Navigate a New Brand Name in Eight Steps

Picture the scene – you have an aligned leadership team around a powerful new brand story. Everyone is excited for the future and the changes it is going to bring. A member of the team speaks up, “But the current brand name doesn’t align with our new story. Do we change it?” There is a unanimous “yes” at which point everyone looks at me, and my first response is, “Get ready, this is going to be painful and expensive if you don’t manage it properly.”

I don’t mean to be negative as it should be an exciting process, but I have seen naming projects go off the rails so many times, and it sours the overall brand transformation process. But there is a process, one that demands a strong decision-making model, transparency, and inclusion. I should point out: if you have a clear decision-maker and they don’t care about getting input from others, then stop reading now. However, if that decision-maker wants to make sure they are doing their due diligence, read on.

There are three things you will need to achieve to ensure a smooth path to a decision on a name: 1) Your Brand Story, 2) Input from key stakeholders, and 3) A great lawyer.

Step One – Assess Your Competition
Your name is the most frequently used brand entry point and opportunity to tell your story; it’s likely the most important brand activation you are going to define. The first step is to look at your competition. This will guide where the opportunities are to differentiate.

Step Two – Identify Key Stakeholders
Who do you need input from to make sure you’re getting diverse feedback, and who do you think will be significantly affected by the decision? It may be your sales teams, customer service team, or even a select number of customers. You will need to keep coming back to them throughout this process. As the saying goes, “If you don’t get me on the takeoff, you won’t get me on the landing.” You need to make these teams feel like they have a part in this process; otherwise, no matter what the name is, they will hate it.

Step Three – Decide On A Name Type
There are lots of different types of names, and some are appropriate for your brand, and some are not. Assess which categories offer the biggest opportunity for differentiation and success. Here are the seven categories I use: descriptive, evocative, invented, lexical, acronym, geographical, founder. You might want to use your stakeholder group to get input on the name category selection. It is a great way to introduce weird and wonderful names in the market today to begin to get them comfortable with change.

Step Four – Fill The Funnel
I have a rule: For every name, you will need 100 ideas. This process quickly becomes a process of elimination. Use the brand story as a way to inspire 100 names. Limit those names to the name type and make sure they are different from your competitors. Here is a helpful hint: This is a strategic task, not a creative copywriting task. With that in mind, I have found that you do not always need copywriters; I have seen more success from strategic thinkers in this space than creatives.

Step Five – The Process of Elimination
A core group of people needs to begin to eliminate names based on the brand story, competition, and results of the input from the name types discussion. Grade your name based on these categories: is it different, brief, appropriate, easy to spell, feel good to say, have good creative opportunities and legally defensible. Get the list down to 20.

Step Six – The Lawyer Takes Over
Do not fall in love with a name until the lawyer tells you to. This is so important I will tell you to read it again. They need to conduct trademark searches to make sure you can move forward with the names. I have seen people skip this step, present names to the stakeholders, and then have to go back to the drawing board because the lawyer said “no.” Your lawyer will conduct two types of searches for you: 1) high-level and 2) deep dive. Get them to do a high-level search on the 20 selected names. This will eliminate a further 60% of the list.

Step Seven – Get Input on The Remaining Names
Here is where you can begin to share the names with a clear rationale and how it connects to the story. Share the process to date, and remind them of how we got to this point. Look for input that is a red flag, such as inappropriate meanings of words. You will never get unanimous yes on names; you have to stay as objective as possible.

Step Eight – Deep Dive on the Remaining Names
After the input session, your list will likely be down to three to five names. The lawyer has still not told you to fall in love with a name, so hold off. They will take those names and execute a deep dive risk assessment. None of the names will be risk-free, but the level of risk can influence the final decision. Better to go into that knowing what you are dealing with.

Now you should have everything you need to make a decision. A brand story that guides why the name is what it is, input gathered from key stakeholders at critical times in the process, and guidance from the lawyer on what can and can’t be used and the risks associated.

 It’s at this point you are allowed to fall in love with a name.