Types of Brand Names
This is the creating part that’s exciting – you get to finally make your brand a reality!
This process will require quite a bit of creativity and brain-storming, however there are some rules for best-practice which we will leverage in order to create a logo that can communicate your mission, values and offer as easily and effectively as possible.
Firstly, your brand name – there are seven main types of brand names that you’ll want to choose from:
Descriptive: The brand name simply describes what the business is about, for example Bank of America.
Evocative: Evocative brand names are real words used as metaphors to suggest a particular experience to the customer
Let’s look at some examples – Nike. Not only it is short and unmistakably unique, it is also the name of the roman goddess of victory.
Or let’s actually take Amazon – initially chosen because it starts with the first letter of the alphabet, but also because it represents the largest river in the world – not a bad metaphor for a company that wants to be the largest flow of goods in the world!
Invented: Names like Google or Sony are good examples of invented names that serve a good purpose.
For instance, the name Sony was chosen for the Western market as it resembled the word “sound” coming from the latin “sonus”, making it a great, simple and unique name that still conveyed its core industry very well.
Lexical: Lexical names are wordplays, rhymes or funny combinations of words or letters.
For example, Coca-Cola is a great lexical brand name, being not only unique and descriptive, but also rhyming in a jingle-like fashion. These features make lexical names particularly easy to remember.
Acronyms: Brands like BP and KFC are good examples of acronyms.
These are particularly useful when an established descriptive brand with a long name wants to find an easy way to stick more easily in their customer’s minds.
Geographic: Brands that rely on their geographical status as a value point often tend to adopt a geographic brand name.
KFC is a good example of this, leveraging the stereotypical image of Kentucky as a farming state to create increased value in the eyes of their customers through farming expertise and as such, higher food quality.
Founder: This was the most common kind of branding for much of history. Before large cities were a thing and most people were strangers to the goods they were exposed to on a daily basis, people knew who was producing what in their local area, and as such relied on the reputation of the individual founder as a basis for quality and trust.
Founder brand names are still used nowadays of course, like McDonald’s or Ralph Lauren.
Which naming type is best for you?
As you can imagine, this will completely depend on your brand strategy and your customer’s profile.
For instance, if your research shows that your opportunity lies in providing products that customers will value because of their local heritage, you might want to make it a geographic name.
This is a creative process where there isn’t a single path or golden rule to follow – but make sure to get a lot of input from different perspectives.
Remember, it’s not about what YOU think sounds good, but what brand name will best embody the ideas, values and messages that you want your customers to understand.
Ready for my absolute favorite part?
That’s right – designing your logo!
