’ve been properly introduced.
Take away the ad, the social media campaign, and the 12-page brochure. When it’s dark and quiet and your brand name is sitting there all alone with your customer, what is it saying about your product?
The best names tell your story when your story is still at the printer, hidden behind a 404, or trapped in the trunk of your sales team. Call it relevance. It’s what makes products/features/benefits meaningful and memorable. (NOTE: Relevant names shouldn’t be mistaken for functional names, which are a danger zone of unownability. If you find a functional name that’s available, and not completely forgettable, please share. It needs to be documented and studied.)
The best names are also distinctive (because they represent what’s distinctive about your product within the category). Go where the white space is–a lush pasture of emotional and experiential language. I hear ya that “emotion” and “experience” sound like someone is going to hug you after the presentation. But this style of name can be both 1) relevant and 2) available. Embrace them.
And third in my list of unnumbered name suggestions is talk traffic. If it’s hard to pronounce or goofy to say out loud, it’s a hindrance to pass-along. You want people to talk about your brand and tell their friends. So avoid the awkward—not the unusual—just the awkward. (Unless you want to pump gobzillion dollars into launching your new lexicontrific product.) Basically, if it’s too difficult or embarrassing for your customers to share, they won’t.
There’s also the “make sure it doesn’t mean something naughty in another language” test. The “if you push the words together does it spell something you don’t want it to” test. How does it work in a url? Does it look like its mother? How soon will it wear out? Etc., etc.
All that said. Naming is tough. And wonderful. And one of the most important things we can do for a brand. Thanks for trusting us with your babies.
Shawn Finger is Creative Director and Writer for The Alchemedia Project.
