Once you have a clear idea of the brand positioning for your company or product, the name you pick should contain as many of the following qualities as possible. The more of them that are present, the more powerful the name –
Self-propelling
- A name that people will talk about
- A name that works its way through the world on its own
- A name that’s a story in itself, whether it’s at the local bar, on the job, or on CNBC.
Emotional Connection
- What does the name suggest?
- Does it make you feel good?
- Does it make you smile?
- Does it lock into your brain?
- Does it make you want to know more?
Poetry
- How does the name physically look and sound?
- How does it roll off the tongue?
- How much internal electricity does it have?
- How does it sound the millionth time?
- Will people remember it?
Personality
- Does the name have attitude?
- Does it exude qualities like confidence, mystery, presence, warmth, and a sense of humor?
- Is it provocative, engaging?
- Is it a tough act to follow?
Deep Well
- Is the name a constant source of inspiration for advertising and marketing?
- Does it have “legs”?
- Does it work on a lot of different levels?
The key is to step outside the box that the industry – any industry – has drawn for itself, and to do it in a fresh way that hits home with the audience. To accomplish this, it is necessary to think about names in this fashion –
Virgin
- Positioning – different, confident, exciting, alive human, provocative, fun. The innovative name forces people to create a separate box in their head to put it in.
- Qualities – Self-propelling, Connects Emotionally, Personality, Deep Well.
Oracle
- Positioning – different, confident, superhuman, evocative, powerful, forward thinking
- Qualities – Self-propelling, Connects Emotionally, Personality, Deep Well.
As an exercise, go back and see how the other names deconstructed above – Apple, Caterpillar, banana republic, Yahoo!, The Gap, Stingray, and Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac – stand up when held to these high standards. These are the qualities that separate a potent, evocative name from a useless one that is built without a considered positioning platform, such as BlueMartini or Razorfish. Random names like these disallow audience engagement, because there are no pathways between the image and the product, and no room for connections to be made.
