What do we call it?
In advertising, looking for a brand’s name is called naming, and it gets intense when you register it.
Choosing the name for a business is like naming a child: it identifies them and they will carry it forever. In advertising that process of searching and selecting is called NAMING and it gets intense when the time comes to check registration availability. To be clear: two brands cannot be called the same. It is not like “El Javi” on the corner and “El Javi” at the kiosk. The first “El Javi” could legally object and stop the second from using it.
Since we are talking about corners and kiosks, the resource of neighborhood naming answers to popular ingenuity. “Lo González”, “La Esquina”, “De todo” or “Los Peruanos” work to identify the place just as people recognize it. Of course in this setting exclusivity is not an obstacle, since legislation does not walk the streets of the neighborhood.
Another popular technique is forming names with the first syllables of children, nephews or grandchildren: a way of showing them affection and making them last in people’s hearts. “Leomar” (for Leonardo and María), “Serjuan” (Sergio and Juan); and others more complex such as “Marpemar” (Marcela, Pedro and another Marcela) or “Jomaedencef” (José, Manuel, Eduardo, Enrique and Ceferino, the Pérez quintuplets). In this case, without a doubt, “Los Quintillizos” would work better and this answers to the simplicity and ease we must keep in mind when naming a company.
It is worth pointing out that, for the sake of honoring Blas, Federico and Marta, it is not advisable to use the construction “BlasFeMar” to name a religious goods shop.
Naming is the starting point for a business’s success and we can go over some suggestions to guide the choice:
-Being short and easy to remember
-Being original and creative
-Defining the activity
-Conveying positive feelings
-Avoiding unfortunate connotations in other languages
Depending on the sector, naming trends tend to be inspired by the founder (Carolina Herrera), by the description (Microsoft), by emotions (Amazon –“big and exotic”-), or by sheer invention (Oysho), in which case brand building takes care of giving it content.
These suggestions are always relative and, once the name has been chosen, what continues is the way of making it known, giving it a personality with qualities and a way of relating to the consumer.
When we get this kind of work, we feel the world is immense and Argency reinvents itself by turning to different techniques that help us map out and get to know that world. The essential thing is to make a concept map: the product at the center, and around it different variables that give it meaning and life at the same time.
Let us take as an example a new new coffee brand we have to name. We will place:
Center: NEW PRODUCT “Coffee”
Around it:
Protagonists: family, partner, friends.
Situations of use: outings, gatherings, celebrations.
Places: kitchen, bar, office.
Feelings: wellbeing, happiness, harmony.
Season: winter, autumn, spring, summer.
With the concept map laid out it will be easier to establish relationships between the elements and generate fun exercises to get closer to an original, creative and functional name.
