Naming Process

VOL 1.2

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 INTRO 1

What’s in a Name?
The right name distinguishes you from your competitors, creates an
emotional connection with your audience and helps build a brand that
not only holds the attention of your customers, but inspires their loyalty.

A brand is the audience’s feeling about how a company or product

represents their core values and culture through its name, design and
messaging. It is bigger than the name alone, yet the right name reflects
and enhances the brand that it represents. Before we create a name, it is
vital that we fully understand your company and identify these important
values. Ultimately, when these creative elements represent the values
and goals strategically, and make that audience connection, a powerful
brand has been created. With this power comes measurable results for
your company or product and a long life for your name and brand.

Perfect harmony.

MESSAGING DESIGN

CULTURE brand STRATEGY

CORE VALUES PERCEPTION

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 THE PROCESS 2

Our naming process is comprised of eight steps: it starts with an analysis of the
business or product and ends with the application of the name to appropriate
marketing collateral. Steps 1-3 define the brand values that the name will represent.
Steps 4-6 generate, categorize, pre-screen and identify a short list of names. Lastly,
Steps 7 and 8 explore the name in creative context and finally, implement the chosen
name graphically into marketing collateral.

1 Who are you?

2 The Competition

3 Positioning

4 Name Development

5 Filtration

6 Trademark Prescreen

7 Creative Application

8 Name Implementation

“The right name is an advertisement in itself.”

— Claude C. Hopkins

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 THE PROCESS 3

1 Who are you?

Courtney & Company begins the naming process by analyzing your brand status.
We do this by asking you questions about your products or services, your customers,
your values and culture, your business goals and aspirations and the existing and
potential barriers that could prevent you from reaching them. We continue asking
questions until we know your business inside and out.

2 The Competition
Now that we know who you are, we take a close and critical look at your competi-
tion. Knowing all about them is an essential element in deciding where you fit in the
marketplace. We look at what your competitors are doing, where they are and where
you are in relation to them. We then present the results as a chart that reveals and
rates each competitor’s positioning, visibility and overall brand success.

3 Positioning
Now that we’ve defined your core values and goals, and know all about your
audience and your competitors, we analyze the information to establish your
distinctive position in the market. Your choice of name should be directly driven by
this positioning: the more precisely we define it, the more accurate and compelling
your name will be.
By the end of Step 3, we develop a Creative Brief that outlines your core values,
positioning and other important information relevant to the development of your
brand. It is agreed upon by all parties and then serves as an imperative guide to
everything we do moving forward.

4 Name Development
Now we brainstorm. We compose a large list of names from the research we’ve
done, observations we’ve made and suggestions we’ve heard. After creating this
initial list, we divide potential names into four categories, based on the different
ways they can be perceived by the audience (some names, of course, will fit into
more than one category). These are: Descriptive, Invented, Experiential
and Evocative.
[See figure 1.0 & 1.1 for detailed information]

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 THE 4 CATEGORIES 4

[figure 1.0, Name Development: The 4 Categories]

Descriptive
Descriptive names either relate directly to or describe a business’s service, prod-
uct, or approach, or consist of peoples’ names. Examples include General Motors,
Major League Baseball, and Mini Cooper.

Pro: Descriptive names tell the audience clearly who you are or what you do.
Con: In any particular line of business, the number of relevant descriptive words is
limited. Descriptive names can be easily repeated—often resulting in a name
that is barely distinguishable from those of your competitors. Names that
describe what you do also can lack flexibility—they no longer apply, and
can even cause confusion, if you start doing something else.

Invented
Invented names can include non-English derivatives (Greek or Latin roots have
recently been popular), or be created on the basis of their rhythm, sound and/or
appearance in print. Examples: Diageo, Accenture, Oreo, Vonage, Viagra.

Pro: Invented names can be memorable and engaging, are generally easy to trade-
mark and are usually free of negative connotations when first chosen. Oreo and
Viagra, for different reasons, are good examples of this.
Con: Invented names can be image-free and emotionally void or intrinsically
meaningless and so, if ill-chosen, resistant to the attachment of your message.
In such cases they may appear to have no connection to the company or
product to which they are attached. Unless you implement an extensive
marketing and advertising plan to give meaning to your invented name, it
may be difficult to create a well-recognized brand. Consumers will always ask,
“What does Accenture do?”

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 THE 4 CATEGORIES 5

[figure 1.1, Name Development: The 4 Categories, cont.]

EXPERIENTIAL
Experiential names offer a direct connection to the audience’s experience
rather than to what the company/product does. Examples: Ford Explorer, Silk,
True Value.

Pro: This type of name generally makes sense to the consumer as applied to a
product or company—for example, Ford Explorer suggests an adventure every
time you get into your SUV, Silk is s(oy m)ilk and it’s silky, True Value hardware
is priced right—and helps the consumer relate directly to the company
or product.
Con: Differentiation can be a problem. Because these names can be so obvious,
they can be overused. They may even be used across several industries.
(e.g. Netscape Navigator/Lincoln Navigator)

EVOCATIVE
Successful evocative names encapsulate, without actually describing, the essence
of a company or product — in other words, its positioning. These names are truly
unique, and when they work, they can be very powerful indeed.
Examples: Apple, Yahoo, Volkswagon Beetle.

