What's in a name?
A lot. But perhaps for different reasons than you might think. A name is for your prospective customers or clients to remember you by. If you can keep that in mind then most of the battle is already won. It doesn't matter that you might find the name jarring. It might even stir some unpleasant memories. So what? It's not about you, it's about your target market.
Your name is not for you!
It's not possible to know whether or not your name will be "liked". It doesn't matter. All you want is for it to be memorable. Everyone is different, so while you may like the name, your biggest prospective customer may dislike like it for some reason. You can't win by trying to figure out what your target will "like". You can win by figuring out what your target will remember.
Recall is a function of your name's ability to distinguish your product or service over those of your competitors. This aligns directly with our Trade Marks Act that requires a trade mark to be capable of distinguishing in order to be registrable. You can avoid the expense and inconvenience of having your application for registration rejected if you choose a memorable brand.
Avoid the expense of having your application rejected
You lose the power of recall as soon as you choose a name that's even slightly descriptive of your product or service. You don't want your targets thinking about characteristics of your product when they look at your name. There's a danger they might forget that the name is yours. There's an absolute plethora of "green" stuff going on at the moment. So what do the ill-informed do? They use names with "eco" or "enviro" in them. Or they choose frogs, leaves and the like. Not clever. How do we tell which from which? It's just too hard. But if I called an eco-product "Krud", it would stand out like a sore thumb. That's exactly what you want!
Words or Logos?
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful disseminators of information. Logos and pictures can be pretty to look at, but how do you convey them to your friends? A word can be disseminated in a number of different ways. A logo is only visual. But should you use logos and words in combination? No, rather not. One small, highly distinctive piece of information should label you. We all recognise the "swoosh" of Nike. But there are now two thoughts associated with their products, a swoosh and the name Nike. That dilutes perception. They would have been better off just having the word Nike.
One small piece of information should label you
Some General Rules
Repetition is how your name will stick. So choose a name that is easy to say. Also, keep it short. Aim for no more than two syllables. We're all wallowing in a sea of information. Your name needs to be short, sharp and disruptive.
Connotation can be important, of course. But perhaps less so than you might think. For example the word "Krud" can be regarded as being associated with sewage, which is distasteful. On the other hand, sewage and other similar organic material form an important aspect of environmental concerns. What may appear negative, might actually be positive.
Don't worry too much about connotation
Of course, you don't want to offend people. So if you're exporting your brand, cultural issues in the landing country should be considered.
Look at what your competitors are doing. Pull all their brands together and make sure yours stands out. You don't want your name to be recognised as belonging to a particular class of product or service provider, as has happened with the "green" brands.
A final word
Dare to be different! Remember that old saying: "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil". So it is with branding. Be loud, different and bold.
Give me a call anytime if you need help with selecting a name.