What’s In A Name?
I often get asked how important a brand name is. Companies can spend so much time and resources in naming a product, service or themselves. Is it worth it when you have examples of accidental names becoming iconic…Google’s infamous story of misspelling “Googol,” the mathematical term for the number 10100, or 1 followed by 100 zeros. It was supposed to signify the vast results a search would yield. But today, “Google” is synonymous with endless possibilities. Does it matter that they got it “wrong” out the gate?
Then there are coined names like Wanelo that took the first 2 letters of “Want”, “Need” and “Love” to create a name for a site full of products that trigger desire. And Airbnb coined their name when they slapped together an offering to rent their empty apartment sparsely furnished with an air mattress. “Air” (for air mattress) + “bnb” (for Bed & Breakfast). The playful name never hindered their growth. Does it matter if few know the meaning of a brand name?
While I do believe that a bad name won’t sink a good brand and a good name can’t save a bad brand, a good name WITH a good brand will only accelerate its success. The examples above are more the exception than the rule. A well thought out name should hit on various components to create a timeless world-class brand:
Ideally, it should have meaning that gives a glimpse into the user benefit and value proposition.
It should be easy to remember and spell. Careful consideration should be given to upper and lower case letters. It may seem nit-picky, but it’s important.
Perhaps most importantly, it should be broad enough to define what you do today and encompass how you’ll grow in the future, product and geography wise.
As for domains, it’s virtually impossible to get a .com without paying a squatter some amount of money. However, a strong search campaign will bring your brand to the top of results, so it’s not much of an issue.
Your brand name is your company’s first impression. While ideally names are discovered in context with their logos and companies, they also live in black and white print in an email or press release. So a name has to have weight and meaning standing all on its own. You could say there’s a lot riding on it.
I have had experience in creating, editing, replacing, and deciding not to modify brands. Here are a few insights into what worked and what didn’t.
CREATE
I cofounded a couple of startups, NousDecor and DesignerInc, whose names were clever and meaningful, but one name was more problematic than the other.
NousDecor, was an online interior design service with an internal design team that knocked out incredible designs using proprietary technology. Upon initial launch, however, it was a platform for the community to help one another with their home decor projects. The name combined “nous,” the French word for “we,” with “decor” to signify that this was an inclusive space, where the community could support one another and share ideas.
It ended up that few people understood what “nous” (pronounced no͞o) meant and often mispronounced it as “noose,” something we wanted no association with. Some users thought it was Greek, with “nous” meaning intelligent. While that would have been a positive attribute, it gave an entirely different meaning. The original spelling was nousDECOR, which looked clean and iconic in print. However, it became messy and confusing in longer written format, especially at the start of sentences. When Liz Gannes covered us in Recode, she didn’t know whether the ‘n’ should be capitalized or not and simply wrote it as “NousDecor”. We adopted the new spelling immediately.
NousDecor had deep meaning, but it was confusing and hard to spell. We eventually pivoted the business to B2B trade-only design marketplace and named it DesignerInc. The name conveyed the business of design and was easy to say and remember. And bonus…the domain was available at a low cost.
REVISE
Sometimes, a brand needs just a little tweak to make it work more broadly. YouTube has got to be one of the best named startups ever. Chad Hurley nailed it. But eventually, the tagline “Broadcast Yourself” became an issue as the company internationalized. The tagline worked beautifully in English with its double entendre…“Broadcasting yourself” meant putting yourself in front of the camera and letting your voice be heard and possibly lead you to fame. It also meant that you could be behind the camera and upload your work and be the next discovered hot director.
Unfortunately, this was lost in translation and distracted from the strength of the brand on its own. I made the case to have the tagline removed and argued that it was no longer needed. It supported the brand in the early days, but became a detractor. Consumers can become upset and vocal when you mess with something they love, but after a lot of deliberation and 1% testing to gauge reaction, we eventually dropped it. And guess what…the change was largely unnoticed.
CHANGE
As a marketer, naming and defining the brand foundation is one of the most exciting parts of a brand’s journey. That being said, it’s not always what’s needed. Rebranding is expensive. Costs are not just limited to the brand strategy & design agency, but also the cost to switch out branding across the website, all sales and marketing assets, signage, new emails addresses, etc.. You’ll need to invest again in SEO and SEM to ensure your new brand is easily found. And you don’t want to throw out any positive brand equity you’ve accumulated over time. It’s worthwhile to invest in a little research to see if it’s needed. Client conversations, user focus groups, and even online surveys can help you understand what the tradeoff would be and whether it’s worth it.
However, there are occasions when rebranding is merited. This was the case for Oh My Green, a “concierge-style” provider of healthy food to corporations. The name was thought up in a quick brainstorm session among a small group of family and friends years ago, and it stuck. It wasn’t an issue when it was just a small business. As the clientele grew and became more sophisticated, larger funding rounds were gained, and the media paid more attention, the cheeky name came off more sophomoric. The name didn’t have much meaning, the OMG acronym was a bit embarrassing, and it became challenging to be taken seriously in certain venues. In this case, a complete rebranding was worth the investment.
The new name built off the founder’s story of how he learned to eat well early on from his retired medical doctor grandmother in Germany. She always advised that the best medicine was to eat straight from the garden. And thus came the inspiration of Garten, the German word for “garden.” It speaks to the mission of healthy living as well the products offered. There were so many beautiful ways to execute the design that was a welcomed upgrade. Lastly, communicating the change was an easy narrative. The company was evolving and wanted a more mature way to represent itself.
You may wonder what is behind the name First Leaf. I thought you’d never ask! A first leaf is the initial sign of healthy growth in nature. The early promise of what is to come. In addition, “leaf” in French is “feuille” and also means “page”, so it also has the added meaning of the first page of your story.
Developing a strong marketing foundation early on that tells a compelling story is critical for young companies. From brand naming, to marketing strategy and execution, let First Leaf help your company establish healthy growth and thrive.