Surely you have wondered what is behind the success and appeal of brands such as Netflix, Twitter, Apple, Facebook, Coca Cola … What would you say if they told you that much of this is simply due to the power of words to attract the attention of consumers? Yes, that’s right, and at PVS we tell you why choosing the right brand name is an intrinsic part of a good marketing strategy.
The creative process by which the name of the brands is designated is called Naming, which is in charge of generating their basic differentiator through the inclusion of characteristic words of their essence in the composition of their names.
For instance. In creating the name Netflix, the word “Net” derived from the Internet was taken into account, and “Flix” which is an abbreviated version of flicks, a word that in English is synonymous with movie. In the case of Coca Cola it is exactly the same, “Coca” refers to the coca leaves present in the ingredients of the drink and “Cola” for the cola nut that is responsible for the characteristic flavor of this soft drink.
Just like these, there are many more brands that started from their name to project their image and capture the attention of their customers. But, composition is not the only way to apply Naming, as there are also the following four categories.
One of them is the Descriptive one, which clearly positions the brand and makes it easier for consumers to identify and choose their products and / or services. A clear example of this are namings such as Telefónica, Gas Natural …
There are also Acronyms, which are created from the union of the initial letters of the ideas proposed for brand names. This generates an advantage in terms of recall and phonetics, because they are names that are easy to say and easy to remember. An example of this are brands such as HP, IBM, BMW …
On the other hand, there are the Abstracts, which are born from invented but very powerful words. These namings have both their advantages and disadvantages, since being words created and non-existent previously, they have a certain gap in the association with other things in the minds of consumers, but they can be positioned as product names in general. An example of this are brands such as Colgate, Aspirin, Bom Bom Bun …
There are also Evocative namings, they are configured as disruptive neologisms within a sector and can define a new category (iPhone, iPad, iCloud). They are very inspiring and greatly facilitate creativity, have greater recording possibilities and enjoy greater flexibility.
Finally for PVS this process of creation and categorization of namings is proposed from four stages.
The first, the Briefing, which consists of holding a client – agency meeting to clarify the competitive advantages and essential aspects of the brand to work with. The second, Brainstorming, which supports the creative process of invention and composition of different possible names for the company. The Filter comprises the third stage, in which options are chosen and discarded to find the ideal name. And finally, Availability is taken into account, as a verification of the freedom of the name and the possibility of registration.
And have you already thought of some creative naming for your brand? Let us know in the comments.
August 28, 2019