Observations: Creating Effective Brand Names: A Study of the Naming Process

Abstract

Brands with strong images are able to influence customers’ choices and command a premium in the marketplace. A brand name is the foundation of a brand’s image. While the image associated with a brand name can be built with advertising over time, brand managers realize that a carefully created and chosen name can bring inherent and immediate value to the brand. The process companies use to create, evaluate, and select new brand names is described in this paper. Results from a survey of 101 companies indicate that brand names are critical to the success of a new product; consumer and industrial goods companies place similar emphasis on the brand-naming task; and a detailed and systematic process is used in the creation of the brand names. Of concern, however, is that managers often compromise the objectivity of the task by shortcutting the evaluation process.