Does your existing name have negative associations?
Sometimes a name can be a roadblock due to its association with a controversial product or ablack period in the company’s history. If the association is strong, any effort to regainmomentum or move forward may prove to be extremely difficult. For example:The Philip Morris name is equivalent to cigarettes. The decision to change the name to Altria,helped disassociate the holding company from the negative image of cigarettes, indicating that itis made up of several other brands beyond cigarettes.
Has the .com bust made you rethink your naming strategy?
In today’s reality, “seussical” names, such as kozmo.com and zap.com are often associatedwith the downfall of e-commerce. Many companies that had made a move to trendier names arechanging their names back to their original ones. For example:Wunderman Cato Johnson had initially changed its name to Impiric to reflect the new, future-forward personality. It recently went back to Wunderman since it realized that the old name hada lot of equity in the marketplace that the new name lacked.
Does your existing name have legal issues?
With virtually every word in the English dictionaryregistered, the legal battle is getting tougher and tougher. In this case, a name change may beforced onto the organization due to trademark conflicts. Securing a trademark is an extremelyexpensive process. This is why a thorough legal investigation during name development cansave you a lot of money in the future.If any of the above sounds familiar, perhaps it is time you invested in a name change. Here aresome critical elements to consider in order to ensure a successful and smooth transition to anew name:
Look two steps ahead, not one
First and foremost, you should identify the long-term business objectives, with the intent tocreate a name for tomorrow and not just for today. Spend enough time analyzing the market,identifying opportunities for differentiation and setting the appropriate strategic namingobjectives to be used for the name evaluation process. In today’s highly competitiveenvironment, the strongest brands are the ones that transcend the physical attributes of aproduct or service to form an emotional connection with the customer.
Think creatively
The key in name creation is to think outside the box and not be tempted to play in the comfortzone of your competition. Look for inspiration outside your category and learn from completelyunrelated brands. Names created in this way have the advantage of being more readilyavailable from a trademark perspective since they go beyond the common category descriptorsinto fresher territory. At the same time, be realistic, and make sure that you have a well-plannedand well-executed communications campaign to support the new name. Think of “Verizon” andits potential for failure if the new name wasn’t supported by one of the biggest and smartestmarketing campaigns in the history of branding.
Avoid the “my wife said” syndrome
When it comes to evaluating the names, avoid subjectivity. And for God’s sake, don’t let bed talkdetermine the future of your business –whether it is a wife, husband or a life partner for thatmatter. Do not evaluate the names based on a like/ dislike basis, but more on an “fit to concept”scale. Remember the strategic objectives you set up at the beginning of your process? Now isthe time to use them. Check each name against these criteria. Also remember that names that
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