13 Principles to Guide Brand Name Development

Creating your brand name isn’t that much unlike other aspects of launching a new product.  Similar to package design or sizing or pricing or volume forecasting, developing a brand name should begin with an intimate understanding of the category. 

Every category will be unique based on what role it plays in people’s lives, what competitive products exist and what competition is doing to own certain equities and attract more buyers.

However, the work we’ve done across clients suggests there are some common principles that likely apply across categories.  These certainly should not be viewed as absolute truths.  Nor are these anywhere near as valuable as doing more category-specific homework. 

If you know nothing about developing a brand, these should at least provide some guidance for your journey.  Ideally, they would be used as a checklist to make sure no major mistakes are being made with other brand development work.

Avoid brand names that are dominant in another industry:  While it might seem like a great idea to build off the existing recognition and equities, the risks almost always outweigh the reward.  This includes the risk of being sued by a company with much deeper pockets (even if they have no legal basis to claim ownership of their brand in your industry), and your product is more likely to get lost online as search results naturally steer people to the more recognized brand.

Don’t just use your company name as your brand:  Companies can be named for completely different reasons than brands are named for.  I once worked with a beverage company named for the city and geographic location in that city where they happened to be located.  Out of laziness, and completely contradicting brand research they paid us to do, the client decided to keep the company name as the brand name.  They’re now trying to convince shoppers to buy a brand that does absolutely nothing to build equity and sounds more like an LLC started by an investment club.

Make sure the brand is easy to spell:  With all the challenges a new product needs to overcome, it doesn’t need to lose interested shoppers that give up trying to find the brand online because they they can’t spell it.

Make sure the brand’s pronunciation is self-evident:  We’ve all experienced those embarrassing moments when we realized we didn’t know how to pronounce a brand we've been using for a long time.  I’m sure most of you have also avoided reference to or recommendation of brands you weren’t sure how to pronounce.  Causing embarrassment or confusion aren’t solid steps to closing more sales. 

Consider the brand’s ability to prompt secondary associations or equities:  This can be taken too literally, but there are also times when literal brand naming works.  When P&G’s Swiffer brand of quick cleaning products first launched, lost of people incorrectly called the brand “Swifter,” likely reflecting the subconscious association with the swift cleaning benefit.  Consider how certain words come across as more fun or more serious. Others might be more modest v. prestigious.  Or they could sound like a nostalgic brand from yesteryear versus a more futurist brand.

Don’t make the name too long or use too many letters:  Clean, short brand names have more flexibility when it comes to how they are presented on packaging.  They also tend to be easier to remember, spell correctly, and pronounce correctly…all necessary for users to recognize and recommend the brand and for others to easily search for it online.

Do a little more homework:  30 minutes of online searching can quickly reveal if your brand name has potential to stake out its own turf or if it is going to be fighting to get noticed in a crowded (even if unrelated) world already using it.  Find out what Google algorithms view as the most relevant content related to your brand name, and if there are any paid ads that pop up for your search.  Be sure to take enough time to see what second- and third-tier associations with the brand name look like.  This could give you some idea about how much money and effort it will take to ensure your brand is a top hit or at least shows up on page one of results…because we all know how often we click the first ‘o’ in Google to get to page 2 results.

Investigate domain availability:  Use a site like whois.net to find out if the obvious dot com domains for you brand are taken.  If so, find out by whom and how much it would cost to acquire?   Squatters can typically be easily bought, but a legitimate business might represent a greater challenge.

Search for alternate urban dictionary meaning:  Most alternative meanings are less than flattering.  I’ve personally experienced this after working with a client to qualify a new brand name that turned out to be slang for a NSFW sexual act.

Explore meaning in a foreign language:    Did you know that Crystal Bridges, the billion dollar modern art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas was originally going to be named Crystal Creek for the local tributary it was built on?  It turns out the same name was used by a European feminine hygiene company.  Here are some other unfortunate brand names that didn’t consider foreign meanings.

Checking for existing registered brand names:  Other companies have probably already thought of lots of the creative or seemingly original brand names you’re thinking of.  Be sure to do a quick search of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to see if someone already has dibs on your ideas.

Try to invent an ownable word:  One of the best ways to develop instant recognition and to be easily found online is through being one-of-a-kind.  As long as you’re doing things to get people to look for you, they’ll find you a lot easier.  Apple has effectively done this buy identifying their products with with their iDevice (iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac, etc.) and Air (Macbook Air, iPad Air, AirPlay, Airport, etc.) nomenclature.

Don’t use generic terms that describe the category:  General terms get lost on the shelf and come across as lower quality (being too literal) and uninspired.  They fail to build emotional sub-context into the purchase decision.

DOES YOUR BRAND NAME PASS?

A little effort could help you avoid going with a brand name that is bad news.  A little more time and attention could help you figure out a rockstar brand name that fires on all cylinders with recognition, rememberence, and reinforcement of your desired brand equities.

If your brand name fails at more than a few of the principles listed above, we’d love to help improve your fortunes.  We help clients begin with a broad and complete understanding of the category before crafting any branding.

While rebranding can be a humbling and challenging process, it could also pay huge dividends.