Archives for August 2020

Home Depot got its start in 1978. It broke into the marketplace as a no-fuss one-stop-shop for everything related to home improvement, decorating, and DIY. Far from the pretentious perfection that many other brands were portraying back in the day, Home Depot decided to brand themselves as approachable, laid-back, and the warehouse where DIY solutions and bargains are readily available. So, they chose a simple and straightforward e-commerce business name idea: Home Depot. 

What’s in the name “Home Depot”?

Home Depot is a straightforward no-frills business name idea. The definition of the word depot is as follows: “a place for the storage of large quantities of equipment, food, or goods. Or, a place where buses, trains, or other vehicles are housed and maintained and from which they are dispatched for service.”

Home Depot immediately brings to mind a warehouse that is probably abundantly stocked with items for the home – it’s a DIYer’s dream come true. They’ve played well on both definitions there, the first one suggesting abundance, the second definition of the word depot plays into the thought that has gone into their branding. 

Home Depot branding

That big orange sign has become synonymous with DIY and home improvement. Home Depot explains the inspiration: “The team developed a logo inspired by crates used to transport freight, keeping in line with the “depot” theme. Stamped at an upright angle to symbolize success and christened in orange to help simulate activity, the logo has aimed to inspire more doing since its debut.”

Home Depot started when founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank got the boot at their place of employment. They wanted to start a brand that’s unpretentious, raw, and provided the abundance of no-frills and no-fuss DIY tools and materials. The bright colors not only stimulate creativity, as they suggested, but also gives the brand a memorable element to it. No one can forget the iconically bright hue. 

Home Depot’s statement regarding stimulating creativity through their use of color is incredibly insightful. It indicates that they have an in-depth understanding of their target market. DIY and home improvement, on face value, appears to be handyman and task-related. In actual fact, when you’re working on a home to improve its appearance, there’s a great deal of creativity involved. Home improvement, design and decorating make a house a DIYer’s blank canvas. As a business name idea, Home Depot is memorable and simple.  

Home Depot encourages their shoppers to exercise their creativity and experiment with brave new ideas. 

Home Depot’s target audience

We’ve mentioned home-improvement enthusiasts and DIYers. Their target market includes a wide range of people, since people from every walk of life live in a house. The most prolific shoppers that love to get their hands dirty and enjoy some recreational DIY tasks around the house tend to be young couples. 

Newly weds, couples welcoming a new baby into the family, couples that are moving house, and those purchasing their first home together. Since these people spend a significant amount of time researching the “look” they want to create, they’re not likely to want ready-made and fancy solutions. They want fairly neutral materials that enable them to create what they’ve envisioned. Home Depot’s brand speaks to those who value the ability to customize their look. 

The “Depot” element in their business name idea speaks to their target audience. It’s raw. It’s blank. It’s suggestive of abundance in terms of choice and variety. 

What we can learn from Home Depot’s business name idea

Their goal was to be different. They were not the first, the biggest, or the most unique retailer in their niche but they wanted to meet the needs of their target audience. It helps that both founders were experienced in the industry and had been client-facing – they understood what people visiting their stores really wanted. Their success comes from that. The genuine desire to make it easier for the average DIYer to get what he or she might need. 

In the age where business name ideas – whether it be for schools, brands, art, or music bands – don’t have to make sense or reveal anything of the namesake, the meaning of names can get confusing. Speaking of strange business name ideas, think of Amazon and Apple, neither of them reveals anything of the brand they represent and yet they’ve become household names. Thinking of Amazon as a rainforest is almost secondary to the online marketplace that goes by the same name. Redbubble is another brand that’s going places in the digital world, but the cryptic name gives almost no clue as to what their services might relate to. 

What kind of brand settles on Redbubble as its best business name idea?

Redbubble is a platform that unites creatives and artists with clients, enabling the buyers to select the art they want and have it printed on a clothing item. Redbubble provides the safe and secure meeting point for the transaction to occur, and they facilitate the actual printing and sending process, enabling relatives to do what creatives do best – create – without having to worry about the administrative headaches. Redbubble enables buyers to create the t-shirt design they really want, using the creative works of artists. Much like Etsy, artists start by opening a store where they can display their wares. Buyers can peruse the items displayed in various stores until they find a million-dollar idea that seals the deal. Unlike Etsy, Redbubble handles everything outside of the artistic work, making the entire process easy for all parties involved. Redbubble’s biggest claim to fame is the uniqueness of their art. The works often spark controversy and stay true to the true culture of art – to ignite feelings in the viewer, whether those feelings are positive or negative depends on the individual. 

The Rise Of Artsy Business Name Ideas

Not long ago, the rise of punk rock and teenage bands raging from their parent’s garage brought a surge of seriously strange names. Brands like “Bowling For Soup” and “Simple Plan” were all the rage, and it seemed, the stranger the name the more they were favored. In fact, the very name of the group had to speak an artistic or thoughtful truth of some sort. The name had to make a statement and illicit feelings in the audience. Many of the names were seemingly random – like they were an ensemble of random words drawn from a hat. All of that started with a simple band name that conveyed a powerful sentiment. The name of a musical group, an art establishment, or a business name idea that promotes alternative beauty sets the tone and creates expectations among consumers. What kind of expectation and tone does “Redbubble” set, as a business name idea? 

Why Visual Business Name Ideas Are So Powerful

Redbubble is one of the very visual business name ideas, and rightly so as it’s associated with art. Red is one of the most iconic colors when we think of something vibrant and bright – like art. In art, red is also highly favored for its symbolism, it represents danger and blood, passion and courage, as well as featuring quite prominently in pop culture where contrast is valued. Bubbles are equally iconic – they represent daydreams and fantasies, and also feature in art in various ways. 

Have you heard another visual name that really grabs your attention? When your line of work relates to sensory stuff – like art, food or music, a brand name that contains rich sensory elements can go a long way in creating a catchy name that clearly conveys your creativity.