Brand Naming: 5 Considerations

Brand names are incredibly important: the brand name sets the tone and style for the rest of the brand communication and can become a valuable asset to a company when developed with care. Your brand name conveys who you are to the public. The brand name selection process and brand building strategy is an important part of your overall branding, and thus requires a thorough evaluation.

Here are 5 considerations to keep in mind for brand naming process:

1. Purpose

Before the process of brand naming for a company or product, there needs to be a fundamental definition of its purpose in going to market.

2. Environmental Scan and Competitive Analysis

Trends in technology and market dynamics are examples of environmental forces with which you must contend with when creating a name. Competition is also an important force. Effective branding requires a complete understanding and analysis of the workings of the environment and the competition. If you are creating a social network, you're not going to call it BlueBird because of the obvious similarities to Twitter.

3. Value Proposition

The value proposition expands the core concept for the company and product and lays claim to an undisputed space within a target market, making your company/product/service easily understood. The value proposition serves as the foundation of the marketing framework from which further positioning and naming strategy can be developed.

4. Positioning

Positioning is the location occupied by a company or product in its respective market to its competition. It is the short answer as to why your company or product is different. It is important to create a brand positioning strategy that is clear and consistent with customer perception and tells the customer the benefits the brand offers them.

5. Customer Profile

An essential aspect of a company's positioning is knowing the customer. This goes beyond the identification of the target market and into the specific profile and mindset of the typical end user.‍

Remember that your brand name should be consistent with your brand strategy.

To learn more about how ParkerWhite creates brand strategies for companies in the health, wellness, and active lifestyle industries, check out our 5D Branding process.