The name of a company is one of the most important ways to set a good first impression for the customer. It needs to be catchy, memorable, and uncomplicated, which often means companies keep them short.
In some cases, companies will even invent what seems like an entirely new language around their brand name. Think Google, Venmo, and Twitter, for example.
For this reason, we decided to put together some well-known brands and find out how their founders came up with their often-kooky names.
How to create a brand name that matters
Whether you’re a new startup company choosing your very first name, or you’re renaming a brand that doesn’t seem to have the right buzz, creating a brand name requires careful attention to detail, and plenty of planning.
Choose the wrong word, or even the wrong letter in your name, and you could irreparably damage your reputation. If you want to know how to create a brand name that sticks in the minds of your customers, and goes some way towards establishing brand recognition and awareness, then you’ll need to keep the following factors in mind.
Your name should be:
Evocative
A lot of companies use “descriptive” names to help their customers understand what their business is all about. However, simply describing your product or service could make your name too generic. A better option is to choose words that evoke the positive associations you want customers to have with your brand. For instance, “Amazon” makes you think of a huge, exotic place, and that’s exactly what the company has become.
Meaningful
What does your company stand for? Today’s customers want to interact with companies that have real ethical values and community spirit. Try to decide what you want customers to think about when they’re interacting with your company. Creating a brand name with meaning often involves creating images in the minds of your customers, like “Range Rover” for instance.
Timeless
A name shouldn’t be something that restricts your brand. If you’re planning on finding opportunities for growth in the future, by expanding into new markets, or exploring new customer bases, then your name needs to leave you plenty of room to do just that.
The best way to make sure that your name is “timeless” is to ensure that you create something that resonates with the emotions of your target audience, rather than limiting yourself to a basic descriptive term.
Creating a brand name with “feeling”
Coming up with a great name is difficult, but it’s always easier to leave a lasting impact on your customers if you can connect with them on an emotional level. Creating a brand name that’s appealing, contextual, and remarkable is a fantastic way to ensure that you start on the right track for success when cultivating brand engagement. After all, people are more likely to remember the way a name makes them feel. That means that names that sound good are more likely to be encoded into long-term memory.
While there are numerous ways that you can adjust your brand name strategy to implement more “emotion” into the mix, such as connecting your name to your brand story, or giving it its own distinct background, the quickest method involves using poetic techniques. After all, the poets of the world have been making words sound delightful and memorable for centuries.
Zaida M. Velazco
Design Lead, UX/UI / Web Management