Many of you may find yourselves constantly fighting to grab top of mind awareness and preference for your key brand names.  One tactic that will help insure victory is to thoroughly analyze your competitors’ names, nomenclature system and naming architecture.  Competitive brand name research can address issues like:

• Which names are driving the most traffic to each of your competitor’s web sites?
• How are competitors employing different naming strategies like master brands, endorser brands and blue granules?
• Where has “category creep” created inconsistencies between trademark rights and actual usage?
• Read the rest

Back in 2008, a group of investors approached us needing a name for a new company with a novel solution for insuring adequate electricity during peak load demand, especially in the hot summer months in different parts of the country.  Some of the criteria for this new name included:

• Something that conveyed the right long term solution
• A short, preferably two syllable name that was easy to say and spell
• A confidence-building name that helped establish trust and convey reliability Read the rest

MBIA Asset Management manages about $45 billion. They provide fixed-income asset management along with a broad range of services to help state and local governments, academic institutions, pensions, endowments & insurance companies meet their investment objectives.

They changed their name recently to something much more differentiating and memorable. While not a “safe” name, their new moniker has a great Read the rest

American National Bank was prosperous and growing. As it expanded by building new branches in adjacent communities, it started bumping into banks with confusingly similar names. It contacted us to develop a new name brand name that was:

• More distinctive and protectable than its current name
• Short and punchy and that would “pop” off of signage as prospective customers drove by its various branches
• Related to its core differentiators of a bank that provided decades of knowledge, expertise and prudent advice to customers
• Supported its heritage and Texas roots

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Apple Tablet PC

As the January 27th announcement of Apple’s new tablet PC fast approaches, many have speculated on its name.  While the inside favorite seems to be the iSlate, others are offering up alternatives like the iTablet, the iPad, etc.  Regardless of what is announced on the 27th, here are some of our thoughts regarding the iSlate name, both the good and the bad:

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I purchased a new computer for my son this Christmas. I love the brand name as it immediately conveys the primary differentiator and in my family’s case, the key deciding factor. It is an example of a great brand name because of its simplicity and directness: TouchSmart.

You see, my 20 year-old son is severely autistic and low-functioning.  While he can’t talk, type, or dress himself, he does know what he likes to do: play basketball and eat hamburgers. So when we purchased Read the rest

Because different languages are often spoken in the different countries, some of which use non-Roman alphabets, there is no way to create a written representation of a verbal identity that will be pronounced the same way around the world. Even within languages that use the Roman alphabet this is impossible. Vowels and consonants have different sounds, using the same accent mark over the same vowel does not necessarily represent the same sound in different languages. Phonetic symbols that indicate “hard” or “soft” vowel sounds in English only work in English.

Even in the United States words are not pronounced the same way around the country. In the North Carolina mountains Read the rest

The trauma often associated with changing your corporate name can be mitigated or even turned into a PR opportunity with the right strategy.  Three of the key steps in successfully implementing a corporate name change are:

• SET A TIMETABLE – While you may want to transition away from the old name versus “cut and run,” a specific timetable is critical.  Otherwise, the old name will tend to linger, and may even continue to be promoted by some die-hard loyalists. Read the rest

When trying to whittle down a long list of name candidates, here are some recommended Do’s and Don’ts:

DO:

1. Remember the golden rule of naming: memorability. If you think of branding as a war, there are lots of battles to be fought but there are only a few key ones that you have to win to ultimately win the war. The KEY BATTLE YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST WIN is memorability. If you can get inside your target’s head quickly, if you can establish a high level of awareness in your name almost immediately, you can spend whatever limited budget you have to build the brand, to build preference, and you will ultimately win the war. But if your name is hard to remember you will inevitably burn through your entire brand building budget just trying to establish awareness, with nothing or very little left to build preference, and you will ultimately lose the war.
2. Drop each name into different venues. How will the name work at that next community presentation or trade show? How does it sound? How will the name look in print, in that news release or your next direct mail solicitation? Read the rest

So, you’ve just merged with another organization and you are trying to decide on a name for the newly created entity. Should you:

1. Create a totally new name to emphasize a new direction and a new, exciting future? If so, what happens to the two “old” company names?
2. Retain the “stronger” of the two company names for the new entity, dropping the other one?  If you do this, how do you keep the employees  of the organization whose name your are dropping from becoming disgruntled and disillusioned?
3. Combine elements of each entity’s old name together to form a new name that maintains a subtle connection back to both of the old names, leveraging the equity in each?
4. Keep the name of one entity but the logo of the other so that both organizations feel they are represented in the new identity and neither one’s customers feel alienated?

If you are not sure which of these options is right for you, you might Read the rest