10 types of Brand Names you need to know.

The toughest task for us as a Branding agency is to name a company. Be it naming a new one or renaming someone who has existed for some time. Every day numerous names are trademarked and finding the perfect one that holds the soul and has not been taken challenges us the most.

The goal is to find a name that

• Expresses the Brand Personality

• Avoid stigmatized concepts

• Not hurt sentiments

• Holds the brand benefits

• And is available for URL

Every company has its own essence that reflects in its name and we as a brand agency take up this challenge to come up with names that are fun & creative.

PS: Just the name isn’t everything, a lot goes into Branding. But an ideal Brand Name definitely forms a pillar.

Let’s discuss each Brand Name type and how they are used.

The Eloquents

Also known as the descriptive ones. In these types, a little to no space is left for interpretation. These are long names that speak out the type of products &/or services offered by the company. These types rely mostly on taglines or overall personality to make visible impacts and find their spaces. While the upside is they make their intentions and visions very clear, the downside is that these names cripple the brand if it tries to diversify and try out new product or service lines.

• Singapore Symphony Orchestra

• Toys R Us

• The weather channels

• Amrut Single Malt

• Café Coffee Day

The Redolents

Redolents or the evocative brand names leave a lot of space for creative imaginations to tell a powerful Brand story. Original, innovative and creative, these brand names are bigger than the products or services offered by the company leaving a bigger margin for the company to diversify and expand.

• Nike

• Amazon

• Apple

• Coca Cola

The inventors

When no particular word describes you, you invent one. These names are usually conjured up from ancient, tribal or regional languages and modified to embody the Brand’s personality. These tricks play monumental roles in building a solid Brand Equity. These names are not easy to make but very convenient to remember forming an instant connection with the audience. The most challenging part is that these words have no particular inherent definitions, but the best part is you create your own definition.

• Kodak

• Adidas

• Google

The Semantics

The word plays are here. The semantics brand names sound like they came straight from Animes or Kids' books. With clever puns, phrases, onomatopoeia, and intentional misspellings, these names are created to stick in the audience's mind. These names are cute.

The only disadvantage is that they don’t really work with corporate Branding.But hey, never say never! Maybe someday we will come up with something Fun.

• Krazy Glue

• Dunkin' Donuts

• Krispy Kreme

The Acronymics

Acronymics are perhaps the most functional ones. These normally lack emotional connections as they do not have much in their names for the audience. These are hard to remember names if the brand is a start-up. What works for these types of brands is the consistency and history of quality products/services they have offered to create Brand Loyalty.

• IBM

• MTV

• BMW

The Terrains

Terrains or the geographicals are the brand names that were once upon a time tied to a region that have birthed them. These are mostly companies that initially aimed for a particular geographical space and eventually explored & diversified. They normally hold on to their roots while spreading across their services.

• Kentuky fried chicken

• American Airlines

• Nokia

• Adobe

The Creators

Names after the founders, that’s what these brand name types are. These are hard to position but when done right can create a legacy.

• Calvin Klein

• Ralph Lauren

• Ford

The Historicals

These brand names are associated with historical figures and characters which have no relation to the company but may indicate support of the company towards the particular historical figure.

• Tesla Motors

• Pink Floyd

The Contemporaries

These days, brands are taking up names where this meaning is to the product or service, but the words are compound and complex, have different meanings, and are open to interpretation. Promoting a modern brand name heavily is essential to ensure that people can recall it. For the brand name to be remembered by the customer, the presence of the product or service it offers should be felt everywhere.

• Snapchat

• Facebook (now Metaverse)

• Instagram

​The Motleys

Or the mixed types.

Those that combine one or more of the above categories. Telenor, for instance. Telenor is a Norwegian telecommunications company. The first part describes there are two parts of the report: the first part describes their work and their industry, which is telecom, and the second part describes their geography, which is Norway. The same would-be Linkin Park, a Lincoln Park-based music band. The term Forex is derived from the two words Foreign & Exchange.

Stay tuned for more.

#branding #brandstrategy #digitalmarketing

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