Pro: This type of name is dissimilar to other names, making it a powerful differen-
tiator. It can work on many different levels, engage your audience in many
different ways, and it can be “bigger” than the goods and services for which
it is initially coined. Because of its distinctiveness, trademarking can be easier
than average. When an evocative name is in sync with your positioning, it is a
branding force that can dominate an industry.
Con: If it doesn’t fit with your positioning, an evocative name can be a disaster.
Even if it does fit, naysayers may find holes in it during the decision-
making process.

The Advantages of Evocative and Experiential names

In our experience at Courtney & Company, the more Evocative and Experiential
a name is in relationship to the positioning of the company or product it refers to,
the more it will engage its audience. Descriptive and Inventive names can also be
successful, as long as they connect to the customer in a relevant way; but as a name
never exists in a vacuum devoid of supporting materials it does not have to describe
your business or product. A name that is not descriptive is more adaptive to chang-
ing circumstances, and can, over time, become bigger than your current service
or product.

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 THE PROCESS 6

5 Filtration
Everyone has an opinion, and will certainly have one about a new name. Except in
the rarest cases, these opinions will naturally differ, and suggestions will be made.
To narrow down the choices as objectively as possible, Courtney & Company uses
a filtering system. We call this our Quality Clarification FilterTM, and it includes the
following seven criteria:

Distinctiveness
Does the name stand out, especially from those of your company or product’s
competitors? Does it separate well from surrounding words in speech and on the
page, or blend indistinguishably into them?

Brevity
Is the name short enough to stick in people’s minds? Could it be shortened to an
undesirable nickname?

Appropriateness
Is there a reasonable fit with your company’s business purpose or with the function
of the product? Are there negative connotations?

Easy Spelling and Pronunciation

Will most people be able to spell the name after hearing it spoken? Will they be
able to pronounce it after reading it?

Likability
Will people enjoy using the name? Names that are intellectually stimulating, “roll
off the tongue,” or make people smile, have a head start over those that don’t.

Extendibility
Does the name have “legs”? Will it sustain a number of different creative execu-
tions? Does it have the flexibility to accommodate additional business lines or
changes in business purpose?

Protectability
Can it be trademarked? Is it available for web use?

[See figure 2.0 for overview of The Process including The Quality Clarification Filter]

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 THE PROCESS CHART 7

[figure 2.0, The Process]

WHO ARE YOU?

THE COMPETITION

POSITIONING

NAME DEVELOPMENT

DESCRIPTIVE INVENTED EXPERIENTIAL EVOCATIVE

Quality Clarification FILTERtm

Distinctiveness

Brevity

Appropriateness

Easy Spelling and Pronunciation

Likability

Extendibility

Protectability

TRADEMARK PRESCREEN
{short list}

CREATIVE APPLICATION

{and the winner is...}

NAME IMPLEMENTATION

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 THE PROCESS 8

6 Trademark Prescreen
Once the strongest candidates are identified, we screen them to ensure that your company
would be able to trademark and use whichever one is ultimately chosen. There are several
levels of trademark screening: this first level allows us to eliminate obvious conflicts and to
continue the process without undue loss of time.
The names that pass successfully through this process form our first ‘short list’ of five to ten
choices. At this stage we present them to you for further narrowing down, to a maximum of
three, before moving forward.

7 Creative Application
An important part of the Courtney & Company naming process is the development of
creative materials to put potential name(s) in a meaningful context. These materials may
include photography, layouts, taglines and “mood boards” that help to express the impact
of the name and to communicate the story we are trying to tell. Presenting our ideas in this
way brings a new level of clarity to the decision-making process by allowing us to identify
the strengths and weaknesses of each of the candidate names. When these materials are
complete, we present them and the names to focus groups in order to gain the fullest
possible understanding of audience reaction to each.

8 Name Implementation
The moment of decision has now come, and you make your final choice. Once you have
done so, we develop taglines, arrange for the application for a trademark if necessary, and
draw up an overall definition of positioning and “brand essence.” By following a rigorous
naming process, we have together set the stage for a seamless and painless transition into
the creative process of developing your marketing collateral and overall messaging, and can
forge ahead without delay.

[See figure 3.0 for overview of Courtney & Company’s creative and strategic capabilities]

© Courtney & Co. 2006 Call us 212 594 1748 courtneyco.com

 CAPABILITIES 9

[figure 3.0, Capabilities]

NAMING
logotypes and marks
identity systems
identity guidelines PRINT & ONLINE MEDIA

PRINT

IDENTITY ADVERTISING

Brochures
ANNUAL REPORTS
PromotioNs
PackaginG
EVENT COLLATERAL

ONLINE /
MULTIMEDIA

WEBSITES
VIDEO
ANIMATION
PRESENTATION
HOSTING

COPYWRITING
CAMPAIGN DEVELOPMENT DIRECT
RESPONSE

MESSAGING DESIGN
LIST MANAGEMENT
PRINT & EMAIL

EXHIBITIONS
SIGNAGE
EVENTS

ENVIRONMENT

brand STRATEGY

integrated marketing plans

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
MEDIA PLANNING
VENDOR SOURCING
MANAGEMENT & EVALUATION

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 RESOURCES 10

Igor Naming and Brand Consultants, Igor Naming Guide, June 2006.
Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap, 2006.

© Courtney & Co. 2006 Call us 212 594 1748 courtneyco.com