What's in a Name?

In his play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare uses this line to convey that naming things is irrelevant. Naming is not a straightforward process. When we name something, we give it an identity, we associate the name with people, places, and things. Over time the name forms associations, and it holds a certain reputation. What's in a name? When we say "I bought a new Apple", we think about the latest iPhone and the icon of an apple with one leaf comes to mind. When we say, "I watched the latest series on Netflix", we immediately think of the black and red Netflix logo.

Think about when we decide to name our children, we go through a range of emotions. Just like naming a child, building a startup is an extension of who we are, what we represent, and what we want to portray to the world. We innately want to succeed, which means we agonize about a name.

During the initial phase of the brand exploration process, the “Name Game” can be stressful. While Shakespeare shares that a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, just deciding on a company name is not that straightforward. The argument can be made that the values, personality, and culture that the name represents carry far more weight than the name alone. Through the association of values, personality, and culture, brand identity and brand reputation are formed in association with the name.

At Brand Strides, we understand that this can be overwhelming. If you’re in the process of building your startup, thinking about repositioning your brand, or getting ready for a big change, here are some themes to consider:

Get Strategic. Understand your business overview

• What’s your story?
• Think about your mission, vision, and core values.
• Explain what your business offerings include.
• Who are your competitors?
• What personality would you like your company to be associated with?
• What voice, tone, and image are important to represent your business?

Generate a List. Ask yourself a series of questions

• Do you want your name in the company name?
• Is there a flower, plant, or tree that could be used within your company name?
• Don’t laugh. Do you have a spirit animal?
• Are there any animals that represent your personality, or company services offerings or could provide a meaningful impact on your business? (You might not want “Lion” in your company name, but you might like the idea of having an image of a Lion to represent courage, strength, and power).
• Are there core values that need to be represented in your company name? (Sustainability, Eco-friendly, Equality, Inclusion, etc.).
• Would you like your product or service to be represented in your name? (NAME “Golf”, NAME “Plumbing”, NAME “Stylist”. Your logo icon, messaging, and taglines, help to bring your name to life, so don’t feel that you need to include your product or service offering the name).

Rely on Trusted Advisors

• Find a few trusted advisors that you can bounce ideas around. Having a few people say, read, and interpret your name can be helpful. Share ideas and concepts.

Top of Mind

• Keep a running list of names, themes, and words that resonate. Place the list of names where you can glance at them throughout the day.
• Which names stand out for you, which names are "top of mind"?

Tell Your Story

• What brand story can you build upon with the name?
• What meaning does the name hold and present?
• Try it out. Can you hear yourself saying it?
• Here’s my script: “Hi I’m Tracy Hanford, Founder and Brand Marketer for Brand Strides. At Brand Strides, we build beautiful brands, one decisive step at a time. While branding requires strategy and creativity, there’s a process and clear action items that can help you succeed. We will help you bring your passion to life through our branding process.”

Get Tactical

• Once you have your shortlist, don’t get your heart set on the name. There’s still more work to do. You’ve got to see if the name is already legally registered, if not – you’ve got to register the name, you will also need to understand if you can secure the domain name and social media handles for the specific platforms you select.

Green Means Go

• Yay! Legal Name Check, Domain Check, Social Channels Check, Story Line Check.
• Let’s get to work on your logo and brand guideline document.

Brand Strides can help you every step of the way. Learn more about our service offerings today!