Your Brand Name Matters More Than You Think

Consider: Would Google, Instagram, and Amazon have become household names if they were called BackRub, Burbn, and Cadabra respectively? (Fun fact: These were the original names of those iconic brands).

While their products/services might still have gained traction, the companies probably wouldn’t have cultivated the same brand affinity they enjoy today without the further due diligence required to find their ideal name.

So popular are these brand names, that one has even been incorporated into the English dictionary as a verb meaning, “to search for information.” Now imagine, for a second, if the original names had stuck: you’d probably be “backrubbing" instead of “googling” the above information to check its veracity!

Your brand name sets the tone for your business, and conveys its essence and identity—this Nielsen study encapsulates its importance succinctly:

Your brand name can lend credibility to product efficacy, provide an assurance of quality, and set consumer expectations.

Get the name right, and it can become a category descriptor, like Xerox, iPad, Scotch tape, Kleenex.

So how do you come up with an effective, sticky name?

At CRC, one of the time-tested methods we’ve followed in our brand-naming projects is the SMILE & SCRATCH test, conceptualized by Alexandra Watkins, founder of the reputed naming agency: Eat My Name.?

According to the SMILE & SCRATCH test, the name should have these positive attributes:

Suggestive: It evokes a positive brand experience

Meaningful: Your customers “get it”

Imagery – It’s visually evocative, to aid in memory

Legs: It lends itself to a theme, for extended mileage

Emotional: It resonates with your audience

… And it should not have these deal-breakers:

Spelling-challenged: Looks like a typo?

Copycat: It’s similar to competitors’ names

Restrictive: It limits future growth (think: Facebook)

Annoying: Has a hidden meaning, is forced/pushy

Tame: Is flat, descriptive, uninspired, boring

Curse of Knowledge: Only insiders get it

Hard-to-pronounce: Not obvious, unapproachable

Need a name that embodies and reinforces your unique brand identity, and offerings?

Shoot us a note at [email protected] and we'd love to chat with you...