What’s In A Name?
The Power of Great Brand Names
The name rings a bell. Or at least it should. The power of a great brand name is precisely that — powerful.
A powerful brand name should be memorable, distinctive, appealing, and easy to roll off the tongue. A successful brand name stands out in competitive markets. Positive associations in customers’ memories build brand loyalty.
So, how do you ensure your brand’s name will stand out? The naming process requires a balance between strategy, creativity, and foresight. We name a few ways below.
Strategy: A solid brand name starts with a solid strategy. Defining a clear, unique selling proposition based on your business’s framework allows the creative layers of the naming process to flow. Strategy supports creativity and can also help you build a meaningful story behind your name, and will help you to stand out from your competitors.
Memorability: A memorable brand name ensures product differentiation and brand equity. Memorable brands shouldn’t sound like anything else — take Google, Apple or Ikea, for instance. Brand recall is essential for repeat business — if someone cannot remember your brand’s name, it makes it a lot harder to search for you. You want to make things as easy as possible for existing and potential customers alike.
Emotive: How your brand name looks and sounds can elicit a strong response in people. Ideally, your brand name should have positive connotations, be emotionally intelligent, and resonate with your target market. Evocative and redolent brand names provide consumers with an emotional connection beyond business logic.
Translatable: The best brand names are universal. They must translate well, especially for businesses that hope to diversify their offering in a global market. It’s also important to check what your brand name translates to in other languages!
Legally Available: As creative as brand naming can be, it is vital you ensure it’s legally compliant. Checking a trade marks registry and performing market research ensures brand name validity, intellectual property and asset protection. (Find out more about trademarking and intellectual property here.)
Execution: And finally, the execution of your brand name is critical. A carefully implemented brand name requires market research, competitive analysis, consumer experience, and possible diversification for all future business activities and goals.
As for us, “Principle” is in our name. It’s who we are and what we do. We design with principle — from our creative DNA to strategy, people, ethos, clients, studio and business community, we bring positive change.
PrincipleDesign
