As a Marketing / Branding self proclaimed geek I seem to be asked every few days about company names, as it came up 3 times today, enough is enough. Here is my absolute irrevocable opinion in Black and white (ish) for me to laugh at in a few years time when I change my mind.
Are there any good company names? think of a few Brands/ Company names and let me know if there are any good ones out there. I cannot think of any. There are certainly many bad ones, but more on that later.
Brands often choose words to define themselves. This can be a very bad thing if the word has a negative connotation for its target market. I limit this to the target market, as a brand with a value that others hate is ok if it offend some but turns it’s potential clients on. Danger of this is when an unexpected market gets created and the name becomes a barrier to entry. Meaningless words are ok if they convey a sense of what the brand encompasses. Anagrams are often ok. The name should resonate the price and soul of the Brand. Real words used, are ok, but soon become lost in the brand value.
We named our coffee company Origin Coffee Roasting . The first thing to notice, is that as precious as we are about it we lost control of the name and are known as Origin or Origins, to the extent that the most popular (customer generated mind you, thanks Dan) FaceBook Origin page is called Origins Artisan Coffee Roasting
But I digress, the thing is, no sooner is the name in use, and the words, if not opposed to the brand’s values, become meaningless when said. Origin to me reflects “the source of” but has, even to me, become a word and sound disconnected from its roots. Similarly Vida e’ Cafe is known simply as Vida and has lost all connections with its great roots “Life & Coffee” a spectacular name chosen by those early great Vida boys! The other side of this is a Baaad word. Now this might work for a skateboard company, but I wouldn’t use the great words like “kak” in your name. Calling your new sandwich bar “mediocre sandwiches Inc.” is probably a harbinger of early doom? also watch out for names that don’t cross into other cultures or don’t translate well, or worse without translation, end up meaning something else if pronounced in another language.
The next issue is limiting names. These can be odd to figure. But the rule seems to be that unless you want a very focused product (not a bad thing) your name can limit future growth. Calling yourself for instance “Organic Vegetarian Lentil associates doesn’t allow one to enter the butchery business easily. Geography can also be an issue. Naming yourself by your neighbourhood, unless your neighbourhood is in a cool place in New York, Paris or London often prevents global expansion dreams unless renaming is done (more on renaming later)
I firmly believe there are bad names. And they seem to be used often. Long, wordy names, seldom get used intact (ask us) but they may get noticed sooner and understood faster. Mortgage SA is a good example. Quick and easy to understand what they did. And I say did. These guys decided to rename themselves. New name? Ooba, easy to understand that one? why the hell? Here is my rant on renaming. If I was them, and I felt Mortgage SA was too easily understood and limiting, I would still not have renamed it! I would have simply used the cash from renaming to create a second parallel company (initially using the exact same resources with a second phone and internet system in parallel) with the second name and run both firms side by side and let the best one win, the market to decide! The new name just seems cheap to me (intended?) and has the synapse connect as an Ally Mcbeal character .
In conclusion it seems to me that you cannot choose a great name, stop agonising. Choose a name with a philosophy you can defend (or remember). A sound that resonates and does not unnecessarily confuse your target market or future target markets and get product to market. Of course it MUST be a name you can believe in, but if it doesn’t quite fit, don’t worry, as your Mom used to say: you will soon grow into it!
So often new launches are delayed because of name agony. Choose one that is good enough, google it to check for existing uses, register the URL at least and then get good designers on it and get product sold!
Sometimes the names come to you in a moment of Epiphany.
Thanks to Eric Edelstein and Springleap.com for getting me to commit myself to writing this (and for the Cool T-shirts guys)
