Naming - What's in it. Why it's hard. What to do about it. (1/3)
I am currently in the middle of a couple of naming exercises and thought I would put forth my learnings and thoughts around one of the most contentious subjects within the world of branding.
It’s a difficult subject to write short succinct "here's how" thoughts on, so I've decided I'll try my best and break it up into a few parts.
Here is the first of hopefully just 3. (Else will have to change the title)
First off, it’s important!
Name matters. it doesn’t guarantee success, but a well thought out name definitely can ensure you have a better chance at it.
Too often naming is an informal exercise, governed by subjective discussions on "feels" and "maja nahi aa raha hai". Without much consideration given to competitive, cultural, semantic and last but definitely not the least, legal consequences.
"Hey, have you heard of this cool thing, its called.........f***!"
Reputations aren’t built on names alone, be it corporate, service or product. Rarely will we interact with the asset (yes, it is an asset, even accountants will agree on this one) in isolation, there will always be some context. Whether being discussed at a party as a lovely new offering someone just come across, the internet, a piece of advertising or comms or actually experiencing the brand tangibly, the name will always come with context and therefore a good name won't save you from a badly executed idea. <<I am looking at you, AC Syndicate and Google Glass.>>
However, the name is a very powerful tool in the armoury. It has the power to make your brand instantly memorable, open up conversations with the audience and hang around for every interaction thereafter. Giving not just the owner but also the user (hopefully future advocates) the ability to weave the right conversations, just with the use of the name.
Imagine having a kickass offering that no one can remember. Fun.
one definitely can influence the other.
Just like we name children basis the vision of what they will be in the future, how we want them to be perceived by the world they inhabit and influence, from "I want a different name" to "I want it to mean this" to "there are too many Rahul's in the world, lets please not". We are effectively hoping to give them a name that we can see them grow into. We are instinctively aware and culturally reinforced about the fact that beyond just 'hoping', names can have actual consequences in real life.
The link between name and outcome is true for brands too.
Name is a signal and an anchor.
Externally, a good name has the capacity to grab our attention and draw us in to listen closer. It can either weave stories in our heads or give us just enough information and let us be.
Depending on the need and situation of the brand in question, it can do a lot of the work without spending the big bucks on advertising. Think Headspace and Calm - They both offer similar solutions, but w.r.t naming, one has the power to open our imagination while the other is clearly offering a specific benefit. Without knowing anything about the two, which one are you more likely to accept a "Focus at work" solution from?
Internally it can also act as a perfect anchor to build your offering around. Whether considering a new feature or experience, a well crafted name that's built on solid strategic foundations can definitely serve as a guiding light to how the pipeline is brought to life for the consumer. It has the power to be a single word covenant for the business and what it needs to be for the consumers. Think Amazon. Had they been called Books on Demand, or anything else relating to Books (the naming convention of the time and their initial offering) they would've been a bit stuck on the offerings front. But Amazon, gave itself the ability to be as deep, wide and long as they wanted (all puns intended).
Here is a big small example. An early-stage startup based out of Canada is using its name as a promise and covenant for building its core offering, everything from features, experience and even business model. They are called StudentFirst and are aiming to tackle some of the challenges of university applications faced by international students.
Next up...
Why it’s hard. (Read. really hard...)
It seems like the easiest thing to do, since everyone is creative and doesn’t seem like it requires any "skills". But from subjectivity, category codes, competitive pressures, cultural nuances, brand-personality fit, stakeholder buy-ins and legal clearances among others, there are lots of considerations.
We'll speak about all the key ones in part 2/3. See you then. 🙂