Top Tips for Creating a Memorable Product Name
Unlock the secrets to crafting a product name that stands out in a crowded marketplace, with practical advice curated from industry experts. This article cuts through the noise to provide readers with straightforward strategies that fuse creativity with market savvy. Gain the edge with insights that help navigate the complexities of resonating with a target audience while ensuring a name's scalability and protection.
- Create Awareness with a Great Name
- Tell a Story with Practicality
- Ensure Simplicity and Scalability
- Focus on Simplicity and Clarity
- Understand Audience and Long-Term Potential
- Resonate with Target Market
- Leverage Relatability and Adaptability
- Align Name with Core Offering
- Opt for Distinctive and Protectable Names
- Align Name with Core Values and Mission
- Make It Simple, Distinct, and Resonant
- Create a Clear, Memorable, and Relevant Name
- Resonate with Target Audience
- Brainstorm a Storytelling Brand Name
- Focus on Problem Solved and Evolution
- Go for Simple, Unique, and Pronounceable
Create Awareness with a Great Name
Choosing a name is the second most important business decision a company can make. The first is understanding your position, promise & POV. Something you should definitely do before naming.
A great name creates awareness. Claims mindshare. & market share. It can serve as an anchor for your brand. A symbol of your story. A shortcut to your message.
A great name lends credibility, assures quality & memorability, forges an emotional connection with your audience, defines your image, sets customer expectations & the tone for all of your initiatives. And ultimately, has major financial implications for your business. It says "choose me" above all others.
No easy feat. I know from experience. Over my career, I've named hundreds of brands & products for start-ups & incumbents. Besides coming up with the name itself, availability is a daunting task. Every time you think "Eureka, I've found it," uspto.gov, trademarkia.com or Google will tell you, "Not so fast, it's taken."
So how do you navigate these obstacles?
At Insurgents, use our proprietary naming formula - N.A.M.E.S. - to generate powerful, provocative & unforgettable names for our clients. It's an acronym for:
Notice - What does it look like? What does it do? How would you use it? For example, Blackberry got its name because the keys resembled fruit seeds.
Associate - What does it remind you of? Example: Red Bull.
Metaphors - Think Nike or Amazon.
Emotion - Ever hear of Liquid Death. Or what about Hush Puppies. And above all,
Storytelling - As in Patagonia.
Be sure to think big & bold: Finding the right name means trying things that may be uncomfortable - maybe a little weird - at first. But, I promise you, what was once uncomfortable eventually becomes so palpable you can't imagine any other name in its place! Give it time, and you might find you can't get it out of your head
Tell a Story with Practicality
From my time at different working with brands like Audi and Zalando, and now helping startups at spectup, I've learned that a great brand name needs to tell a story while being practical. Take our company name "spectup" - it combines the idea of helping companies move upward (up) with the concept of careful analysis and inspection (spect). When I help startups with branding, I always tell them to check three key things: first, make sure the name is easy to say and spell, something I learned the hard way at different where we constantly had to explain the spelling. Second, ensure the domain name and social media handles are available - this was a crucial lesson from my days at N26 where digital presence was everything.
Third, test how the name sounds in different contexts - pitch meetings, casual conversations, and even international markets, something I picked up during my time at Deutsche Bahn working on international expansion. The best names often have a meaning or story behind them that connects to your company's mission, but they shouldn't need a ten-minute explanation to make sense.
Ensure Simplicity and Scalability
My top tip for creating a memorable and impactful brand name is to ensure it's easy to read, easy to say, and easy to spell. Simplicity is key—if people struggle to pronounce or type your brand name, they're less likely to remember or recommend it.
When brainstorming, consider factors like:
Relevance: The name should align with your product's purpose or industry.
Uniqueness: It should stand out from competitors without being overly complicated.
Scalability: Ensure the name can grow with your business or product line.
For example, names like "Slack" and "Zoom" are simple, descriptive, and instantly memorable, which has contributed to their widespread adoption. The easier the name is to use and share, the more impactful it will be.
