What’s in a name?

Hello my name is

Hello my name is

A company’s name acts as a form of promotion for that company–it’s “brand” or mark distinguishing it from its competitors. In fact, a company brand name can make or break that company within its first year depending on public response. Using creativity when coming up with a name for your company is necessary to produce a name that not only represents your company, product and/or service(s), but also invokes a positive emotional response from your target audience; By doing this right, you can help foster a connection to your company and brand for years to come.

By using a dull or uninspiring name, you risk appearing lackadaisical or uninterested. This in turn could translate into a negative image of your company and it’s products.

Sometime a name drops out of the sky and hits you with the force of a punch, other times it creeps up on you, lightly tapping your shoulder, looking for attention. Your name should tell a story about who you are and what you do. It should create an instant connection with your client that screams, “This is who we are and this is why you love it!” Names aren’t always real words either. Often times it is a completely made up bit of gibberish that roles off the tongue in just such a fashion that it triggers the right response on the tongue or in the ear. Sometimes thinking outside the box will light that spark that is key to standing out.

Sometimes names hit and stick, and other times they are the result of tweaking and pulling throughout the years. While consistency is important with a brand, it’s not always the end all and be all. Companies like Nissan (formerly Datsun) LG (formerly Lucky & Goldstar Inc.) came to theirs through strategic re-branding in order to generate more appeal in increasingly complex and competitive markets.

To finish off, I’d like to leave you with a few of the most notable brand names out there with a little background on where they came from and how they got here.

3M The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company used to sell mineral corundrum to manufacturers of grinding wheels. They changed their name to 3M when the company changed its focus to innovative new products
7-11 7-11 was originally named U-Tote’m in 1946. They changed the name to aptly introduce their new business hours.
Adobe Adobe, a company close to our heart due to it’s invaluable software that helps make our work possible was named for Adobe Creek. This small river ran behind the house of co-founder John Warnock
Coca-Cola No name list would be complete with including Coca-Cola, which was named for the coca leaves and kola nuts that were used for flavouring in the original recipe.
LEgo The name Lego was conceived from the Danish “leg godt” which means to “play well”.