The 9 keys to naming success.

The single most important marketing decision a company can make it what to name a brand. A brand’s power lies in its ability to grab a position in the mind of the consumer. With a poor brand name you make the job of getting into the mind that much harder. With a great brand name you can help your brand down the road to success.

It’s not that a brand with a poor name won’t ever succeed. Many do. If you price something cheap enough, it will move in spite of a dreadful name. Hyundai, for example, sold 400,221 vehicles in the U.S. last year. But did you ever hear someone say, “Eat your heart out, I just got myself a 2004 Hyundai?” Is Hyundai a powerful brand? I think not.

Some powerful brand names include: Lexus, Red Bull, Google and Starbucks. The 9 keys that follow will help you pick the best name possible for your brand. Don’t expect a name to meet all the nine requirements but if it covers more than a few you’ll know you have a winner.

Key #1: Short.

In general, the shorter the better. The longer and more complicated a name the more difficult it is to remember. The Internet has made this an even more important issue, since a website is the first place many people go to find out more about a brand. With a website address the less typing the less likely there is for error.

Some examples of short names: Tide, Apple, Crest, Nike, Gap, TiVo, Rolex.

Some examples of names that are too long: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Deloitte & Touche, Bausch & Lomb, TIAA-CREF.

Key #2: Simple.

Simple is not the same as short. Simplicity has to do with the alphabetical construction of a brand name. A simple word uses only a few letter of the alphabet and arranges them in a combination that repeat itself.

Schwab is a short name (six letters), but it is not a simple name because it uses six letters of the alphabet. This is one of the reasons it is not particularity easy to spell. Mississippi is a long name (11 letters), but it is also a simple name because it only uses four letters of the alphabet. Which is why most people can spell Mississippi.

Some simple brand names: Coca-Cola, Nissan, Google, Hennessy.

Key #3: Suggestive of the category.

A generic name is not as powerful as a proper name. But a name that is suggestive of the category can help consumers identity what your brand stand for. One way to achieve this is by shortening the generic for the category. You create a proper name that is short and easy to remember. Soy milk became the brand name Silk. Vanilla cookies became the brand name Nilla.

Another way is by using a word out of context that suggests the category.

Some suggestive names: Blockbuster Video, Curves, Roller Blade, SnackWell’s, Palm, PlayStation.

Key #4: Unique.

A totally unique name can only be created from scratch, but it can be an effective way to create one. The best unique names also follow some of the other rules, like being short, simple, and speakable.

Some great and unique brand names: Lexus, Xerox, Kodak, Kleenex, Sony, Kinko’s.

Key #5: Alliterative.

Why do you think children move their lips when they read? They are converting the visual symbols represented by the letters and words into sounds that can be processed by their brains. The mind works with the sound of words, not with their shapes. Which is why the sound of a brand name is much more important than how it looks. And why funny capitalizations and punctuations do not make good brand names.

Since the mind works with the sound of words, it is very helpful to rhyme something to help people remember it. (Loose lips sink ships, If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit.)

Some alliterative names: Gold’s Gym, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jelly Belly, Weight Watchers, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Volvo, BlackBerry, Grey Goose.

Key #6: Speakable.

Word of mouth is the most effective medium for building a brand. Having friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers tell you about a new brand is much more powerful than any advertisement you might be exposed to. But how do you get the first mouth moving? You first have to give the mouth something to work with. Hopefully a brand name that is easy to say and remember. Then you use PR to get the first mouth moving. A name that is difficult to pronunce is a recipe for disaster.

Some speakable brand names: Target, Subway, Polo, iPod, Wonderbra.

Some unspeakable brand names: Chipolte, Isaac Mizrahi, Hoechst, Dasani, HSBC.

Key #7: Spellable.
An easy-to-say name usually translates into an easy to spell name. But not always. Using a combination of letters & numbers, upper & lowercase or the addition of symbols can make a name difficult to spell. And in the age of the internet, if your customers don’t spell your name perfectly, they will be unable to reach your website. The postal service is rather forgiving when delivering mail with a misspelling in the name. But the internet is a different story.

Some easy to spell names: Target, Amazon, Old Navy.

Some difficult to spell names: Daewoo, Hyundai, Abercrombie & Fitch.

Key #8: Shocking.

The best brand names usually have an element of shock or surprise. A shocking name gets attention and is more memorable. Of course, you have to be careful that your name doesn’t go overboard and is so shocking that it offends people. In this connection, the clothing company FCUK (French Connection United Kingdom) comes to mind.

Some great shocking names: DieHard, Yahoo, Monster, Woot, Virgin, Yellow Tail, Red Bull, Starbucks.

Key #9: Personalized.

Personalizing your brand name enhances the publicity potential of your brand. A famous founder/CEO/spokesperson is extremely beneficial. Remember it is PR that builds brands. And with a personalized brand name the PR links directly to the brand.

Some great personalized brand names: Dell, Orville Redenbacher, Newman’s Own, Atkins, Papa John’s Pizza, Craigslist.com, Disney.

Comments

[dasani~ray]

whats the name dasani mean ?