Focus on Simplicity and Clarity
When creating a memorable and impactful brand name for a new product, focus on simplicity and clarity. A succinct and easy-to-pronounce name aids recall and can communicate the essence of the product effectively. At OneStop Northwest, we emphasized the 'OneStop' concept to signify comprehensive solutions for businesses. This clarity in naming helped convey our one-stop-shop value proposition, which resonated well with clients managing multiple service vendors.
Additionally, consider the emotional appeal and visual components associated with the name. A strong brand name should not only describe what the product does but also evoke positive associations and align with your brand's visual identity. For instance, when developing a client's branding campaign, we transformed their logo and name to reflect innovation and connectivity, resulting in a perceived value increase among their tech-savvy audience.
Finally, ensure the brand name is versatile for various applications and platforms. We once worked with a client whose previous name was limiting their digital engagement. By rebranding with a name that was versatile across social media and SEO-optimized, we helped them achieve a 300% increase in online revenue within a year. This approach highlights the importance of a brand name that adapts and thrives in the digital landscape.
Understand Audience and Long-Term Potential
Brand naming is deeply tied to understanding your audience and their needs. When we work with clients at Linear Design, we start by diving deep into customer personas to uncover motivations and behaviors. For instance, a brand targeting eco-conscious consumers might emphasize sustainability in its name, resonating with the values of that demographic. A powerful example is the brand "Klarna," which I referenced in my work on Facebook brand awareness. Klarna's name is catchy and conveys the idea of "clarity" and "ease," aligning with their straightforward financial solutions. This creates an immediate connection and understanding of the brand's proposition. Consider the brand's long-term potential on a global stage. At Linear Design, we've helped clients choose names that transcend cultural boundaries, ensuring consistency in messaging across regions. Our use of real-time data and A/B testing empowers us to steer brands toward names that drive profitability and growth while maintaining a cohesive identity.
Resonate with Target Market
In my experience as the co-founder of RankingCo, crafting a memorable brand name starts with understanding your target market and the problem your product solves. A great example is when we named RankingCo, which succinctly conveys our expertise in improving search rankings. This clarity helped us resonate with clients seeking SEO services.
Your brand name should also be adaptable for long-term growth. When scaling businesses from $1M to $200M, I've seen the value of a flexible brand name that won't limit future expansion or product lines. Think of tech companies like Google, once a search engine, now an entire ecosystem.
Finally, test your name with potential customers or a small audience. At RankingCo, we often trial ideas on social media and adjust based on feedback, honing in on what resonates most strongly with our audience. This iterative approach ensures the brand name is not only memorable but also impactful in connecting with your target market.
Leverage Relatability and Adaptability
When creating a memorable and impactful brand name, I leverage the principle of relatability from our Cleartail Marketing journey. Ensuring the name evokes a facet of everyday experiences can make it resonate. For example, "Cleartail" suggests transparency and foresight, aligning with our commitment to providing clear and strategic marketing directions. This reflects one of the impactful results we achieved by delivering a 5,000% ROI for a client's Google Ads Campaign-emphasizing clear, data-driven results. I also recommend choosing names that foster a connection with your target emotions. In our experience, brand stories that connect emotionally tend to stand out. For instance, our approach to Increasing a B2B client's revenue by 278% involved not just technical prowess but tapping into narratives that our client's customers could resonate with emotionally. Finally, adaptability is crucial. Given your brand may expand or pivot its products, selecting a versatile name can support future growth. At Cleartail, we started focusing on SEO and expanded our service offerings, yet our name encompasses our new additions seamlessly, much like we transformed a client's website traffic by over 14,000%. Adapting the brand name to evolving market landscapes ensures lasting impact and recognition.
Align Name with Core Offering
When creating a memorable and impactful brand name for a new product, focus on simplicity and relatability. From my experience with FusionAuth, I realized the importance of conveying your core offering clearly within the name. "FusionAuth" captures the essence of integrating authentication features with effortless use, something developers appreciate.
Consider the product's scalability and target audience, similar to how I approached launching CleanSpeak for content moderation in 2007. CleanSpeak was deliberate in conveying purity and clarity, aligning with our mission to moderate content effectively. Ensure your brand name reflects the product's goals and resonates with the audience's needs or pain points.
