I wish it was that simple. A brand name like Coca Cola was positioned and named as a headache relief medicine, yet it is now a refreshment drink and the most successful brand on earth (ok, we can argue that another time). So, is there a rule that makes a good brand name? Unfortunately, there isn’t. But I’ll offer you a few tips that will at least allow you to have a better chance of succeeding and avoid some very probable failures.
Who is it for?
A brand name stands at the end of a long process. This includes market segmentation, targeting, positioning and branding (a name is just a fragment of the many parts of branding). So, it’s very important to understand your target audience to position your brand to fit them.
Think of your target audience and create a brand name that they can relate to or like. Also make sure they can read it and pronounce it properly, otherwise they’ll not talk much about it. If the target audience is of different backgrounds, be certain the name of the brand does not have a negative meaning in their own language (accent or slang).
In such a case, you should think of the languages used in countries you’re planning to expand to. If it was a foreign language, you might need a native to confirm that you’re good to go, after all, not all local words can be found in a dictionary.
Be it fun or serious, it’s got to have a personality!
Brands have personalities, and we can feel it in their names. Mercedes is elegant and feminine. Twitter is fun and chatty. IBM is formal, whereas Apple is casual and easy-going. Reflecting the right personality in your brand is crucial. Imagine if the iPhone was called the Intelligent Mobile? Or the TIMES was named Tic-Toc instead? (Their name is actually an acronym for The International Magazine of Events, but that’s irrelevant because people forgot that). They might still sell, who knows? But would they have reached their best potential?
It is important to put yourself in your audience’s shoes and think: Will you be comfortable saying the name to your friends? Take Qtel for example. Recently they have rebranded the national telecom company to ‘Ooredoo’. I’ll not recommend Ooredoo to anyone simply because it feels strange to actually say it.
Avoid Generic Names
You may be really excited if you were planning to open a pizza place and found the name ‘Pizza Place’ available. Although it might appear as a good choice, it isn’t. Marketing sense is not common sense. The problem with a generic name is that people will forget it easily, and it will not communicate a message nor reflect the brand’s identity. Not to mention how unfriendly searching for it on the web would be.
I personally consider generic Arabic brand names written in English to be generic. An example would be calling a sandwich shop ‘Sandwichaat’ in Bahrain. This is just the way Bahrainis call ‘sandwiches’, so the name, in this case, is not really saying much. But let’s assume ‘Sandwichaat’ was opened in New York to target non-Arabs. That would be a good name with a personality!
Two names are better than one!
Or so says Al Ries in one of his articles. Brands that can be shortened to a nickname have the advantage of increasing customer loyalty. If you’re used to drinking Coca-Cola, then you’ll just call it a Coke. If you like shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, you’ll just call it Saks. It will bring customers closer to a brand.
You do have to be careful though not to push a nickname unless people have started using it. You might end up promoting a nickname that they do not want to use. The same applies to initials. Turning a name to initials before consumers start to use it can make your name irrelevant to them.
Sometimes rebranding to an initial is done to hide certain words in the original name; which now start to give a negative impression. Examples include IBM hiding the word ‘Machines’, KFC hiding ‘Fried’, and recently Dunkin Donuts hiding the word Donuts by using the initials DD instead. As a startup, you have the luxury of avoiding negative words from the beginning.
Is It Available?
Finally, is it available to own? The name you choose has to be available as a registered brand name, a commercial registry in potential markets, domain, social media accounts, etc. It is possible to have alterations to the name for online channels, but I would still not recommend it (e.g name-online).
This is also important to avoid confusing your brand with other brands. A slight change in spelling in some cases is good. Having a quirky name (Google and Citibank for example) may be better than spelling your brand name correctly or having a generic name, as it can be more memorable and adds brand personality. If we apply this to our previous example (Sandwichaat) we could actually call it ‘Sandwi-Chat’, which is quirky and represents the personality of someone who likes to chat about food. (Is that a good thing? Maybe).
A brand name clearly plays a large role in your business success, but there are no scientific rules on creating successful brand names. The tips covered in this article will help you set a clear direction and make you avoid some the big mistakes. Good Luck!
