Originally published in the Houston Business Journal, February 12, 2007
Choosing a Name is deceptively difficult.
Many think coming up with a name for a company or product or service should be simple. Some may even think it’s not even very important, convinced there are “bigger’ issues than “naming” to wrestle with when launching a company or product or service.
The issues surrounding the naming of Houston’s new major league soccer team, however, highlight a fact that is all too frequently overlooked. Choosing a new product, service or company name can be extremely important. The process is a surprisingly delicate balance of art and science.
The original team name of Houston 1836, chosen by the mostly white management of the club, was thoughtfully chosen as a way of honoring the year of the city’s founding by primarily white settlers from the American South. But the proposed name provoked a contentious and highly public outcry within powerful and influential members of the local Hispanic community who argued that the name served as a divisive reminder of alleged oppression faced by many in the Mexican population as a result of white rule in Texas. And is the depiction of Sam Houston in the logo pointing to Mexico, suggesting ‘go back home’ to the Mexicans? Add to that the fact that soccer’s fan base is overwhelmingly Hispanic and you’ve got a real problem. This was a terrible blunder on the part of management. And as a result of the controversy and threats of a Hispanic boycott of the club, team officials eventually changed the name to the less offensive name, Houston Dynamo.
This decision in turn led to a backlash among some white supporters of the new club who claimed that team officials had given in to the forces of “political correctness” by changing the name.
Apart from those concerns, I question what does “dynamo” have to do with “Houston”? It seems dynamo would be more appropriate for Dallas. “Big D” –Dynamo.
What does the Name mean?
With all the activity and issues surrounding an introduction, it’s often easy to forget that the resides in the mind of the end consumer. Not in the marketing department. Not in management. Not with the founders. A name is a market-based asset. It can also be a liability. It generally does not appear on the balance sheet and although intangible, is very powerful. It is an asset that can be created, developed, leveraged and valued. It can also be ignored – and its value squandered.
As the most powerful condensation of your brand’s message, the name must rise above the noise in the marketplace and resonate with all your constituencies.
More importantly however, is whether it effectively supports (whether it telegraphs or evokes) your brand’s promise, story, and spirit. When your brand can inspire, motivate or persuade the people who matter to your business’s success, you can compete. It’s your brand’s name that initiates the critical relationship between your brand and audience. Name your brand carefully.
The Name is a Clue.
Brilliant names represent a brand. They point the way. They create expectations that can “pre-sell” and pre-dispose a customer to buy. They imply a promise that will be met in the experience. Most of all, they enlighten. And that’s where expertise succeeds and guesswork fails.
Effective branding hinges on congruency. It’s finding the thread of commonality that exists in an organization and then defining that quality in as simple and natural terms as possible, both visually and verbally. Congruency creates alignment; which in turn increases the power of attraction. Rather than coercing clients to buy products and services, customers gravitate toward them because they are intuitively named, defined and presented in a way that is uniquely resonant.
More profit. Greater congruency. Smoother sailing. That’s what’s possible.
Differentiate and Resonate.
So how do you express differentiation, capture target, and provide benefit when creating your new brand name? To be successful, there are several critical attributes business leaders should consider very carefully. All too often, companies rush to market with a new name without adequate consideration of these six important attributes:
Memorability
• Can the target market recall the new name after seeing it just once? If not, how many times do they need to hear/see it? This impacts the financial investment required. How much time and money will be necessary to implant the word in the minds of your audience?
Latent Association
• What positive, and negative, associations does the name connote? Is its meaning appropriate in key languages? A classic blunder of this kind occurred a few years ago when Chevrolet named a new car Nova. This name was fine in English, but when they introduced the car in Spanish speaking countries they were met with ridicule because the word means “does not go” in Spanish.
Pronounceability
• Can the target easily pronounce it? In addition to sticking in the mind, it must easily roll off the tongue. And it must do so in all key languages. Any similar sounding names that may have a negative impact or that may produce embarrassment must be discovered early.
Emotional Resonance
• Does the name emotionally connect with the target market? If appropriate, is the name aspirational? This can create a powerful bond with the audience.
Appropriateness
• Which name candidate best positions the product, service or company it represents? For a consumer oriented product or service, it frequently seems like a good idea to offer a list of possibilities and then have the public vote on them to arrive at a “winner” but this almost never works as intended because the public does not have a solid understanding of the brand goals, attributes, marketing objectives nor the vision of the business.
Availability
• Is the name legally available and can it be owned and protected? In an age when products and services are being offered at breakneck pace, this could be the most difficult test.
And always allow enough time to conduct the proper due diligence ahead of a launch. Mistakes caught after a launch are much more costly to correct – both financially as well as from an image point of view.
Naming is getting more difficult every day. And it’s becoming more valuable every day. But with intelligence and creativity, a powerful name can still be created. We look forward to your comment and opinion.
Tags: Branding, communications strategy, company symbol, Dynamo, Houston, influencing purchase decisions, Logo Design, Naming, sports branding
Speaking of pronouncability: how do you pronounce pronouncability?
Thank you for the article, I actually learned something.
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I am really thankful for this blog because it really gives useful information.
Great post. I always advise clients to shoot for “suggestive” names because they are protectable as trademarks, but do not require as much investment of marketing resources as do arbitrary or fanciful brands. Yes, a completely made-up word is highly protectable from a trademark perspective, but it also costs a lot more money to build the brand connection in the mind of the consumer. Why do you think pharmaceutical companies create such strange names? Because they have the money to invest in marketing, and when they do, they need strong, distinctive trademark awareness and protection.
Yes, I agree with you, Dynamo would be a better name for Big “D” Dallas, ha!
Excellent list of items to keep in mind when selecting a name.