Test your brand name within your team or at small-scale trial opportunities before going public. Our journey with FusionAuth leveraged bootstrapped trials. This approach gave insights on how the name resonated and allowed us to refine the brand messaging for better market alignment. This method ensures the brand name is effective in diverse scenarios.
Opt for Distinctive and Protectable Names
Creating a Memorable and Impactful Brand Name: A Key IP Consideration
As an intellectual property (IP) attorney, I often advise businesses on creating strong, memorable brand names that not only resonate with consumers but are also legally protectable.
Choose Fanciful, Coined, or Arbitrary Names
My top tip for creating a memorable brand name is to opt for a distinctive name-specifically, a fanciful, coined, or arbitrary name. These types of names are not only unique but are also the easiest to protect under trademark law.
-Fanciful names are invented words with no prior meaning, like "Kodak" or "Xerox." These names are strong and immediately protectable because they are inherently distinctive.
- Coined names are new words created for the brand, like "Google." They are highly distinctive and easily trademarked.
- Arbitrary names are real words used in unrelated contexts, like "Apple" for technology products. While "apple" is common, its use for electronics makes it an arbitrary name, giving it a strong trademark.
These types of names offer a strong identity for your brand and make trademark registration easier and more effective.
Avoid Generic or Descriptive Names
On the other hand, generic or descriptive names can create significant challenges. Generic names (like "Shampoo" for shampoo) cannot be trademarked because they are not distinctive enough to identify your brand. Descriptive names (like "QuickClean" for a cleaning product) might be protectable only if they acquire secondary meaning over time, which is rare and can be a lengthy process.
Other Key Considerations
1. Market Fit: Your brand name should align with your target audience and reflect your brand's values or personality. A name that resonates with consumers boosts brand recognition.
2. Legal Search: Before finalizing your name, conduct a thorough **trademark search** to ensure it isn't already in use, avoiding costly legal disputes.
3. Domain Availability: Ensure the name is available for both a website URL and social media handles to create a consistent online presence.
A strong, memorable brand name is an asset that plays a critical role in your business's success. By choosing a distinctive, fanciful, coined, or arbitrary name, you ensure your brand is legally protected and stands out in the market. Avoid generic or descriptive names that may be hard to protect and consider trademark and domain availability early on.
Align Name with Core Values and Mission
Creating a memorable and impactful brand name starts with aligning it to your brand's core values and mission, as this forms the foundation for connecting with your audience. At Phone.com, our name clearly indicates our focus on phone communication services, ensuring immediate recognition and understanding. Your brand name should convey what your product stands for and its purpose right from the start.
Consider the emotional connection your brand can establish. For example, when we market our communication solutions, we emphasize accessibility and reliability, reinforcing our commitment through every brand touchpoint. A successful brand name should inspire trust and foster loyalty by resonating emotionally with your target audience.
Pay attention to industry trends and consumer behavior to ensure your brand name remains relevant. At Phone.com, we adapt to changes in communication technology and incorporate feedback to stay ahead. Keep your brand dynamic and ready to evolve, ensuring it holds significance as your business and the market landscape grow and change.
Make It Simple, Distinct, and Resonant
When it comes to creating a memorable and impactful brand name, my top piece of advice is to make it simple, distinct, and emotionally resonant. A great name should grab attention, spark the right feelings, and be easy to say and remember. It's the first impression of your product, so it has to stick.
Start by thinking about what the name should communicate. It should give a hint of what the product does or the benefit it offers, but without being too literal. For instance, "Snapchat" immediately makes you think of something quick and visual, which perfectly matches what the app is about.
The emotional connection is just as important. A name that inspires curiosity, trust, or excitement can leave a lasting impact. It's about how you want people to feel when they hear it—whether it's intrigued, comforted, or energized.
At the same time, the name has to stand out. Generic or overly complicated names tend to get lost in the crowd, whereas something distinct and unexpected will stick in people's minds. But be careful: if your product is going to be global, make sure the name works across languages and cultures. What sounds great in one market might mean something awkward or offensive in another.
And think long-term. A good name can grow with your brand, giving you room to evolve. Amazon is a great example; it started as an online bookstore, but the name was broad and adaptable enough to encompass everything they are today.
