How are brand names like exercise? Well, with exercise more pain today is an investment in less pain over time. (Or so I tell myself, 4 times a week.)
I heard something on Caitlin Barrett’s excellent naming podcast, Big Names In Naming, that had me thinking about this. She had a VERY big name in naming, Anthony Shore, as one of her guests and he said something I wanted to share with you. Shore talked about how the coined names that are typically easier to sell in to clients, and that are usually also easier to clear legally, are actually more expensive in terms of the effort to associate them with your desired meaning.
Cool Name. Now Werk It.
Check out this #tellthetruths video for more, then let me know what you think.
This video originally appeared in LinkedIn.
If you enjoyed this video, also check out:
Simple Beats Clever A Lot of The Time
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey guys, it’s Rebeca with BrandTrue. And the thing is, when you’re a naming nerd like I am, then you will do stuff like read naming books and listen to naming podcasts. And on Caitlin Barrett’s excellent naming podcast called “Big Names in Naming,” she had a big name, Anthony Shore on, and he said a little thing that just really stuck in my head as something that I wanted to share with you.
He said, “Fanciful names are expensive.” So what he meant by “fanciful names” is names that are completely invented, right? It’s not the Container Store. It’s Kodak. And the thing is, they’re expensive because you have to take that empty vessel and fill it with meaning, which means advertising and efforts, right? It means lots of explanation. So they’re expensive.
So why would you ever do one? Ah, because there are advantages. First of all, they’re often easier to sell in in the boardroom, easier to get everyone to agree because the name doesn’t have any baggage, right? Nobody is like, “No, it makes me think of this. It makes me think of that.” No baggage. Yeah, no associations that can help you tell the story. That’s the disadvantage of that.
Oh, oh, but I was listing advantages. The other advantage is that it’s often easier to clear, to trademark. Because it’s a word that you’ve, you know, invented out of the ether, that means that it’s not crowded with other people’s ideas often, more often. So that pushes people in that direction. But it can be shortsighted when you’re going in that easier today direction, not realizing that, yeah, for the next couple of years, you have to invest much more. You have to tell more story. You have to teach people what you’re talking about, as opposed to choosing a name that’s already started out the gate telling your story.
So that’s a little naming lesson that I was floating around in my head that I wanted to share with you guys. I would love to hear what you think about it. Thanks. Bye.
