A presentation that takes you step by step through developing a great name for your brand, product or service.

1. 7 steps to developing a great
brand, service or product
name

2. 1. Begin with thorough
analysis
What other language will surround
your name?
•
Other products / services
•
Slogans
•
Business units
Who are your
customers?
What media will it be used in and
what are the implications of this for
your name/logo (TV, Advertising,
Online, Social Media, Print)
How will you
want to use
the name?
What names are your
competitors using?
What are your propositions
core strengths in terms of
what it will achieve for your
customers?
What are their
needs, feelings
and emotions
when using your
service?
What do they
like?
What are they
driven by?
How do you want your
customers to feel about your
service / product?
How will/does your
proposition differ from
your competition?

3. 2. Think about how your name
will reflect your brand
Is yours a value driven brand or a
price driven brand?
What is your vision for your
brand and how might this
impact on the name you
choose? (Will you want to
expand or diversify for
example?)
How would you describe your
brand if it were a person?
What is the purpose of your brand
and how is it relevant to your
customers?
How would you like your brand
to be positioned in the minds of
your customers?

4. 3. Brainstorm names
Once you’ve done your
thorough analysis it’s
time to brainstorm to
generate a list of names.
Use the following table
that outlines the varying
types of name to
generate a list of names
for consideration. In
doing this you might find
a dictionary useful!

5. 3. Brainstorm names
Proper
Dictionary
Created
Person
(Dave)
Descriptive: Purely descriptive of what the company, product or
service does. Useful when a company strategy is to direct the bulk
of brand equity (attention) to the company name. (Pension plan)
Compound: Combining words (Firefox, Facebook)
Place
(Zurich)
Imagistic / experiential: A direct connection to something real, a
part of direct human experience. Usually literal in nature but
presented with a touch of imagination. (Explorer, Navigator, United)
Acronyms: (Quantas)
Re-purposed: (Adobe, Amazon, Fox, Yelp, Sapphire, Virgin)
Alphanumeric: (Phones4U)
Imported: Making use of other dialects (Latin for Voice is Vox)
Abstract / Evocative: generaly short names that are either
completely made up or since their origins are so obscure they
may as well have been made up. Usually evoke the positioning
of a company, product or service rather than describing a
function or direct experience (Yahoo, Bebo, Plaxo, Google)
Mis-spelled: (Digg instead of Dig, Flickr instead of Flicker)
Blends: Have two parts, at least one of which an be recognised
as a real word (Netscape = Net +Landscape, Wikipedia = Wiki +
encyclopedia)
Phrases: These names follow normal rules for combining words but
are not compounds (Myspace, Stumbleupon, Improveon)
Tweaked words: are derived from words that have been
slightly changed in pronunciation and spelling, commonly derived
from adding or replacing a letter (ebay, itunes)
Affixed words: Unique names that result from taking a real
word and adding a prefix or suffix (Friendster, omnidrive)
Puns: modify words/phrases to suggest a different meaning
(Farecast = Forecast with fore replaced by fare)

6. 4. Shortlist your names
Now that you have a
list of names use the
following tools to help
you sift and evaluate a
shortlist of 3-5 for
final consideration.

7. 4. Test levels of engagement
How much engagement will your name create?
Will it be helpful in creating stories about your
business?
Is it easily translatable and meaningful?
Does it work across geographical territories if this is
required?
Does the name distinguish the products/service
benefits and qualities?
Does it anticipate how the product or service might
change in the future?
Is it distinctive and does it create a strong image in
your mind?
Is the name easy to pronounce, recognise and
remember?

8. 4. Test levels of engagement
Answer the questions on the previous slide and
use the following table to plot your names in
terms of their levels of engagement.
You might also like to use this table to plot some
of your competitors names so you can see where
your names fits against theirs in terms of levels
of engagement.
Score 5 as high engagement and 0 as no
engagement.

9. 4. Test levels of engagement
Proper names
5
4
3
2
1
0
Dictionary names
Created names

10. 5. Evaluate your chosen names
Use the tool on the following
slide to evaluate your names.
Score each name from 0 – 5
across each of the categories
and then total up the scores
to arrive at a final ranking
At this stage you may also
like to have some of your
shortlisted names ‘mocked’
up by a designer to get a feel
for how they might look in a
logo and working across
different media.

11. 5. Evaluate your chosen names
Name 1
Appearance – How will the name look as a visual signifier, in a logo, an ad, on a
billboard?
Distinctive – How differentiated is the name from my competition?
Depth – How much meaning and association is there with the name?
Energy – How vital and full of life is the name?
Humanity – A measure of the name’s warmth and ability to build relationships.
Positioning – How relevant is the name to the positioning of your company,
product or service?
Sound – How the name sounds and how easily it will be spoken by your
customers?
Buzz – Has your name got that certain something that makes people lean forward
and want to learn more about your business?
Trade mark – How likely is it that your name will be available for trade mark
should you require it?
Name 2
Name 3
Name 4

12. 6. Make your final selection
Now that you’ve tested
and evaluated your names
you’re ready to make your
final selection.
In order to do this you’ll
need to check that your
name is available across
the areas on the next
slide.
If it isn’t available across
all the areas you require,
you might need to
consider one of the other
names that made your
shortlist.

13. 6. Make your final selection
Company registration – If you are setting up as a
limited company you can check the availability of
your name using Companies House webcheck service
Trade mark – You can check for availability of your
name as a trade mark on the Intellectual Property
Office Trade mark enquiry database in the UK.
Domain names – A website is likely to be a very
important part of your business and you can check
for domain name availability on various different sites
online. domaincheck.co.uk is one of those sites
Social media sites – These could also play an
important role in how you market your business. You
may also want to secure the sites to prevent others
from damaging your business reputation or setting up
in competition. You can check availability across
multiple sites using NameChk

14. 7. Consider Trade marking
your name
If your company, product or service has some of the following
characteristics you may also find it necessary to protect it through
registering it as a trade mark:
•
•
•
•
unique, with high intellectual property,
Likely to be widely promoted with large budgets to support it
In danger of being copied
Likely to be licensed
If this is the case then the name you choose should probably be
towards the suggestive, arbitrary, fanciful, inherently distinctive
end of the spectrum in the table on the following slide.
If this is not the case then you may also consider names that sit
towards the descriptive and generic end of the spectrum.

15. 7. Consider Trade marking
your name
Fanciful /
inherently
distinctive
Arbitrary
Suggestive
Descriptive
Generic
‘Prima facae’
– Self evident
that it is
registrable
Arbitrary
marks are
immediately
eligible for
registration
Presumed to
be entitled to
trade mark
protection
Not
registrable
unless it can
be shown that
distinctive
character has
been acquired
through
extensive use
Not capable of
distinguishing
the company
product or
services
Kodak
Apple
Blu-Ray
Salty crackers
Hoover / Xerox /
Aspirin

16. Thanks
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