Before you commit, try it out. Say it aloud, write it down, and share it with a few people to see how they react. A brand name isn't just a label: it's the start of your story, the foundation of everything your product stands for. Make it count.
Create a Clear, Memorable, and Relevant Name
When creating a brand name for a new product, the key is to make it clear, memorable, and emotionally resonant. Think of a name that instantly tells people what your product is about or the problem it solves, while also sparking curiosity or excitement. Keep it simple—something easy to spell, pronounce, and remember is much more likely to stick. It should also feel unique and stand out in your industry, so you're not blending in with competitors. Make sure it's relevant to your product and audience but broad enough to grow with your brand if your offerings expand. Lastly, double-check that the domain and trademark are available to avoid headaches down the road. A great brand name doesn't just label your product—it tells a story and makes people want to learn more.
Resonate with Target Audience
To create a memorable brand name, focus on resonance with your target audience. While leading The Guerrilla Agency, analyzing competitor backlink profiles proved insightful, but I applied similar analysis to branding. Identify what emotionally connects with your consumers and aligns with their needs, like our approach with eco-friendly products driven by AI data analysis, resulting in a sales increase. A brand name should evoke tangible value and be rooted in the product's core benefit. For instance, at Twincity.com, we emphasize clear visibility, so names that reflect straightforward access to local resources are crucial. This helps ensure the name is not just catchy but inherently describes the offering's essence. Lastly, A/B testing names with your audience can yield surprising results. Like how a simple color change impacted CTR, testing names can uncover preferences you might not anticipate. Let data guide your choice, ensuring the brand name truly speaks to your audience's preferences and needs.When crafting a memorable and impactful brand name, I focus on ensuring it aligns with the product's uniqueness and communicates its core value. While leading The Guerrilla Agency, I saw how custom coding for a small business's site, designed to meet unique needs, led to a significant engagement increase. The same principle applies to branding-your name should highlight the distinct features consumers will engage with. Consider a data-backed approach similar to structured data implantation for SEO. A brand name must facilitate recognition in a crowded market. For instance, implementing FAQ schemas helped outline product-specific queries, increasing voice search visibility. Your brand name should similarly anticipate the language and questions your audience might use. Finally, leverage user-generated content insights for authenticity. When a travel company succeeded with hashtag campaigns, it was because the content felt genuine to the audience. A brand name that fosters a sense of community or user involvement can improve its impact and memorability.
Brainstorm a Storytelling Brand Name
When brainstorming a brand name, aim for something that sticks and tells your story. Think about what makes your product unique and how you want people to feel when they hear its name. A great name should be easy to say, easy to remember, and give a hint about what your product does.
Consider your target audience, what speaks to them? Check that the name isn't already in use and that it doesn't have unintended meanings in other languages. Also, make sure the domain name is available for your website. Taking the time to get the name right can set your product up for success.
Focus on Problem Solved and Evolution
In creating a memorable and impactful brand name, focus on the problem your product solves, as its relevance can instantly resonate with your target audience. With MentalHappy, the name reflects our mission to foster emotional well-being and positivity, directly linking our brand to mental health support. This clarity and connection make it easy for potential customers to understand and remember our purpose.
Another key factor is ensuring your brand name can evolve with your business offerings. For instance, MentalHappy's platform initially centered on group therapy, but our expansion into AI-driven health assessments was seamless due to our broad yet relevant branding. It left us room to grow without needing a rebrand, maintaining consistency.
Consider incorporating emotional or personal elements into the brand name to create a deeper connection. My journey with anxiety informed MentalHappy's creation; using part of my personal story in branding made it genuine and relatable. This authenticity can attract customer loyalty as they see the brand as more than just a product, but a community aligned with their values.
Go for Simple, Unique, and Pronounceable
I think the rule of three for coming up with a brand name is to go with something that is simple, unique, and easy to pronounce. A brand name needs to be easy for people to remember and say because that means they can tell their friends about your brand. You'll also want to make sure that the name makes sense for whatever it is that you sell and for your target audience. Of course, before getting too excited about a name, you need to make sure that no one else is already using it, or using something so close that it might cause confusion.
