Brand Naming – Coin Something New.
As more and more products flood the market, and domains are purchased or hoarded, it is difficult to find a good name. This is true in any industry but some are particularly crowded. Take the instance of craft breweries, an industry that didn’t even exist until a few years ago. Now there are few new names left and small breweries are accidentally naming their breweries or their beers with the same hoppy puns. When Avery Brewing Co. in Colorado named a beer ‘Salvation’, they discovered at a beer festival that Russian River Brewery in California had a beer by the same name. Rather than hiring a lawyer, the two breweries came up with a blend they called ‘Collaboration Not Litigation.’ Not all competitors are so reasonable though, and starting your business with a name someone else already has registered or is using, whether you knew about it or not, will be an expensive proposition.
Your brand name should ideally describe the benefit of your product or service. While there are different categories, here are the simplest divisions and explanations:
Coined, or Invented
This is a new word that did not exist before. Shakespeare was one of the most prolific inventors of new words. He created more than 1,700 new words. Hobnob, moonbeam, besmirch, madcap, are just a few examples of his inventiveness. Coined words are created by combining two English words, by fusing different parts of words, by adding Latin prefixes or suffixes, or changing the spelling of a word without changing its pronunciation.
Descriptive
These are straightforward and useful for products but can be difficult to procure. (i.e. anything with hop in it is taken by a brewery, you can be sure.) Sometimes changing the spelling can help, or adding an additional vowel to elongate the word. Walmart doesn’t count – the original store was called Walton’s after the founder Sam Walton, and when they decided to launch other stores in the 60’s, they called it Walmart (without the hyphen.)
Evocative
Starbucks is a good example of this. While not substantiated by the company, Starbucks was taken from the book, Moby Dick because of its connection with the sea. The shipping of precious coffee and tea from far away is part of company’s vision. Nike and Hermes are examples of names that tapped into Greek mythology. These names can be more expensive to market with as they take more time (and money) to communicate the story.
Acronyms
While some point to IBM as an example of a company that has an acronym that works, they have been around for a few years – and have spent some money. Acronyms do not create a picture or a story in the mind. They are therefore less memorable and certainly less unique. I highly discourage my clients from this route. It is a popular (read; unimaginative) solution for small business though.
Modify your expectations though – single real word names will not be available. That is why my approach is always to create something new. Driversiti is an example of a coined name for an app that helps drivers improve their experience through safety and directional information. It includes the action and the person doing the action – drive and driver. It includes an implied meaning of the similar sounding word ‘diversity’ which means having lots of variety. The new spelling offered a hook for the brand identity design (omitting the dots on the i's makes them more visible) and a brand name that helps to educate about this new assistive technology product.
Finding a reputable design firm that has a track record in brand naming is important. Not everyone can do this work. Not everyone understands the legal implications and the searches required to ensure trademark protection is available. While I do preliminary searches myself, I always rely on legal advice from an experienced trademark lawyer as a third party consultant in the process. This insures the client's best interests are protected. After all, a brand name is the most important piece of intellectual property you will ever own.