Starting a business, launching a new product or simply looking for a new start; those are a few of the reasons that lead people to seek names for their brands. Once the decision to look for a name has been made, the next obvious question is: How do you name a brand? In the past, traditionally, most companies would take their founder’s name – usually because the companies would be passed from father to son for generations. On top of…
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Most brands are present on the Internet. It is obvious that the closest the domain name (website address) is to the brand name, the easier it will be found on the web. Unfortunately, for brand holding corporations, it isn’t always easy to name their website using their brand name because the domain names aren’t always available. A domain name must be registered with the competent authorities to have the right to be used exclusively. But registration works on a first…
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A pint, a packet of crisps and a cheerful owner – even the notoriously ugly carpets of local English pubs hold a special place in the hearts of the English and these grand establishments are beginning to crop up over the channel in Europe. Besides the décor and frequent large ‘English Pub’ signs to clarify, one of the biggest giveaways is their names. If you’ve visited the nation, chances are you caught a glimpse of a Royal Oak on your…
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The feeling towards the mergers and acquisitions market seems optimistic for 2014, with most investment banks reporting growing numbers of deals in the pipeline. These landmark events for firms aim to create synergies, and brand value is a crucial factor, however only around half of these attempts actually succeed. One of the most common reasons for failure is conflict between the two entities, and it’s no surprise this is linked to the biggest killer for brands – brand confusion. Clear,…
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In May this year I gave a talk at the Great British Business Show held in London’s ExCel centre. The talk was called An Introduction To Brand Naming. It’s a short overview of the basics of naming, and highlights some of the issues you will need to consider when looking for a brand name. For those of you who missed it at the show, or if you wanted to see it again, here it is below. Or to…
Read more >It is going to be a rather self-indulgent post today I’m afraid! Today is my last day at Nomen UK and I’ve been told that I can write about anything I like. Oh the power! I did consider filming a 5 minute video where I gave a juggling demonstration and explained to you why in fact Sylvester Stallone is a modern day Leonardo Da Vinci but I thought I’d keep it relevant. Look out for that video on my personal…
Read more >Today’s post is a translation of an interview from Nomen Italy’s Managing Director Gianluca Billo. In it he discusses the perception of different languages when used in certain industries. Gianluca can be contacted through the Nomen Italy website: www.nomen.it How important is the choice of a language in brand naming? The choice of a language definitely is fundamental to create a new name. But it is not always as our clients see it. Most companies ask for a short name…
Read more >Should you deliberately choose a bad name for your new company or product? A week or so ago a couple of friends sent me articles they had seen suggesting that it was actually a very good strategy for getting yourself noticed. The argument went that people will discuss a bad name much more than a good one and therefore get your company in the spotlight. I actually talked about this kind of thing a few weeks back: the enthusiasm with…
Read more >I had a conversation at a recent pitch meeting that I think is worth expanding on and sharing. I was asked by a potential client what I felt were some of the most common things that can go wrong during a naming process, the effect that they can have and how to best guard against them. What was interesting was that he wanted to know what mistakes were made by the client themselves so that he could try to stop…
Read more >It is a rare pleasure that all of the Nomen branches get together at the same time but we were lucky enough to do just that recently at the group seminar. While there, we asked representatives of each branch what one tip they would give people to help with their naming process. This could be a specific attitude towards the naming or a behaviour to maintain to make your process smoother. Below are some of those thoughts: * Be Bold:…
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