Why brand name matter?

1. What are the factors behind for choosing a
Brand Name?
By:
Paresh Munjani
Batch (2019-21)
B.K. School of Management
Gujarat University

2. What’s in a name?
• A brand name is a name given to a brand to identify and differentiate it from
others.
• People tend to label everything to make it more identifiable and differentiated.
They assume various brand values, associations, image, positioning, etc. just after
encountering the name of the brand. Hence choosing a good brand name is vital.
• Brand names come in many styles. i.e. initialism, descriptive, founders' names,
personification, portmanteau, neologisms, etc.

3. Factors behind for choosing a Brand Name
• A product is built by the company while the brand is built by the consumers. It’s
the power of communication which builds a brand. Any communication whether
B2C, B2B, C2C, or C2B which relates to the brand involves its brand name.
• A research showed that if customers feel that the brand name is easy and a good
fit, they’ll remember it better and even like it more. The brand gets an advantage
of word of mouth marketing.
• E.g. Fitbit, The name Fitbit itself communicate about the product they are
offering, which are fitness products.
Communication

4. Association
• In case of brands, its the company who builds the meaning of the brand name
through the products, marketing activities, and associations.
• E.g. Nike, which sounds a very cool, is actually a the Greek goddess of victory.
• It is not even important to look for actual words. New words which have phonetic
symbolism, that describes the brand philosophy / product best. These new words
act as a blank slate on which a meaning can be written by the brand.

5. Trademarking & Domain availability
• Although making your business name official is one of the last steps, before
becoming too attached to a business name, company should make sure the name
is available for registration.
• Arbitrary and fanciful terms are more likely to be trademarked where generic
and merely descriptive words are less likely.
• One of the most important steps in choosing of a internet based business name is
making sure the domain name is available. Without a domain name, business will
have no presence on the Internet.

6. Product/Philosophy Reflection
• Brand names that reflect a philosophy instead of a product category may not
immediately communicate what they sell. But most consumers would get
engaged with the brand in trying to find out what the name stands for.
• It certainly offers the employees an opportunity to talk about their brand’s
philosophy and hence helps the brand in public relations. E.g. – Meru,
Entrepreneur, etc.
• However Product reflection in the brand name helps consumers to associate the
brand to that specific niche and they get the hint of the services provided by that
brand. E.g.. – Zomato, Big Basket, etc.

7. Connotation
• Different words can have different connotations to different people.
• Brand should be certain that the brand name is composed of strong, positive or
descriptive words that won’t trigger any types of negative emotion. If we’re going
to start as a niche brand it might help our brand if we connote the category in our
brand name as the consumers will instantly associate us to that niche. Again,
there’s no proof that if we connote our product category as per brand name, then
we will not be able to diversify your profile.
• E.g. Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) besides selling 81% of total cigarettes in India,
also has its business in Food, lifestyle apparel, stationary, hotels, and other
sectors. Similarly, Dunkin’ Donuts are more famous in India for their burgers than
their doughnuts.

8. Icon/Image Source - https://icon-icons.com/, https://iconscout.com/
https://www.adherecreative.com/blog/bid/152486/
Dahlen, Michael; Lange, Fedrick; Smith, Terry (2010). Marketing Communication: A
brand narrative approach. John Wiley & Sons.
http://www.marketingmo.com/creative-brand-development/how-to-choose-a-
great-brand-name/