Business Naming Basics

In business naming, the use of specialized dictionaries of commonly used clichés, colloquialisms, idioms and slang expressions can be valuable.

You may find appropriate names there, and if someone has not already preempted them, they can be yours. I’m thinking of expressions like “Bug Out” for an exterminator, “Close Shave” for a barber, “The Acid Test” for a laboratory.

But there’s another and better use for these dictionaries.

You can find expressions that apply to the opposite of the benefit or tone you wish to adapt and substitute your own word for an offending word. These are often negative phrases to begin with which you make positive with the word switch. You may also find other word substitutions that aren’t opposites, just refreshing twists that generate an “aha” reaction with readers.

A prime example of this technique was the naming of Sears up-scale home furnishing stores: The Great Indoors. We’ve all heard of the expression, the great outdoors, so when Sears adopted this switch, they had an instantly memorable, fresh and appropriate name.

Now this technique takes some time and effort to isolate those phrases that have the right attributes. I personally have been successful with this approach only once or twice, but if you find another The Great Indoors, it will be worth it.

Here are two I’ve created that saw the light of day:

Grapes of Goodness (from Grapes of Wrath)
Phi Beta Data (from Phi Beta Kappa)

In the box above are several clichés I thought might potentially yield substitution-naming results. I challenge you to find potential name candidates for each. If you have one or two you’re really proud of, share them with us by posting them in the comments area below. No prizes, just the satisfaction of showing off your creative nature.

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Business and product names can carry a certain mystique or even a classy tone if derived from foreign words.

Good Taste in seven languages

But there are some warnings. First, be sure the phrases generated are pronounceable in English. And second, be sure to have a native of the country you’ve “borrowed” the name candidate from look at the name for any problems in the translation. Sometimes context will dictate the meanings in other languages just as they do here (what does “mean” mean?).

So if you don’t know Italian, French, Spanish, etc., how do you explore foreign-derived words and phrases?

Well, one way is to use the many published foreign phrase dictionaries. I own four or five. But the problem is that it’s difficult to find translations of the words you want to specifically use. You need to know something of the foreign language because they’re arranged alphabetically by foreign phrase.

You can also use a good English-to-French or English-to-Dutch dictionary for single words. But it’s time-consuming, particularly if you’re attempting to develop names based on a phrase.

Well, there’s a better way – a way only the Internet could provide. There’s a site called SDL|Translation that allows you to type in an English phrase, select translating language and click for translations.

In fact, for any particular language you can enter multiple phrases and words in English, click and get translations for each that you’ve entered. You can copy your English list and paste it into the Spanish translator, get your results and paste the list into the Chinese translator, and then another and another.

And, yes, the service is free.

So if you want to explore relevant words and phrases in foreign languages, try SDL|Translations.

Bonne oeuvre

Tags: Naming Ideas by MartinJ
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Company Name Ideas can get personal

Quite often a company will be named after its founder(s).

For a small business, especially a service business, this isn’t usually a good idea unless you’re a celebrity.

But a made-up personal name can, if crafted with care and insight, become a business name and an asset.

You can “invent” a character who can speak for your business in multiple ways, beginning with the business name. You can impart to your brand the same traits and personality as the character you create to represent the brand.

Think how successful Betty Crocker, Marie Callender and Sara Lee have been. Think Pep Boys; Mrs.Fields and Uncle Ben.

The names above just “sound” right. And through repetition and association, they begin to relate to the desired position envisioned by their creators.

I like to find or invent names that actually impart a brand benefit. Two examples from recent projects include “Weldon Wright” for a window replacement business, and “Molly Coddler” for a day spa.

So think about your brand story as I mentioned last week, and the personality you want associated with it. See if there isn’t a character – invented, historic or even mythical – that can assume a name that includes an implied benefit relative to your business.

It will be unique and relevant, two of the top criteria for an outstanding company name.

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The business naming process should start before you begin generating name ideas.

There are a couple of things I recommend prior to developing name candidates that will help you determine the brand’s personality, and thus the types of names that will be most relevant.

One is to create a “brand story”. This may come from expressions of your business mission, vision, values, position and culture. It may also be more personal than that, reflecting the way you’re different from competitors. It will certainly express what you “stand for”.

Naming ideas can be sparked through personality question

Hand in glove with the brand story is the expression of “personality” you wish your brand to convey. Here you attempt to personify the brand using a series of questions.

You ask yourself several brain-stimulating questions such as: “If MY BRAND was an animal, what animal would it be?” You might relate the brand to a celebrity, sport activity, geographic feature or music type in the same manner.

Those exercises can give you some direction and inspiration, thus sparking some name candidates, too. And it will provide direction for creating other branding elements as well.

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In my past two posts I’ve suggested naming ideas that turn familiar words into unique, coined words that can effectively name companies or products. (substituting silent “e”s with other vowels and adding consonants to words beginning with vowels)

Here’s the last in the series. This one, however, doesn’t require a long list of common words that can be altered.

For this technique you deliberately “misspell” words to create a new name: Qwest, Ikon, Duque.

Now you may not be able to trademark names that are alternate spellings of existing trademarked names depending upon how close the products are in consumer’s minds. Check that with your trademark attorney because altered spellings might be disallowed by the USPTO.

At first a customer will have a little trouble recognizing these new coined words, but once they’re pronounced, they’ll be remembered, particularly if the original words carry a relevancy to the products themselves.

This naming idea won’t work for all relevant words, but give it a try and add the results to your candidate list. They may work as names or suggest new naming ideas. Give it a try.

Tags: Naming Ideas by MartinJ
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Yesterday I advanced a naming idea – substituting other vowels and phonemes for the silent “e” that end many familiar words. The reason: people prefer the familiar in a name even though we know over the long haul that unique names are better remembered and stand a better chance of strongly representing a unique product or company.

