Coming up with a brand name is a challenge that you can approach in different ways. You can, of course, come up with a brand name off the cuff, but you can also see it as part of a brand strategy. This ensures that the brand name aligns with your positioning and brand values. Experience shows that this approach yields the best results. Easier said than done, of course, so to help you get started, we have created a step-by-step plan.
Creating a company name or developing a brand?
To start, it’s important to know what you want to develop. Creating a company name can be as simple as you want. There are even online company name generators available. While these can indeed provide good inspiration during your brainstorming phase, our advice is not to stop there. A company name is one thing, a brand goes a step further.
A brand is a concept and encompasses, among other things, the promises you stand for and the norms and values you uphold. At the same time, it involves the perception of your target audience. A brand influences the image, experience, your status, attractiveness, price/quality ratio, and loyalty. A company name is an important part of this. Therefore, it’s good not to see creating a company name as separate from brand development. But how do you approach this?
Approach brand development
Whether it’s a start-up or a rebranding, our years of experience have taught us that you should go through at least the following three steps before moving on to naming:
- Explore your market. This begins with your (potential) customers. What does the target audience look like? What do they value? Next, research the trends and developments in your field: what’s happening and where is it heading in the future? Finally, consider the competition. How do they position themselves? How do you stand out?
- Define your positioning and proposition(s). What are the unique characteristics of your company, product, or service? What opportunities are there in the market that you can capitalize on with your story? What promises are you making? Ensure that it is attractive, unique, authentic, and relevant.
- Develop a marketing plan. Once you have a clear understanding of what your market looks like and how your company fits into it, it’s time to focus on a marketing plan. How will you position your brand in the market (and how might it fit into your brand architecture)? Also consider questions such as: what will your pricing strategy be? Certain brand names fit better with budget products than with premium ones. If your market, positioning, and marketing plan are clear, then you can move on to creating a company name.
Step-by step plan: how to come up with a brand name
You can start brainstorming randomly, but our step-by-step plan can help you work in a focused and effective manner and come to the right decision:
- Think about your positioning and proposition(s). What are you promising and how can you articulate that? What associations do you want your brand name to evoke? Try to express your brand values and promises in various ways. Seek inspiration from synonyms, proverbs, and other existing brand names. Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and consider how they would perceive it. In this phase, it’s important to generate as many ideas and options as possible.
- Next, think about how you want to position yourself against competitors in the market. Do you want a similar style or something completely different? For example, you can opt for a descriptive brand name (such as Paypal, Pizza Hut, or Carglass) or a more abstract brand name (such as Apple, Starbucks, or Pepsi).
- Choose your favorites and create a shortlist. Make sure you keep your options open with regard to the next steps.
- Determine if there are any possible negative associations, in other languages as well, and if the names are easy to pronounce.
- Conduct a legal check for availability. In the trademark register of your country, you can see if a brand name is already registered in a specific category. You can also register your final choice here.
- Also check available domain names for your websites. Secure your favorite names, before someone else does. Tip: don’t check this too frequently, as there are companies that monitor this activity automatically. They may notice the activity and quickly register your desired domain name, intending to sell it back to you.
This approach and these steps are exactly how we create the most compelling brands and positioning for our clients. Interested in seeing the practical results? Check out our cases.
Workshop naming & (re)branding
In this article, we argue that creating a brand name should be approached thoroughly and carefully. But what if you’re not sure if such a process is suitable for your situation or if you’re struggling to do it on your own? For that, we offer our workshop ‘What’s in a (brand)name?’. In this workshop, we collectively go through the steps of naming and provide insights into what’s involved in (re)branding. We address questions such as:
- How to come up with a brand name that is strong and distinctive
- What pitfalls are there when it comes to naming?
- What does rebranding involve?
- How do we get the management team or steering committee on board with our new ideas?
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