[MRS. K. S. GEETA]

I want a brand name for my newly started pipe industry, starting by alphabet "s"

[generic cialis]

is this blog still active?

[Amy Sherman]

Did you know that you misspelled chipotle?

Also, it's not just price that helps a brand overcome poor naming. There are premium priced uxury brands with poor names, Hammacher Schlemmer for one. A good name can help or hurt a brand, but it's not going to make or break it.

For each of your "rules" there are notable exceptions. I'd be interested to hear you speak to those.

[Philippe]

And what do you think about The name Typepad, Movable Type ? Good name ?

[Laura]

What is Nick talking about? Our world is so big and complex. How is a toilet paper manufacture going to build a personal bond with each and every individual customer. It doesn't make any sense.

What does make sense is building strong brands that mean something. When your brand stands for something, like Volvo and safety or Starbucks and coffee. You build relationships with consumers by having a powerful position in their mind.

Of course we feel that PR (and that doen't mean just press releases) is what builds brands today.

Advertising as a brand building tool is not effective in today's environment.

Thanks for your always thought provoking comments Jason.

[Jason]

A couple of quotes from Fusion Branding - Nick Wredon

"A brand's power doesn't stem from the number of ads or press releases. It derives from an emotional, even mystical, attachment between a purchaser and a company... a brand is a multidimensional accumulation of positive experiences resulting from performance, usability, value and the recognition of peers. Brand building is based on what's always been important. Trust. Commitment. Loyalty. Respect. Satisfaction. In a word, a brand represents a bond."

"Instead of ads, logos and slogans, companies building a 21st century brand must focus on reach, immediacy and personalization"

Is traditional naming/logoing/adv. really effective in a world of similar names/logo's/ads?

(OK,ok, still feeling controversial ;o)

JB ;o)

[Laura Ries]

What your company does is important, but a great product or service can ultimately fail if the name is wrong and competition comes in with a better one and takes a better position in the mind.

However there are always exceptions to any rule. Think about a company like GE (General Electric) with a name that does not follow any of my principles.

GE has three things going for it. First they were first in a new category. Second and more importantly GE was started over 100 years ago. And third, GE competes against other conglomerates that don't have powerful focused names either.

In studing the success of GE or any other company of its caliber you always must remember that name which worked 100 years ago will not necessarily work today in building a brand.

[sam]

Be careful of stepping into the dangerous world of cultural relativism.

While "Hyundai" may not stroke the proverbial heart strings to an American, it does to a Korean (I'm not one, by the way.) A literal translation gives us "modern" and a cultural one gives the story of one of the greatest industrialists in modern Korean history. Cars are just one piece of the Hyundai pie but the piece that most people outside of Korea have tasted.

And before we go jumping into comments on the multicultural relevance and importance of global brand names, keep Samsung in mind. One of the most powerful brands out there today. What does it "mean?" And does that matter? In brand speak, I'm sure cases could be made for innovative, high-quality consumer products built through a heavy emphasis on sports marketing. But does Samsung roll off the American tongue any easier than Hyundai?

Hyundai is a "bad" brand name in a global sense because it has not made a strong enough effort to build it in the minds of global citizens, instead choosing to pursue an aggressive low-cost marketing strategy to move the goods. But looking at the success of Samsung, I have no doubt that Hyundai could reach similar levels of brand strength with a strategic push to do so.

Interestingly, Hyundai's advertising in English-speaking Asia media was recently promoting a luxury good with the tagline "Prepare to Want One."

[Jason]

Great list of easy to remember principles Laura, my one addition would be that names matter, but what your company does or provides is really the key, is it not?

After all if you think about it, there are a large number of globally successful companies that smashed each and every one of your rules, and still made it big, and for that matter companies with fantastic names that disappeared without a trace.

(ok, ok, i'm in a provocative mood today ;o)

[Laura Ries]

Thanks for the comments.

Using a personalized brand name does have risks, a la Martha Stewart. But it also has many advantages in helping to get a brand off the ground. We live in a celebrity and PR driven world.

And the truth is if your brand becomes famous and you become a celebrity you can usually overcome almost anything. I would not count Martha out yet. There is always a possible Trump like return.

There is no doubt that trademark availability and website address availability are necessary in securing legal rights to a great name. But it is the work of the marketing team to come up with the brand name and strategy. Lawyers handle all the legal trademark work.

Marketers should never settle for a poor name just because the trademark process is long and difficult. It is one reason many companies use such crazy names, such as rOHz! and 1ThorneeBud, they are easy to trademark, nobody wants them!

- Laura

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised that you forgot to mention trademark search and availability as a key to naming success. It is one of the biggest hurdles that marketers have to cross before launching their product! No matter how great your name is, it's useless if it can't be trademarked for use.

[Maya Sunpongco]

With "Key#9 Personalised." Some may argue not to use personal brand because what happens if there's a downfall. Examples: Martha Stewart or Famous Amos

I really love this post though and reminder that "Don’t expect a name to meet all the nine requirements". I did just finish reading Chapter 9 - Law of the Name

[Don The Idea Guy]

Laura ~
Great set of basic truths on naming.
You've distilled the essence of succsessful monikers.
~DON

...I just wanted to use the word "monikers." ;)