Chapter 3: Choosing a Name & Creating a Brand - Laying The Foundation

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CHOOSING A NAME & CREATING A BRAND. 

In this chapter we’re going to discuss the ins & outs of CREATING A BRAND, and what role the NAME of it does, and doesn’t play.

Brand name: 

1. What it means (and doesn’t mean) to the brand.
2. How to choose it. 
3. How to define and grow its meaning. 
4. How to avoid conflict with potential competitors in the trademark space.

Ideally the name of the brand will describe the lifestyle, or the mission surrounding the brand, either specifically and literally, or broadly and abstractly. It should be crisp, easy to say, and memorable.

The more clear it is in the mind of the viewer of what exactly the company stands for, the easier it will be for them to identify with it and get on board. If the name takes a lot of explaining, or doesn’t tie in well with the brand itself, it will be harder for the brand to gain traction because it will be harder for people to understand what it’s about.

In a perfect world, the name should be short, easy to remember, and hopefully, available with a .com and all social media handles clean and clear. In today’s busy online landscape though, that e-commerce digital real-estate is hard to come by, so one option is to simply make up a word.

This has worked great for some brands whose names mean literally nothing, or were made up as a combination of various other words and names, but are now household brands. For example Volcom, RVCA, Pepsi, Walmart, etc.

None of those words existed prior to the brand creating the name. This also helps a lot when applying for trademark protection, as you’re much more likely to have an open field rather than roadblocks and potential conflicts when it comes time to register your brand name. 

However, this approach is not without its risks and challenges.

Now, here are some benefits and drawbacks to using a made up word as a name.

Total guide is 9 pages long and includes a Checklist Worksheet on Page 9.