What's In a Name

Name [nām]: a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or thing.

Everything is in a name.

Next to the logo, your company’s name and your products’ names are the most prominent and recognizable representative of your brand. Your corporate name provides insight into who and what you are – and what your customers can expect from you.

Think about how these names say a lot about a company or product in just a couple syllables:

YouTube: an entertainment channel made by you
Google: based on a googol, which is 10¹⁰⁰, or a “1” with 100 zeros behind it; in short, a lot!
Range Rover: well, that’s exactly what it does: roves ranges

But what makes a good name? It needs to tell the brand story, and it needs to resonate with your audience. It also needs to be distinctive (and trademarkable) and scalable so that it remains relevant even as your business expands. And today, it needs to be compatible with an available URL.

A solid and enduring name is more than putting together letters or parts and pieces of words. A good name is well-planned, deliberate and most of all, strategic.

Be Original
With millions upon millions of business and product names out in the world, it may seem like an impossible task to distinguish your corporate name from others. But you have to get creative: a name too similar to another only leads to confusion. Think about Claritin and Clarinex, two competing prescription allergy medications. Throw the beauty-product line Clarins into the mix, and consumers’ heads start spinning.

Be Informed
When Brady Communications settles on a short list of potential names, we conduct preliminary research to ensure that the name is available for the taking. A trademark search in the early stages of the process can save valuable time and money down the road. We also conduct a domain-name search at this time. These days, if you don’t exist online, you don’t exist. And a compatible URL can only help your customers find you.

Be Scalable
Company and product names are key components of brand identities, so be sure the name can stand the test of time and grow along with the company’s overall business strategy. While your company’s focus may be very narrow when initially deciding on a name, don’t limit yourself for future growth opportunities.

Think about Glad, a company whose initial offering was plastic wrap. Today they manufacture an impressive line of not only plastic wrap, but also plastic containers, storage bags and trash bags. Imagine the naming problem that could have arisen had the company been founded with a name as single minded as “U.S. Plastic Wrap Company.” Similarly, be cautious of geographic references, as that implies boundaries and limitation.

Scalability came into play when Brady Communications helped Philips name their latest light therapy device. With a number of other goLITE models already on the market – the M2, P1 and P2 – we had to make sure the latest could fit into the line of products. After many iterations and brainstorming, the client settle on “goLITE BLU,” to showcase the product’s distinctive blue light technology, a key differentiator from the competition.

Be Understandable
If people can’t pronounce it, or are unsure how to pronounce it, they won’t say it. And if they won’t say it, chances are, they won’t use it. Take the recently launched search engine Cuil.com. When introduced to the market, business experts, bloggers, industry insiders and the public-at-large all had the same question: “How do you pronounce ‘Cuil’”?

The initial buzz around the search engine was not its powerful indexing capabilities and its differentiation from Google, or that it was the self-proclaimed “biggest search engine on the Web.” The buzz was all about the name. Launched nearly a year ago, there remains today an entire market of regular Internet users who have not yet tapped into the resource. Don’t think for a minute that the awkward name had nothing to do with that.

And for the record, it’s pronounced “cool.”

Be Meaningful
Many names specifically communicate what a company or product does. Other times, names are fashioned from a common everyday name that best represents the brand or has significant meaning to the organization. Often, word segments (what linguists call morphemes) are combined to produce new words. And sometimes, names are derived from other languages. If effective, this can give the name an implied global feel. And if not effective, much can be lost in translation.

In addition to being a pronunciation mystery, “Cuil” also suffers from a dearth of meaning. While the company insists “cuil” is Gaelic for “knowledge,” many Irish disagree. In fact, it has been translated as “hazel,” “corner,” “nook” or “rear,” but never “knowledge.”

Just Be
The more your name communicates to consumers, the less effort you have to exert to explain it. Through diligent research, thorough planning and some creativity, your name can become one of your most successful brand ambassadors.

For another example of a successful naming project Brady Communications worked on, check out what we did for Good to Grow!