Read my other blog on names, claims, and branding
A lot rests on how you name and brand your new product or service.
It will directly impact the way your customers, colleagues and investors feel about your enterprise – and the way your brand or product performs.
Which us why I have a dedicated blog for names, claims and branding copy on my other website.
Here is a sample of the kind of copy you can expect to find there:
The five name types
Brand names can be classified into five broad categories: Descriptive, Associative, Portmanteau, Coined, and Abstract Names. Each type has its own strengths. The one best suited to your particular naming challenge can depend on any number of factors – from the nature of your brand and the people you want to engage with it – to the market where it competes and the aspirations you have for it.
1 – Descriptive brand names
These names directly and literally reference things like the company founder, company location, a core brand benefit or key feature. They can also include acronyms like IKEA (Founder’s initials plus first letter of name of the farm on which he grew up and the first initial of the parish in which he resides) or GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company), or initialisms like BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) or DHL (last letters of the three founder’s surnames).
Further examples of these tell-it-like-it-is names include: FaceTime; DriveNow; Outlook; Ben & Jerry’s; Louis Vuitton; Allianz; Bosch; and Walt Disney. While these names can be useful in explaining what a brand does or who created it, they can be low on flair and emotion.
2 – Associative brand names
Also known as metaphorical names, these tend to create stronger emotional connections than descriptive names and can inspire powerful associations with the desirable qualities of a brand. Examples include: Apple (the fruit of creation); Tinder (it kindles new relationships); Mustang (a wild and powerful ride); Amazon (the biggest and strongest); Flowerbomb (an explosion of beautiful scent); Juicy Lucy (sensuous, fresh and delicious); Shazam (works like magic).
3 – Portmanteaus
This popular approach involves combining existing terms, syllables or word fragments to create a ’brand’ new word: Examples include: Accenture, FedEx, Intel, Electrolux, MicroSoft, Groupon, Pinterest, WhatsApp, Snapchat. Even though they’re made up, these names have a clearly descriptive quality and, when done right, can be both smart and cool.
4 – Coined brand names
This type of name is created from existing names and terms that are turned or changed in some way to make them uniquely ownable. Examples include, Ideo, thjnk, Durex, Wii, Sharpie and Google. These names tend to be simple, memorable and often help position the brand they represent as innovative and cutting edge.
5 – Abstract brand names
Completely made up names with no immediate associations are often regarded as a missed opportunity, however they also offer unique advantages: They are a blank slate to which consumers can attach their own meaning; they are not language-dependent and can work across international markets; and they are great for medical products because they help avoid regulatory problems. Well-known examples include: Aspirin, Viagra, Frisbee, Xerox, Camry, Yaris and Zalando.
And that’s just for openers…
When it comes to creative naming, these five types are just a springboard, because they can also be combined in any number of ways. For example, Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream flavour, Karamel Sutra®, is a portmanteau, associative and coined name, while Industrial Light & Magic is both descriptive and associative; Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is ... well, in the end, it’s whatever works.
So what type of brand name would work best for you? Here’s hoping this short introduction to name types has given you some useful food for thought and inspiration.
If you’d like more of the same you will find a treasure trove of naming and verbal identity wisdom on the Sticky Name Design blog.