Here’s another method of generating business names that are unique but retain a modicum of familiarity.

From a compiled list of familiar words that might represent or reflect the business or product you’re naming – it can be the same list you compiled for yesterday’s naming idea – select those words that begin with a vowel.

Change those words into coined words by adding a single consonant or if you’re into linguistics, a phoneme, to the beginning of the word. Thus, element = Nelement, Apollo = Capollo, Oslo = Voslo, arch = Sharch.

As with yesterday’s naming tip, the original word is retained as the added phoneme gives it individuality.

One additional familiar-to-unique naming idea tomorrow.

Tags: Naming Ideas by MartinJ
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We know unique names are better than descriptive, mundane names. But people don’t like completely new, coined-word names in the beginning. They opt for the familiar.

That’s why most name research will show that people eschew the novel whenever they’re asked to choose between the familiar and the unique. This is a dilemma an entrepreneur faces when naming a company. Unique is better in the long run and is generally the best choice, even though their constituents will pan the name initially.

But there are several naming ideas to combine the familiar and the different, thus avoiding, or at least diluting, the problem.

Here is one of them.

Begin by developing a list of familiar words relevant to the product to be named. Usually these are words that might describe a benefit or perhaps a desired emotional response.

They might be descriptive, allegorical or suggestive. Just build as long a list as you and your thesaurus can compile.

Separate those words that end in a silent “e”. Then substitute “a”, “i”, “o”, “u” or “y” for the silent “e”.

This is especially effective for verbs and single-syllable words. Here are some examples of coined words you can generate with this method: hype = hypa, groove = groovo, bake = baku.

You may also substitute short, vowel-beginning syllables such as “an”, “or”, “ite”. More examples: style = stylant,  save = savon, crane = cranus. But note how the word itself is retained, but without the silent “e”. Familiarity is retained while the substituted letter or suffix makes it unique.

There are a couple of other techniques which I’ll explain in future posts.

Tags: Naming Ideas by MartinJ
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• SyFy: Awful Name, Awesome Ad Campaign

July 20, 2009
- I must agree that the name is a little jarring. But if the channel is looking to branch outside its traditional niche, SciFi just didn’t do it. Besides, SciFi is a generic.

• That Horse Has Left the Station: Trying to Trademark Tweet

July 20, 2009
- Now here is a real dilemma. It’s something that every entrepreneur should be concerned about and deliberately study in order to set a standards and practice from the get-go. I don’t know any who have.

• Online Hotel Naming Affects Brand Name Development Strategies

July 20, 2009

• Pontiac G8 to Cop Chevy Caprice Naming and Branding?

July 20, 2009
- Well, as Jack Trout stated in “Differentiate or Die, heritage can be a pretty good differentiator.

• How to find a good URL without having a brain hemorrhage

July 20, 2009
- Some good advice, particularly for those doing business on the Internet.

• Playing the Game Naming Game

July 20, 2009
- It didn’t start with Toys R Us, but the use of phrases and sentences as names may be a small, and probably short-lived, trend.

• Skyscraper Renaming: Would the Sears Tower by Any Other Name Sound as Sweet?

July 20, 2009
- You’re right about the long memory and habits of constituants. To them, it’ll always be Sear Tower. However, when a name loses its original panache, I’d want to look at the pros and cons.

• Has the Starbucks Brand Name Become a Liability?

July 20, 2009
- Well, I think it’s a good move to name a brand extension to differentiate it from the master brand name.- It own name gives it its own life and doen’t dilute the master brand. Takes some guts but Al Ries and Jack Trout are probably applauding.

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This name idea relys on a graphic component to set a business name apart, and perhaps, get it through the name screening process as well.

You can create names that stand out with visual devices. It is possible to incorporate devices such as hyphens, common symbols & punctuation(+,!),which I talked about in the post entitled Why Limit Yourself to 26 Characters When Business Naming?.

Examples of some name ideas involving different formats

In addition, names can be all lower case words, underlined word parts, combined UPPERlower case phrases, CapsINmiddle constructions, differentiated with pronunciation marks (Jel’-sema), leaving no space between words, or rendered with two Differentfonts. There may be more. If you think of any, please make a commend in the space below this post. .

But when constructing names using this business naming idea, remember that your name may not be rendered as you would like it to be by the media, by those wanting to refer you to other folks, and by anyone else that has no stake in making sure your name is rendered correctly. Also, though it might be trademarkable as a graphic, it may not be available as trademarkable word or phrase, nor will you be able to use a graphic device as a web site URL. Though there you can use hyphens, a url address doesn’t differentiate upper and lower case and some characters are not allowed.

Though limited in application, either of these tips might stimulate your search for outside-the-can name candidates.

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One problem with adopting a person’s name as a business name is that there’s little legal protection available. Oh, there may be some based upon longevity and intent, but it’s chancy. Also, it may not be that unique.

But personal names are the basis for this business naming idea.

There are naming customs that permeate certain cultures that can be adapted to non-name words to produce compelling company or product names.

Some examples of unique two-part company names

The most famous of these is McNuggets. But be careful in adopting “Mc” because McDonald’s will probably come at you with a cease and desist order. They have pleaded and won in the U. S. court system that they “own” “Mc”-whatever.

h, but look at the other possibilities: Mac, O’, Van, von, D’, Di, De, Del, Bel, San, La, and L’. And I’m sure there are others as well. Just hook them up with descriptive nouns like (O’Cedar, MacFrugal).

It’s also worth exploring making up new lead-ins as if you were on staff at Paramount Studios dreaming up character names for the next Star Trek series: (RelTran, B’Yond, G’Wizz, G’Dar). 

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