A Brand by Any Other Name… - brand name choice - Editorial

Brandweek, June 22, 1998 by Jim Steinberg

Jim Steinberg (Stone Mountain in German) is vp of marketing & sales at Apple Designsource, New York. He can be reached at (212) 575-6373 or Jimsteinberg@msn.com.

Venator. Diageo. Meritor. Mach 3. Characters from the latest Star Trek sequel? No, new brand names that carry the fate of substantial investment in new business initiatives. Names that have been selected (or constructed) to evoke the character and sell the value of their brand promises.

In a world of increasing product parity and marketing-inspired communications clutter, brands have taken on a new importance via a brand names shorthand that cuts through the clutter with a promise of quality and consistency. Creating memorable brand identities, for corporations or products, requires the brand team to champion the symbolic vocabulary that persuasively communicates such promises. And it can all start with a memorable, evocative name.

But how do you conceive such a name and graphic vocabulary? As a start, identify the enduring brand character, promises or attributes that should become synonymous with the brand. What you're searching for is a name that captures those enduring qualities. The name should sound familiar, therefore instantly acceptable, yet breakthrough in its competitive context. Consider these brainstorming options, and some well known tradenames:

Connotation. What imagery connotes the attributes the brand is trying to project? Hush Puppies, launched in 1961, suggests the softness, suppleness and docility of a lovable dog. And as marketers we all know that animals have a soft spot in the minds (and imaginations) of consumers. Gillette's Mach 3, on the other end of the spectrum, suggests the masculine expression of speed and performance that a premium price razor requires and a trade-up even from Sensor Excel, itself a name that implies the product "senses" a man's needs.

Denotation. What about the ingredients or process can be co-opted into the name? Coca-Cola combines a reference to the cocoa nut with the form of the drink, a cola. Alka-Seltzer is linked to the alkaline quality of the preparation that when prepared effervesces like seltzer. Even more directly, Efferdent links the product's effervescence with its dental usage.

Constructive Linguistics. What sounds like the attributes that the brand is trying to project? George Eastman patented the name Kodak in 1888, feeling, it is said, that names beginning with K are incisive. By playing with letter combinations, he came up with a name that was concise, vigorous and tough to misspell. It certainty helps that the name is onomatopoeic (the name suggests the subject's sound, as Kodak suggests the clicking of a camera shutter). Venator, the new name for the Woolworth Corp., uses the V to be incisive, yet attaches it to "enator," which connotes the bearing of a senator--authoritative and well connected, the kind of brand character the investment community can embrace.

Familiar Foreign Languages. What familiar elements of foreign languages sound right? Clairol, a beauty marketer with a primarily female target, created its name by taking the French word for clear and adding the suffix ol, for oil. Diageo, the new name for the merged Grand Met and Guinness, combines the Greek words for day and world.

Related Names. Look around. Is there a character or place associated with the brand? Samuel Firestone's name conveys toughness, reliability and the burning rubber of a race car. Listerine's name is attributed to an association with Sir Joseph Lister, the English surgeon who introduced the use of antiseptics.

Stems, Prefixes. Suffixes. What syllables can be used to make your brand familiar? Kleenex, Cutex, Kotex--"ex" means out and attaches well to stems that suggest product attributes. Mentor, the new name for the automotive division of Rockwell, uses the stem "merit," suggesting worth.

Acronyms. What letters can be abbreviated to form a name? New York legend has it that EJ Korvette's, a defunct retailer, was founded by Eight Jewish Korean Veterans. I don't believe it, but it is memorable. AVIS? Could stand for All Vehicles Instantly Supplied. ATRA? How about, Advanced Tracking Razor Action. (Actually, Atra was supposedly an Australian test razor.) Neither of the acronyms can be linked to the naming process, but mnemonics teaches us to use acronyms for memorability. Try to forget these.

Once you've come up with a compelling handle, it's time to develop a visual identity that's consistent with both the name and your brand promise. More on that next time.