Coming up with names is a critical strategic exercise! In this installment of our #tellthetruths video series, I dive into how the selection of a great name for a brand, product or service is far more than just a creative exercise. It starts with brainstorming lots of great ideas, sure. But your brand’s market position, what competitors are up to, and what’s most important for you to communicate both overtly and in tonality are all critical elements that need to be considered.
Quantity Breeds Quality
When it comes to generating ideas of any kind, and definitely when generating name options, the best way to get awesome ideas is to cook up lots and lots of ideas!
How Generating Brand Names Is Like Cleaning Your House
How is generating brand names like cleaning your house? I explain it all in this #tellthetruths video.
The Beautiful Challenge of Naming
Should your brand name tell your whole story? This becomes one of the beautiful challenges of naming. In some of my previous #tellthetruths videos about naming I’ve talked about the importance of having transparent names that really tell people what they get from your product or service – either rationally or in terms of emotional benefits. In this video I go in a different direction!
Political Candidates & Brand Authenticity
Believe it or not, we’re going to talk about politics in our latest installment of the #tellthetruths video series! To be clear, this isn’t about this party or candidate vs. the other, but rather about the role of authenticity and perceived sincerity in political campaigns, and of course in branding as well.
Are All The Good Names Taken?
Are all the good names taken? Sometimes it seems that way. There are almost TWO BILLION websites out there, and each one has a name of some kind, of course. But no, there’s still lots of room to come up with a great name for your brand, company or product.
Mac & Cheese Brand Consistency
Have you ever wondered how it is that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese endures while other colorful, “Frankenfood” brands of its era like Velveeta, Jello and Tang have fallen by the wayside? The answer is a little crazy but it’s simple. Macaroni & Cheese is so unerringly consistent, innovating on a very, very small footprint of texture, taste, and experience, that it’s been able to grow into the ultimate comfort food.
How Brands And People Can Be More Charismatic
Here’s a tip for more charismatic communications — either personally or in the voice of your brand! Using storytelling and colorful language makes you more engaging and draws people to you. Perhaps the larger point is that everything I’ve ever seen that’s true of personal communications has also been true about brand communications, and I believe this one is no different.
The Autocorrect Factor
Here’s a tip that might help with selecting a name. All other considerations being equal, don’t pick the name that gets consistently mangled by Autocorrect. (I like to call that thing we all experience getting “ducked over!”) A name has to be really, really good to be worth respelling it repeatedly.
