David Askaripour

September 15th, 2006 at 12:02 pm

Choosing a brand name is definitely a difficult task. In this day and age I believe that a brand name really needs to be unique and even “weird” if you will. You have to think outside of the box. I personally use an approach of flooding my head with all types of ideas, shapes, and images derived from the dictionary, random books, signs on the street, notes that I have taken, basically absorbing anything in my surroundings.

I then take all of that random information and try to process it and focus it to the aim of my company or service. I think about my target audience and begin shaping and molding these fragmented pieces of information into a real concepts.

It’s something that you need to work on constantly. If you set off to build a brand in your head, then you’re subconscious will be put on auto-drive 24/7 and your mind will start putting together the pieces – it’ll come to you, trust me!

Just keep on absorbing.

Angela Gilltrap

September 17th, 2006 at 1:13 pm

It’s an interesting question and one that does need considerable thought. I was pondering an answer over the weekend when I was flicking through a magazine and came across a new make up brand called - Photo Finish. What a perfect brand name. It’s billed as a make up primer, no doubt it’s just a bit of vaseline mixed with something else but the brand name, personified everything that a woman buying make up wants: to look like the models in magazines as they do in their photo shoots. Those two words, Photo Finish, elicit an emotional reaction in consumers who are looking for ways for their skin to appear more polished, airbrushed even.

So I think if you can keep in mind what your target audience is ultimately after and personify that in a brand name you are set. Think of Sarah Jessica Parker’s perfume ‘Lovely’, which I might add has done double the original quota pulling in around $60 million. Are consumers buying the scent of an actor who was once on a TV show? No they are buying what her most famous character, Carrie, personified - independance, fun and glamor.

Now this is easier said than done I realize, but not difficult when you sit down and really focus on what your consumers want. You may need to do some in depth research but that can only add to your overall success.

Best of luck

Mind Petals: Young Entrepreneur Network » Blog Archive » More on Brand Naming

September 21st, 2006 at 10:21 am

[...] Recently a fellow entrepreneur asked a great question about brand naming (ask an entrepreneur column), basically how do you go about it. To define the actual steps you go through when thinking of a name for your brand can be quite difficult so I let the question hang around in the recesses of my mind. [...]