Your Brand Name should Reflect Your Brand Story
About one year ago, a client came to us with a problem. He wanted to start his own fashion apparel brand for women in India. He had a lot of vague ideas but did not know where to begin the process of making this new brand. During the course of discussion he described with absolute clarity how he designed his apparels. We listened with fascination as brought his ideal woman to life with minute descriptions of how she would be dressed.
Inspired by his unique ability we decided to come up with a name for this woman. Her name was Ragonic. A combination of designer’s name Rahul and his iconic woman, hence Ragonic.
Your brand story deserves an a brand name that captures it. Your brand deserves a brand name that is unique and has a message in it.
With our vast experience working with in the SME sector we have noticed how little thought proprietors give to selecting their brand name . Their callousness is appalling. Your brand is your work, naming it appropriately is showing that work respect. Here are a few things that we keep in mind while coming up with relevant and impactful brand names.
Account For Acoustics
There is no point in keeping a brand name that is too complicated to pronounce. This happens often in the SMEs sector. Especially, in the fashion and engineering sectors where in an effort to sound ‘foreign’ brands come up with names that are too complex for a common Indian person.
Case In Point:
When an Iron and steel manufacturer approached us with question of their Brand Name we suggested is ‘Metalogic’. A simple combination of the words Metal and Logic the name subtly highlight’s the brand’s expertise. The most important aspect of the name is its acoustics. Metalogic is very easy to say and therefore, easy to remember.
Think Local Before You Go Global
The city where the brand intends to be operational matters a lot in picking a brand name. The brand name needs to blend in perfectly with the milieu of the city and its ethos.
Case in Point:
A furniture chain in Indore wanted to change its name. Research suggested that its name G-shanti made the brand come across not as a modern retail chain but as a small local store. To give position the brand as a key player in furniture market we suggested the name Urban Daily. The name was an effort to tap into the aspirational and tech-savvy Indori youth. The tech-savvy name ‘Urban Daily’ heralded the furnishings chain into modern category and the result was greater footfalls into the store.
Factor In The Semiotics
Symbols have a deep impact on human psyche. It is the reason why political parties invest so much in building statues and monuments. Semiotics is a study of such symbols and their impact on the psyche. Semiotics is rooted in lived experiences. It is about how culture respond to symbols. Your brand name is your symbol and you need to factor in semiotics to gain traction in the market.
Case in Point
A start with a unique idea for selling clothes and accessories for children wanted a brand name. We took the into consideration the semiotics of childhood and we took into consideration the fact that the decision makers were adults but the target audience where children. The brand intended to target markets across India, however its primary focus was the North. We suggested the name ‘Lukka Chhupi’. The iconic game of hide & seek strikes a chord across the ages. It has a universal appeal and is directly associated with childhood and innocence. This unique name perfectly encapsulated the thought behind the brand and the client was extremely happy with it.
Trend Setters & Trend Followers
There are two types of brand names. Certain brands are poised to become a legacy, while others merely follow the latest trends and are soon forgotten. The best example of legacy brand names would be Amul, Raymond ext. While their branding has now become a part of the national culture, their legacy started with a perfect and simple name.
Case in Point:
When Kesar Tea company approached us to brand their flagship Tea brand we did a thorough research on tea brands across the country. On basis of our research we suggested the name a unique name ‘Red Rhino’. The red colour is the colour of the perfectly brewed cup of tea and Rhino is an symbolises Assam, the place from where the tea leaves are bought from. The unique brand has built a niche audience for itself and has been growing successfully for the last one year.
Emotion And Logic
The two basic drivers of the human mind are emotion and logic. Important thing is knowing what to be emotional about and what to be logical about. Most SMEs chose their brand name as per their emotion. They need to be logical about their names and factor in the customer’s emotions.
Case in Point
Samarth Services was a company that specialised in steralization cleaning. A B2B brand that often worked with biggest names in the medical industry had a name based on the religious beliefs of the proprietor. This diminished their brand perception as their name did highlight the amazing service they provided. On the basis of our research we suggested the name ‘S Clean’ and the brand has managed to bag in new clients ever since.
Legacy Brands
Certain names carry a legacy with them and should not be changed. The best examples of this are Bhagat Tarachand and Keventers. Both the brands have established themselves in the market and need not change their names. However in certain cases product rebranding might be required to tap in to the benefits of being legacy brands.
Case in Point
Tayyabi is a 200-year-old unani medicine brand. They had the same names for the medicine for the last 100 years. The audience obviously could not connect to the names of these old medicines. So we suggested new names to the client with each name making the purpose of the medicine clear to the target audience.
Branding begins with the brand name. Brand names are the first impressions of a brand. It has to catch the essence of the brand identity in it. Remember the old adage “First impression is the last impression” or if you get it right “first impression will be a lasting impression”. Brand name is everything after all the man who coined the famous phrase “What’s in a name?” was Shake-sphere.
