Any parent can tell you the first rule of naming: Don’t blab your names to the whole world. It’s one of those lessons you learn the hard way. For example, when my wife was pregnant with our first child, I made the mistake of floating one of our top contenders past my father-in-law. “Ava?” he scoffed. “Ava Gardner was such a tramp.” Good thing we also loved the name Lucy.
Naming can be a messy, emotional business. It evokes intense reactions, both negative and positive, and triggers deep personal associations. As you embark on your next naming project for your company, product or program, here are a few things to keep in mind to make the process smoother:
- For starters, limit your brainstorming to a small, controlled group. When there are too many passionate voices in the room, you could lose some great contenders. As battle-scarred veterans of many naming assignments, we’ve learned how quickly the more interesting, evocative names can die before they’ve even had a chance to draw their first breath. Once you’ve narrowed your list down to a select few, then it’s time to solicit reactions.
- Sometimes, the name that scares you the most is the right name. We recently guided a diagnostics company through a corporate re-branding. We presented a wide range of names, from the safe and clinical to the bold and unexpected. At first, our client dismissed a more provocative name as being too edgy. But they kept coming back to it and eventually it didn’t seem so scary. It had stopping power, it was memorable — and, ultimately, it was the direction the client chose to pursue.
- The best names have a great story to tell. We’ve all heard how Steve Jobs chose the name Apple because it was his favorite fruit. While true, it’s not the whole story. He also picked the name to suggest simplicity and to differentiate his company from its cold, technical-sounding competitors: IBM, DEC, Cincom and Tesseract. The more intent you put behind your name, the greater the impact.
- Creative spelling is okay. If you want to be different and drop a letter, like the “e” in Flickr, it’s going to be a little harder to spell. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. And it might even improve your chances of securing a good URL.
- What sounds like a benign word in English might have a very different meaning in another language. Take my name, Tod with one “d.” My mother just wanted my name to be different. What she didn’t know is that “tod” is German for “death.” So whatever name you choose, make sure to vet it with the right audiences.
We’ve helped many clients give birth to new names. And we’re never surprised when the final name actually comes from you. Sometimes, that’s how the process works. If we’re doing our job correctly, we’re giving you the guidance and inspiration you need to find a name you love. After all, it’s your baby.
Tod Brubaker is an associate creative director at Seidler Bernstein with more than 25 years in the copy writing/directing trades. He’s worked in consumer and B2B, from Miller Beer and Sprint to Amgen, Ethicon/J&J, Eli Lilly and Pfizer. Tod’s industry honors include Cannes, Clio and Addy awards, as well as top honors for print from the Johnson & Johnson James E. Burke Marketing Excellence Awards.