I’m jumping on the band wagon…but who can blame me, the news is everywhere, people are excited and it’s a first see for the younger British generation. I’m of course talking about the Royal Baby.
This week, baby George Alexander Louis was born. The moment the name was revealed a good number of people said ‘I guessed George’ –why is that? Is it because we are all psychic geniuses or is it because it is likely to be a name of such stature?
A name is based on values. The values of Will and Kate. The values of what makes the Royal Family, the Royal Family.
Like it or not, the Royal Family are a brand. They represent what Britain is about and they have certain values that make them what they are. For me, two key values that thrive from each member of the Royal family are tradition and family. Therefore, choosing a traditional name, that runs in the family doesn’t come as a surprise.
It works the same way with all brands. A brand name is fundamental to the way a brand is perceived. A brand name tells a story. A brand name gives us all the information you need to make a decision about that company in only 1 or 2 words.
Brand names come from a few different places, depending on our brand values.
1. Name derived from doing what they say on the tin:
Travelodge – a lodge for travellers;
National Health Service (NHS) – a health service for the Nation;
Sellotape – combining the words Cellophane and tape.
2. Selling a USP or emotion, what people ‘buy in’ to the brand for:
Silent Night – get a good night’s sleep;
KwikFit – fit your car quickly;
Lego – a little more subtle but the same principle – derived from ‘Leg Godt’, Danish for ‘Play Well’. Lego also means ‘I Put Together’ in Latin.
3. Personal brands based on something that means something to the founder or the company:
Adobe – Adobe Creek ran behind the co- founders house;
Nike – names after the Greek Goddess of victory- the tick symbolises the swoosh of her flight.
4. Names of the founder- using the name of the owner, founder, or parent company:
Hoover – named after Henry Hoover;
Adidas – named after Adolf (Adi) Dassler;
Ebay – Echo Bay Technology Group founded ebay, when the echobay.com url was taken they shortened it to ebay.
5. Logical strategy where a brand is named logically through either ingredients or other means:
Coca Cola- made from coca leaves and cola nuts; Amazon – wanted to begin with A so would appear top in an alphabetical list…chose Amazon as it is the biggest river in world and big is where the company wanted to be;
There’s one more category that I haven’t listed. Quirky names. Those names based on a value of wanting to be different, wanting to stand out. The likes of Orange that don’t seem to relate to the brand itself. The reason I have not listed this as a category is that I believe ‘Orange’ meant something somewhere down the line, and there’s a logic behind the naming of the brand.
From Adobe to baby Prince George Alexander Louis, there’s logic in where names come from. A name strongly aligns with the values of a brand, and represent the brand as a first touchpoint. Where did your brand name come from?
Emma Dobson is a creative thinker, branding expert and Touch Point guru at Happy Creative, a full service marketing agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
