NAMING TERMS AND STRATEGIES

 

• EVOCATIVE NAME
• DESCRIPTIVE NAME
• EMPTY VESSEL / PURE BRAND
• COMPARATIVE BRAND
• ACCEPTANCE BRAND
• ENTERTAINMENT BRAND
• UTILITY BRAND
• DISRUPTIVE / UNCONVENTIONAL
• TRANSACTIONAL
• Co-BRAND / NESTING STRATEGY

 

Open Vessel Brand Name

A name or symbol used to identify a seller's goods or services and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Ultimately, this is a name which is unique and carries a good deal of ownership. Xerox and Starbucks are examples. On their own, they have little literal meaning. These names, if truly unique, can offer the strongest possible trademarks and become the most valued.

 

Descriptive Name

A name which literally describes a product, service, or company. Descriptive names, such as Workgroup and Pacific Gas and Electric, have content, but often are not protectable by themselves as trademarks. Descriptive names require less investment to gain understanding of the value associated, but are problematic in terms of differentiation and ownership. We can use Descriptive names in conjunction with pure brands to gain the best advantage of both... eg. “Xerox Workgroup Server”.

 

Suggestive Name

A name built on or utilizing words or word parts which suggest or refer to the goods or services, but do not literally describe them. Oracle and Safeway are suggestive. Suggestive names are often protect able (unlike descriptive names), but may be weaker as trademarks than coined/fanciful or arbitrary names

 

Naming Architecture

The strategic analysis and development of optimal relationship structures among multiple levels of company, brand, product, and feature names. A naming architecture specifies and organizes the naming relationships among a company's brands, products, services, divisions, subsidiaries, etc. A well-conceived nomenclature system will accommodate company growth, and provide guidance for future product and service names.

 

 

Tagline or Descriptor

A descriptor literally describes the product or service being identified. A brand name used with a variety of descriptors across a product line is often a more economic strategy than that of giving every product or service its own proprietary name.  A descriptor can deliver the advantages of a brand name with the descriptiveness required to gain traction in new markets. With a strong brand, product names can become more descriptive -as in Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, or a Ford F150 Truck

 

Linguistics

The study of the structure and development of language. Linguistics encompasses Form (grammar), meaning (semantics)  and context (syntax), Morphology addresses the formation of words.  The study of language meaning is concerned with how languages employ logical structures and real-world references to convey, process and assign meaning, as well as to manage and resolve ambiguity. This subfield encompasses semantics (how meaning is inferred from words and concepts) and pragmatics (how meaning is inferred from context). Syntax (the formation and composition of phrases and sentences from these words), and phonology (sound systems). Phonetics is a related branch of linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds, non-speech sounds, and how they are produced and perceived.

 

Morpheme

In linguistics, any word or word part that conveys meaning, cannot be divided into smaller elements and usually occurs in a variety of contexts with relatively stable meaning. CARE, COMMU, ACT etc.

 

Consonant Cluster

A series of consonants pronounced together, e.g. /str/ in "string."

 

Psycholinguistics

The study of how language is understood and interpreted and how and why the individual responds to discrete aspects of language.

 

Phonetic Transparency

A word or name that is spelled as it is spoken - the pronunciation is clear and repeatable. Phonetic transparency allows verbal and other purely auditory transmissions of the brand to have integrity. This includes mobile, radio and TV broadcast clarity and even ultimately ease of web-based search - as spelling can be an issue to getting found online.

 

Service Mark

Similar to a trademark but used to refer to services rather than goods. May be denoted by SM prior to registration (like TM); denoted by ® once registered.

 

Sound Symbolism

The study of the relationship between the sound of an of a word or name and its meaning - even implied meaning. The word OBOE sounds more round and soft than KIKI, perhaps more friendly, but less energetic.

 

Trademark

A word, phrase, slogan, design or symbol used to identify goods and distinguish them from competitive products. Trademarks may be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and similar offices worldwide. However, in the US and in other countries with legal systems based on English common law, trademark rights also accrue through common law usage .

 

Domain

A top level domain is a suffix set aside by ICANN for use on the world wide web as are reserved for specific uses. com, .net, .org etc) Most all of the short, memorable names for all TLDs are currently reserved. There are numerous marketplaces and procedures where domains can be acquired.  Knowledge of the laws and policies of ICANN are essential to negotiating domain acquisition. Domains are hosted with domain Registrars, for which there is an annual fee. The Registrar essentially keeps a database telling where a specific name points to in terms of an IP address (similar to the way a phone book translates names to phone numbers). Domain Name System (DNS)  is a hierarchical naming system built on a distributed database and is often a separate service - indexing which server a name is associated with and can be included as part of the hosting of a website.

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