What’s in a name?

GNN | May 24, 2017, 1:11 PM IST|

Plenty! – If the time and effort spent by companies in coining a name for their company or product or service is anything to go by. In today’s world, brand creation is swift but then it is outdone by brand duplication. For every Rs.3000/- PUMA shoes there will always be a cheaper Rs.300/-‘POMA’ shoes with minute differences. Therefore the name should be such that it needs no introduction, little explanation and high retention.
Let us now go deeper into the name game. Brand names follow many styles. Some brands keep it simple by describing the product benefit or function a la ‘Head n Shoulders’ or ‘Food World’ or ‘Volkswagon’, a few others go by the name of their founders. Names like ‘Haldiram’s, and ‘Tata’ are the best indicators of this style of naming. There is also a separate interesting category of companies who choose to play with alliteration and rhyme like ‘You Tube’, ‘Reese’s pieces’ and so on.
The human brain is hardwired to respond to and store visual imagery. Making the most of this, companies choose names that evoke a vivid image like ‘Apple’, ‘BlackBerry’, ‘Jaguar’, ‘Amazon’ etc where people automatically start visualizing an Apple fruit or Amazon forest. However, it is hard to miss the most prominent style of naming, the Acronym style, like‘KFC’, ‘IBM’, ’BBC’, and ‘DTDC’, who are successful in letting the acronym stay in the mind although many do not really get the expansion right.
If curiosity kills the cat then neologism kills the human mind. Some companies always go against the flow. They go an extra mile and create their own new names. The best examples to illustrate this are ‘Google’ and ‘Kodak’ – Both these words are invented and have become household names now. Some companies choose unique names which are selected for a special reason such as ‘Cisco’ which takes its name from San Fran‘cisco’ and ‘SUN’ which was named by the alumni of ‘S’tanford ‘U’niversity ‘N’etwork.
Some brand names have carved a niche for themselves so much so that it has become pop culture where the brand name becomes a generic term for a product or service such as ‘Band-Aid’, ‘Dettol’ or ‘Xerox’, which are often used to describe any kind of adhesive bandages, antiseptic solution and taking photocopies respectively. We hardly say ‘take a photocopy’. Most Indians would always say ‘take a Xerox’.
Whatever be the style, the main aim is to make the brand name memorable because at the end of the day if the customer can't remember the name of your product, the chances that he or she will search for it are slim to none. And it is for this foremost reason that the ‘naming ceremony’ is of utmost importance. Who will emerge as the victor in the name game? Only time will tell.
Courtesy – Urja Setu
Chaitanya Ayyadevara
Officer (Process)
GSPC