Naming
It starts with a name that sticks. A name that fits your story, sounds good and can travel to new markets.
It starts with a name that sticks. A name that fits your story, sounds good and can travel to new markets.
It starts with a name that sticks. A name that fits your story, sounds good and can travel to new markets. Substantiated, explored and tested.
Framework
What does the name need to do? In which languages and markets, with which associations, and how does it relate to the rest of the portfolio?
Generate
Several directions. AI helps with breadth, the selection remains human work.
Filter
Pronounceability, unwanted meanings, domain names, company register and trademark classes. Of a hundred names, usually five to ten survive.
Test
The survivors in context: on a façade, in a sentence, on the phone, next to the competition.
Secure
A recommendation with rationale and the results of the availability research, ready for your trademark attorney.
Available.
Pronounceable.<br>Meaningful.
Hardly any name is all three at once, and that is where the work lies. A new name is on the table for a new company or a new activity, for a merger where neither name can stay, when a name is not legally tenable or has become factually wrong, and for a product line that has to stand on its own. In all other cases, it is smarter to keep the name and change the meaning around it. We say that too.
Does this sound like your situation?
Tell us briefly what's going on. The first conversation is free and, at worst, gives you a second opinion.
In practice
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to change our name?
Usually not. Changing a name is the most expensive intervention there is and rarely necessary. It is only on the table when the name has become factually wrong, is not legally tenable or doesn't work internationally.
Should we keep the family name?
In most cases, yes. That name is often your biggest asset built up in the market. The question is rather what the name should come to mean, and whether it needs to be equally prominent everywhere. With internationalisation or a planned sale, the trade-off changes.
Can we suggest names ourselves?
Gladly. Internal suggestions are often full of knowledge about the company. We put them through the same filters, with no preference for what comes from us.
Do you also handle the trademark registration?
We do the preparatory research and deliver the file. The registration itself goes through a trademark attorney or lawyer, and we work smoothly with whoever you use.
How long does naming take?
Four to eight weeks, depending on the number of markets and languages and on how quickly the availability checks come back.