The nitty gritty of naming.
Being a business naming writer and coming up with business name concepts is something I do a lot. Many clients (and their agencies) come to me once they’ve exhausted all options. I’m a strong believer in getting a specialist to assist you early. That’s because you’ll get impartial, unique, and interesting names (and more of them) by hiring someone that does it regularly. I’ve just completed quite a nice new naming project, so I thought I’d share that, along with another great example. So let’s get into the nitty gritty of the perfect name!
A good name sets you up for life.
A good name makes for a brilliant first impression. If you think of the greatest business name concepts out in the market right now, from Google to Nike, they stand apart. By equal measure, many successful people (and their children) have highly distinctive names too (Elon, Rhianna etc.). This isn’t done by chance. When it comes to business names, you want a name that’s distinctive. That takes a territory others haven’t planted a flag in. This is known as ‘differentiation’ and has been proven to be very effective. Getting a name you can truly own (and trademark and register the website for) rather than sounding exactly like a rival, is always best.
A good business naming writer, works according to strong naming strategy principles.
It’s easy when developing a business name concept to be scared of taking risks, rather than be new. For example – imagine you’re a furniture business that’s launching soon. You want to compete with an Australian brand, called ‘Freedom Furniture’. As a solution, you look up a similar word to ‘Freedom’. Like ‘Haven Furniture’ or ‘Horizon Furniture’. Sounds good right? Well no. Haven and Horizon already exist. And do you know either one? Probably not. They’re invisible. So the lesson is, don’t do this. You’ll simply be confused with the name you’re trying to copy and be seen as a follower, rather than a leader. Case in point – there was once a computer company called Apricot. Needless to say it doesn’t exist anymore, but Apple sure does!
The best new names speak directly to your audience, telling them who you are (and want to be.)
In every case, there’s exceptions. However, the best names for business are typically short, memorable, easy to say and are mindful of the target audience. Many of the greatest capture a little ‘X Factor’ as well. They are evocative, emotive or somewhat desirable in what they represent. For example, when you think about IKEA, it is a fantastic name. It’s short. It’s memorable. It’s hard to misspell (you can try, but it’s written as it sounds.) It’s also very evocative. How? The name is inherently Swedish and Scandi in look, spelling and sound. And around the world evokes a feeling of birch forests, snow and great Nordic design. This is a name that brings it.
My naming project.
Full disclosure here: This task came via a third party (these lovely people here), so they are not my direct client. They designed the visuals. I assisted on name. That aside, the subject of this project is one close to my heart. Mental Health in Australia. This name was for the field of Psychiatry and Healthcare. Largely to devise a name that could sum up a Health Group in the Psychiatric sector. A business led by experts. The name needed to be flexible enough that it could apply to a business as an umbrella name, as well as for a psychiatric facility/hospital or an initiative if needed. Here is the end result.
Why was that name chosen?
When working on this as a business naming writer, there was no shortage of options. I came up with around 200 names in total. Then shortlisted my list down to those that would fit on just two or three pages. In addition, this naming assignment required a lot of sensitivity given the subject matter. For that reason any moody, dark, depressive words, or anything that might suggest trauma or illness was immediately removed from lists. What was left was a suite of great sounding names that were professional, warm, friendly and optimistic. Exactly as requested. Ultimately (and after a few rounds of deliberation) the name ‘Luminar’ was selected.
Why does it work?
This name works because it speaks on so many levels to so many different people. It’s mindful of the audience. And in health you are always speaking to people from all walks of life. That means clinicians, patients and a whole raft of other stakeholders. The name carries themes that include shining a light on illness via diagnosis, as well as a focus in solutions, guidance and illumination. These are all great metaphors for what this particular business does. And it’s summed up in one word. Most important of all – it was a name that no direct competitor had, so it was easy for them to own it outright.
Another great example.
This other name (shown below) I didn’t personally come up with, but was proud to be part of the business naming writer team in the room that did. Six of us (in an agency environment) developed nearly a thousand names over six months. Those names that were eventually shortlisted down to just 12. Of those, around five of mine made the cut, but for various reasons they weren’t selected! That’s how the cookie crumbles. That said I was thrilled to be there when the announcement of the preferred name was made. Often it’s a team effort and one name can inspire another.
Developing that name and how we did it.
The task was for a Commercial Real Estate Business. The brief to us was to sound ‘Premium’, ‘Business-like’ and ‘Professional’. Many expected names were in our first-round thinking – like ‘Pinnacle’, ‘Altitude’ or names that you’d typically associate with either investment funds or royalty. In the end, we actually took a step back and began to think about the name and brand like a real person. We asked ourselves, who would they be? What was their personality? What would they wear, buy and drive? In the end it wound up being the car in particular that became the springboard for a great name. We also liked that this one was associated an international football team, evoking plenty of Euro and James Bond vibes and other subtle factors. It spoke on many levels to our audience and was a perfect fit for this sector.
How you can add inspiration to your next naming project.
In summary, great names happen when you:
- Hire a pro. A business name writer in a professional field (like Copy, Design, Marketing, etc.) will give you a great head-start on options.
- Innovate and go with the new, don’t imitate.
- Look outside your business (or even industry sector) for thought-starters.
- Think about your audience (or clients and customers) that will see the name. Will it be a good ‘fit’ and resonate with them?
- Names that might scare you (or even the boss) should never be discounted in early rounds of thinking. Names that go against the grain can often be the ones that ‘stick’ and ‘stay with you’.
Like to see what can be done with your next business name concept project? Or an assignment related to business writing? Then let’s kickstart it now! Together, we can smash it!
Cheers,
Gus at Copywise.
Small disclaimer: The information above is general. That means it doesn’t take into account your circumstances, situation, location or goals. It should not be taken as legal advice or advice to action and is purely for informational purposes. To ensure your own name can be used commercially and legally, make sure you run correct checks and consult with a qualified legal practitioner near you. Specialists in IP (Intellectual property) are experts in this area.