How Tech Brands Got Their Names
You’re a sophisticated marketer. You know that great names aren’t scribbled on a cocktail napkin at an impromptu brainstorming session after work. You’ve run your list through a preliminary trademark screen and you’re ready to pull the trigger. But have you done a linguistic check?
Laurel Sutton is one of the co-founders of Catchword, a Bay Area naming firm. She now focuses her expertise on linguistic analysis at Sutton Strategy (suttonstrategy.com).
I can’t believe it, but I launched my naming blog over four years ago. At the time, I was working for a startup in Seattle and was inspired by the entrepreneurial energy. I made the commitment to launch a blog, but there seemed to be a blog for everything, even strange things like, Ryan Gosling’s Disneyland Cats, so I set a few requirements to structure it.
Adam Lang is the founder and editor of Rewind & Capture. He is passionate about creative marketing, design and brand etymology.
For too long, I’ve been thinking about testing the creative engines behind four crowdsourcing naming platforms, but have continuously backed down because I was having a hard time spending over $1,000 on a brand name for a fictitious company.
Adam Lang is the founder and editor of Rewind & Capture. He is passionate about creative marketing, design and brand etymology.
I’ll just come out and say it, there are a lot of unknowns when starting a company. Early stage founders are forced to enter unfamiliar territories, make gut instincts and wear multiple hats in order to keep this ship sailing in the right direction. One of these early obstacles is coming up with memorable brand name. And while choosing a business name may come easy for some, for most, it can be a lingering headache.
Annelise Schoups is a contributor at Rewind & Capture. With a degree in journalism, experience in public relations, and an education in travel, she is passionate about cultivating knowledge and storytelling.
There’s no magic formula for choosing a brand name. To make matters worse, even when you discover what you think is the perfect name, you’ll continuously second guess yourself. Most understand the basics of forming a memorable brand name: keep it simple, short, unique, flexible and easy to pronounce. But then it starts to get a little grey. Should it be suggestive or descriptive? Empty vessel or compound? Acronym or misspelled? Or perhaps a real word like Apple or Amazon?
Adam Lang is the founder and editor of Rewind & Capture. He is passionate about creative marketing, design and brand etymology.