In marketing, the name of the brand has a big role to play. Customers often get attached to a brand name and this turns them into loyal customers for that brand. Once a brand association in the form of a name is developed, it tends to stick around. It is therefore necessary to research properly before deciding the name of a brand. Advertising, marketing and branding, all are strongly affected by a powerful brand name. A good brand name helps in two ways. First, it helps to differentiate the brand from other competing offerings. Second, it also helps to connect emotionally with the customer with just few words. It is therefore necessary to have a strong brand name which can be developed through a strong positioning strategy.
Types of Brand Names
Choosing an appropriate name for the brand comes under the process Of branding decision. Brand names can be of four types. These are as follows:
Individual Names: In this branding strategy, each category of product is given a different brand name. For example, Procter & Gamble uses this type of brand name, viz., Head & Shoulders, Pantene, (Hair care) Vicks (Healthcare), Whisper (Feminine Hygiene), etc. A very big benefit of this strategy is that the company’s brand image is not related to just one name, In case there is a problem in one product line, the repercussions are not felt in other product lines. Different products can have different brand names in the same product line differing in terms of pricing or quality or both.
Blanket Family Names: Tata chooses this branding Strategy. The group name is used for all the product lines of the company, viz., automobiles, salt, tea, coffee, etc. The advantage of this method is that the organisation is able to reap the benefits of scale. The company does not have to incur expenses on researching new brand names. In the case of Tata, the group name is strongly associated with trust. This has a major linkage with all the product lines of Tata. Other reasons for having an umbrella or blanket name can be high level Of innovation, expertise, etc.
Separate Family Names for all Products: Under this branding strategy, different brand names are used for different product lines. This strategy is extensively adopted by Aditya Birla Group. It uses different family names for different product lines, For example, Hindalco for Aluminium, Ultra Tech for Cement, Idea for Telecom, etc. This strategy is adopted where the product line of the company is well diversified
Corporate Name Combined With Individual product Names: Sometimes, the firm may also choose to combine the corporate name with the product name. For example, Kellogg’s Corn Sony Walkman, Apple iPhone, etc. The benefit of this method is dual. The corporate name reinforces the backing of the firm while the product name gives a distinct identity to the experience. Blanket family branding strategy is also called ‘branded house’ whereas individual name branding strategy is ‘house of brands. ‘ These can be said to form two opposite ends of the range of branding options in terns of brand name,
Brand Name Selection
Choosing a proper brand name can be considered both a science and an art. A good brand name should have the following features:
- A brand name has to be protected under the Trademark Law, so that it is not imitated.
- Consumers should be able to pronounce the name.
- Consumers should be able to remember and recall the name.
- The name should be easily identifiable.
- The name should be easily translated into all major languages and not have any negative meaning in any local language.
- The name should be able to gain the attention of the customers.
- The name should be such that it conveys the benefits Of the product like Easy, Gentile etc.
- It should suggest the corporate identity.
- It should be able to differentiate from other offerings in the market
- It has to be extremely eye catchy.
- It should have a distinctive presence amongst its peers.
Brand Name Taxonomy
Brand name taxonomy is as follows:
Descriptive: The name suggests the function in a very literal sense. For example, Indian Airlines, Globacom
Suggestive: The name indicates the function that the product provides. For example: iPhone, Dantkanti
Compounds: The name combines two or more unrelated words. For example: RedHat
Classical: The name is taken from the Greek, Latin or Sanskrit language. For example: Meritor
Arbitrary: These are actual words. However, they have no link with the company name. For example: Apple Inc.
Fanciful: These are fancy names with no direct meaning. For example: Avanade.
Brand Naming Procedure
Brand names can be decided in many ways. The general method which is adopted is as follows:
Define Objectives: The first step is to decide the objectives of the brand – with special emphasis on what values the brand name should stand for. It is also important to understand how the brand is placed amongst the hierarchy of brands and how the various brands of the organisation are related to each other. The place of the brand ill the whole marketing program of the organisation should also be decided.
Generate Names: Once the brand strategy is decided, the next Stage involves the ideation of all the brand names which can be thought of. The various sources from which the name can be generated should be considered and none should be left out. Some important sources are the internal management of the company, employees, customers (both existing and prospects), suppliers, name consultants and computerised programs developed for this purpose. This activity can generate a huge list of possible brand
Screen Initial Candidates: In the next stage, the screening of all the generated brand names takes place. The criterion is the list of objectives which have been generated in the first Step. For example, General Mills has the following criteria while deciding the names of brands:
- Discard all names which can be construed in different ways or have double meaning.
- Discard names that are difficult to pronounce, already exist or sound similar to an existing name.
- Discard names having some legal restrictions.
- Discard names that do not align With the positioning of the brand.
Once this is done, general Mills evaluates all the remaining names with their management team and marketing channel. This further narrows down the list of names. This final list is again checked for legal correctness.
Study Candidate Names: In the next stage, more information is gathered regarding the remaining names which are shortlisted. Before embarking on a market research, it is prudent to do a legal search. This saves valuable financial resources for the organisation. Firms often do this in a phased manner. They test brand names in a particular geography only when they have been cleared legally in another.
Research the Final Candidates: In this Stage, extensive consumer research is undertaken on the remaining names in terms of how easy the names are to comprehend, how relevant are they, etc. The consumer testing can be done in many forms. Some organisations show the consumer the actual product configuration while it is being tested. This will include the product, the packaging, the price and the promotion. They also test various concepts like three dimensional packaging or low cost animation in advertising etc. Typically, a large sample of customers is surveyed. This is done to capture the Wide geographical and regional differences that may exist. Marketers also test the recall of the brand name. They also check consumer response with respect to when the brand name is written versus when it is spoken.
Select the Final Name: Once all the steps are completed, the product team should choose the brand team which maximises the brand objectives. The last step is to get the brand name registered.
Most Common Brand Naming Mistakes
The naming mistakes are as follows:
- Selecting the name as a secondary activity.
- Not giving any heed to trademark or URL issues.
- Choosing a name which is irrelevant.
- Failing to recognise the strategic imponance of a blund name.
- Not looking at the process objectively.
- Ignoring the global impact of a brand name.
- Not paying sufficient importance of communicating the name within the organisation.
- Unnecessarily going through the naming procedure When it is not required.
- Considering brand naming to be a laid-back activity.
