How to create a great brand name | Jonathan Bell

Summary

In a world with over 300 million companies, finding a unique brand name is challenging. Jonathan Bell discusses the seven categories of brand names: eponymous, descriptive, acronym-based, real words, composite, invented, and abstract names. Understanding the type of name you want is essential, as is considering the big idea behind the name. Once you have a name in mind, ensure it's not already taken or has negative connotations in other languages. Using Alphabet as an example, Bell explains how a great brand name goes beyond just being a name—it's an idea that resonates emotionally and practically.

Highlights

• Jonathan Bell outlines 7 categories for brand names, helping define if you're more of an Apple or a Kleenex! 🍎
• Creating the perfect name involves aligning it with a big, emotionally appealing idea. This is your brand’s soul speaking! 🎯
• Avoid naming fails by triple-checking your name in every language possible. Avoid the toilet paper debacle! 🚽
• Alphabet's name is genius due to its playful, strategic elements and less reliance on just owning a domain. 🏆
• Finding a unique, real dictionary word for a brand name is like finding a unicorn these days, according to Bell. 🦄

Key Takeaways

• Understanding the seven categories of brand names is critical: eponymous, descriptive, acronyms, real words, composite, invented, and abstract names. 🤓
• Your brand name should reflect a big idea that resonates emotionally, rather than just describing the brand or its founders. 💡
• Ensure your chosen brand name isn't already in use and doesn't have unintended meanings in other languages. 🌎
• Alphabet's choice of name reflects a playful, strategic idea rather than just a business strategy. 🔤
• Domain ownership isn't as crucial as before, thanks to search engines and social media. 🌐

Overview

In today's saturated market of 300 million brands, crafting a standout name is more art than science. Jonathan Bell from TED Archive enlightens us on the nuanced world of brand naming, introducing us to seven distinct categories. Whether you're choosing an eponymous name like Disney or creating one from scratch, being informed on these categories is the first step in your naming quest.

Bell emphasizes the importance of emotion and big ideas when crafting your brand’s name. It's not just about what you do but what you stand for. Successful brands like Nike and Apple communicate their core values through their names, a testament to the power of not just seeing, but feeling a brand.

The journey doesn’t end when you pick a name! You're tasked with the meticulous process of ensuring it's available and free from embarrassing translations in any language. Bell shares the story of Alphabet's clever strategic naming despite domain challenges, highlighting a modern approach to naming in a digital age.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Challenge of Naming The introduction establishes the challenge of naming in a world with an estimated 300 million companies, from giants like Apple and Coca-Cola to small one-person businesses. With such saturation, creating a unique brand name is increasingly difficult. To successfully play the 'name game,' the text suggests beginning with three steps, the first of which is to select the type of name you want.
• 00:30 - 05:00: Types of Brand Names The chapter discusses the seven categories of brand names explaining how every brand falls into one of these categories. Eponymous names, such as Disney and Burberry, exemplify the founders' vision. Adidas and Tesla, though unique in origin, serve as tributes to individuals associated with the brand's history. Descriptive names, such as American Airlines, directly indicate what the brand offers or represents.
• 05:00 - 07:00: Deciding the Message and Checking Availability This chapter delves into the strategic processes behind choosing a company's name and ensuring its availability for use. It explores different naming conventions such as descriptive names, which directly convey what the company does, and acronyms, which are shortened versions of these descriptive names. The chapter highlights the challenges with descriptive names being difficult to own and protect. Examples are provided, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranding to KFC to create a healthier image, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank abbreviating to HSBC for global expansion. Real word names like 'Uber' and 'Slack' are also mentioned as a naming strategy.
• 07:00 - 10:00: Case Study: Alphabet The chapter explores the challenges of naming a company in a world with 300 million existing companies. It discusses how real words can be appealing for company names, but they are often already in use or difficult to find due to their scarcity in the dictionary. The text highlights the example of 'Uber', a name that literally means 'an outstanding example' and suits a company with broad ambitions beyond just ride-hailing. The chapter also touches upon the use of composite names, such as Facebook and Ray-Ban, which are created by combining two words for impact and memorability.

