Naming, giving name to a company, brand, product or service.

Naming, giving name to a company, brand, product or service is getting less and less amateurish. More and more companies employ advertising agencies to prepare a catchy name that would distinguish them from the competition and stick to mind. However, experience teaches us a lesson that Customers do not know how to deal with naming& You have to bear in mind, a good name is not a remedy for all of the company problems.

Name's function

Except for the obvious function of standing out from the crowd, a name -like company image -can have several functions in communication with the outer world. First of all, it can inform: objectively broaden your consumer's scope of knowledge as to what the company deals with. British Petroleum -BP -is a good example of a name with informative function. It defines clearly what the company deals with. However, while designing informative name for a company you should take into consideration its potential development. A shop called Alpinist. Mountaineering equipment may broaden its stock including golf or tennis equipment, but then the name Alpinist turns a handicap.

Another approach to a name is emotive function: the name communicates emotions connected with the use of a given product or contact with the company, and does not imply anything of any value concerning its dealings. Jaguar as a name of a car manufacturer is associated with force and speed. However, if the company started to produce motorcycles, you still could credit them with these emotions stripped of the jaguar.

Another approach to naming is stripping the name out of any meaning. Elf for petrol manufacturer or Ariel for washing powder brand. It's a safe way -a company or brand can evolve any way it likes, and as the name doesn't mean anything at all, there's no danger of meaning clash. Nevertheless, such a solution has an enormous disadvantage: in two previous cases a name communicates something (despite the dangers that go with it), whereas in this case it is void. At the first encounter with a company, a consumer has no clue as to what it produces and what values are behind it.

The choice of the approach is up to the Client. If it's a name for a clearly specified product or brand, the more informative and/or emotive it is the better. On the other hand if it's to define unspecified scope of company dealings in unlimited period of time, it's better not to ascribe any special associations to it.

The advantages of a well-chosen name

If a company, brand or product has a good name, it helps it with faster market breakthrough. Preparing a marketing communication for a firm called Mario Company you have to spare some of the commercial for the introduction of the company and presentation of its advantages. Mario Company is a family-run bakery specializing in croissants is a typical introduction for the new Customers. So why don't you call the company Croissant Bakery? It may be ordinary, but it communicates much more than Mario Company. Mind you, purchasing a radio commercial for your company, you have to pay for every second of it. Mario Company is a family-run bakery specializing in croissants. Open daily from 9am to 6pm will cost much more than Croissant Bakery. Open daily from 9am to 6 pm. In this case, the measure of a good name is money.

What's the conclusion? A neutral name won't do you harm, but when compared with a well-chosen one it will call for more efforts and means (your efforts and your means) to achieve the same results. On the other hand, a wrong one (as in case of the above-mentioned shop Alpinist) could also be promoted but the outlay of efforts and means is incomparably higher.

A name means less than you imagine

Purchasing a name, you give to a naming company specified assumptions that it should comply with. If it's to carry a meaning, you are offered a number of associations that go with it. If it's to be void of any meaning, you are offered a number of technically proper names, that comply with the general naming rules: easy to remember and pronounce for your target group (there's nothing wrong with a foreign name, as long as your clients have no difficulties with it), a free internet domain (a must for every name nowadays), etc. If the names are proper& pick any of them. It's a common practice that Clients reject all the names (despite the fact they comply with the brief), because they don't like it. It's not a substantial argument at all, and if the outlines are broad, the scope is nearly infinite. An agency can offer you 500 names complying with your requirements. But what's the use picking up from 500, if all of them are equally good? Pick up from 5, you'll save your time and nerves.

Bear in mind that your clients tend to perceive your company in a different way than you do, since you know it inside out. They do not set such great store by the name. What matters to them is something completely different. If toothpaste were called Blend-a-mid and high quality electronic equipment Sona, would you consider the spelling or the quality of the product? And that's the way your customers see it. Hardly anyone buys Apple computers (a name that has nothing to do with computers, does it?) since they can't resist the symbol of an apple. Most of people buy them because of a nice design, innovative solutions, brand snobbery& With a pear instead of an apple they would sell equally well.

Purchase more than just a name

You could think: If that is the case, and a name has such a low import, what's the use spending money on it? People will buy my product regardless of the name, so what's the point in investing in a good name?

And that's the point! Good naming companies don't sell you just a name, they sell you whole marketing communication that goes with it. A slapdash name may have no impact on the sales of a product, but it will influence its stickiness. A right name combined with matching associations chosen especially for you and arguments for consumers will make your company, brand or service stick to their mind for good. And when they'll be taking decision as to what to buy, what will come to their mind will be your name and not your competitors'. And that affects your income directly, doesn't it?

So, what makes good marketing communication? First of all, arguments that combine your name with the company or product values. You should explain even what seems obvious. What comes to your mind when you think of Jaguar cars is power and speed, cause that's what's stressed in their marketing communication. Still you could think of& stripped cars, since the jaguar is a stripped species, so if a company has chosen the animal as its symbol maybe it produces stripped cars. Provide people with arguments they can use when they want to memorize you. Shell is a petrochemical company with a shell in its logo. Marketing communication combines this shell (a symbol of marine life) with company's environmental responsibility. Shell tells you that with it the shell is doing well. BP is currently read beyond petrol pointing to the company dealings in areas other than petroleum.

A name can enforce specific and memorable communication style. Therefore, there's no use investing in the name itself, if it isn't accompanied by other pieces of marketing communication. Out of its context, even the best name will loose against well-designed, compact and characteristic communication. Therefore, demand a name, its explanation, association chain connecting it with your company or product, etc. Only then you may consider conquering the market.

To summarize, an investment in naming pays back. A good name for a company, brand or product allows curbs in advertising expenses in a long run and enhances stickiness. However, there's no use paying for the name itself. Pay for a concept that can be creatively developed into marketing communication, which is the key to market success.