You’re probably overthinking your brand name

Companies often spend weeks, months, even years trying to find the perfect name for their brand. Even I’ve been guilty of this, going through a wide range of different names.

But this is a mistake. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t put thought into your brand name – you need to make sure it’s distinct, you need to make sure it isn’t offensive, and you need to think about the implications.

But, when we look at the most successful brands out there, none of them are particularly clever. Here’s the top five most valuable:

Apple

Google

Microsoft

Amazon

Nvidia

The value of these brands is due to a huge range of factors – but the actual name itself is relatively small.

For Apple the brand is all about the tone and voice. Heck, it has a bit of a confused name. With Macintosh messing things a bit.

But when you think about Apple what do you think of?

You think of quality, the sleek finish of the products, the clean white look, and the logo.

This delivers an emotion.

For the likes of Google it’s all about the colour scheme. It is consistently used across the Alphabet product range

Stepping outside of the list and to another hugely successful brand: the BBC. Their name has been unchanged for 105 years! And the current branding approach has been in place for nearly 30 years.

When we think about brands, we think about the whole picture.

That’s not just your colour scheme, it’s not just the tone, it’s how the company operates and the quality of its products.

Sometimes a company thinks that changing name can create a fresh start, can wipe away past sins, or is a shortcut to success.

But your name can only do so much. So don’t overthink it, and instead spend the time looking at the overall strategy for your marketing, and your business, instead of going through countless iterations of your name.

Need help with identifying the opportunities for improvement in your brand? Why not book a free consultation here.