How to create a great brand name | Jonathan Bell Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 there are an estimated 300 million companies in the world today that's 300 million brands some brands as big as apple and coca-cola others are small as a one-person business with so many brands in the world it's getting harder to create and find a unique name so how do you create a great brand name how can you play and win the name game you start with three steps first select what type of name you want
• 00:30 - 01:00 there are seven different categories of names and pretty much every brand in the world falls within one of these seven categories eponymous names like disney and burberry work by embodying the vision and beliefs of their founders these names are okay if you're feeling lazy or just have a big ego adidas is more unique it's derived from addie dassler the company's founder and tesla wasn't created by nicola tesla he died in 1943 but the name is an homage to tesla's electrical engineering achievements descriptive names like american airlines
• 01:00 - 01:30 and the home depot work by telling you exactly what the company does but these names can be a mouthful and are much harder to own and protect acronyms like ge and bp are just shorthand versions of descriptive names some acronyms are more strategic kentucky fried chicken switched to kfc because fried chicken didn't sound too healthy and the hong kong and shanghai bank changed to eight that changed to hsbc to help the bank expand globally real words like uber and slack are
• 01:30 - 02:00 ripped right out of a dictionary and suggest attributes or benefits uber literally means an outstanding example so it works well for a company with big broad bold ambitions beyond ride hailing now real words might seem like good ideas but in a world of 300 million companies it's getting harder to find a name it's hard to find any real words left in a dictionary composite names like facebook and ray-ban are created by gluing two words together these names have a kind of one-two punch and can be really
• 02:00 - 02:30 memorable because it's so hard to find real words companies like kleenex and pinterest have invented names by changing adding or removing letters for impact now invented names can be highly unique but if you're not careful they can start to sound like pharmaceutical drugs or worse the name of a sofa from ikea associative names work by reflecting imagery meaning back to their back to the brand the amazon in south america is the world's largest river therefore the earth's biggest selection of books
• 02:30 - 03:00 clothes content and so on sirius is the brightest star therefore the radio channels where you can hear the brightest stars of music and entertainment and red bull associates to a drink with bull like qualities such as power and confidence some brands are derived from non-english languages like samsung which means three stars in korean lego means play well in danish zappos comes from the spanish word sapatos for shoes and hulu comes i bet you didn't know that hulu actually
• 03:00 - 03:30 comes from a chinese proverb a hulu is a bowl used to store precious things finally the seventh type is abstract names names like rolex and kodak these names have no intrinsic meaning but instead rely on the power of phonetics to create really powerful brand names okay so once you've decided what type of name you you want you need to decide what you want the name to say and look of course it's tempting to create names that talk about who created them or what you do or where you operate but the best
• 03:30 - 04:00 brand names don't don't describe they stand for a big idea ones that translates into emotional appeal nike is about winning gopros about heroism apple is about simplicity and usability and google comes from the math term that's a one with a hundred zeros after it so that really big number helps support the company's really big original vision to organize the world's information so as you think about your new brand think carefully and ask yourself what's your big idea
• 04:00 - 04:30 the third step is to check the name isn't already taken you might have to create hundreds of names perhaps thousands before you find one that's even available and of course don't forget to check the name means doesn't mean anything negative in other languages or countries the last thing you want is an embarrassing naming fail like this brand of toilet paper from sweden finally a few words about alphabet the parent company of google and now one of the world's most valuable companies much
• 04:30 - 05:00 has been said and written about the the business strategy but i'll say a few words about the name is alphabet a great name you bet first of all the name is an idea as we all know an alphabet is a set of letters that forms the basis of all language and communication second the name provides a playful link back to the companies underneath g for google c for calico n for nest x and so on third the name encourages wall street investors buy this stock and you're making an alpha bet one that will outperform others
• 05:00 - 05:30 and last of all the name is a real dictionary word which is a rare find these days now there was only one issue with alphabet car company bmw owned the url alphabet.com but you know here's the thing owningthe.com doesn't matter as much these days now that we find stuff through google search and we connect with brands through social media and smartphone apps so alphabet the company forgot about alphabet.com and instead found a shorter and more unique web address
• 05:30 - 06:00 abc.xyz thank you thank you jonathan