Why hire a naming agency?

You are the client. You need a name, naming strategy or naming guidelines, and you need it fast. You only have so much money and don’t want to make a mistake, spend a lot, and have nothing in the end.

In terms of branding, naming isn’t really that expensive when compared to strategy, design, etc., BUT, I can understand why people are hesitant.

Here’s why …

Naming isn’t untouchable. You can actually attempt it. It’s not like design where your ability is probably very limited. And we’ll be honest, sometimes it CAN work, but, the likelihood of landing on a fresh idea that is available to trademark (own), is pretty slim. This is most likely because everyone approaches naming the same way, but you have to do it in a different way. It is easy to get “a name.” It is very hard to get a unique, ownable name.

What you are ultimately paying for is someone to put in a LOT of hours, make a LOT of names, have a discerning eye and the experience to navigate the process. It’s so much more than just words.

Vespertine believes in being honest. We tell clients that we’re going speak the truth, and we may not always agree, and that’s ok. We’ve been through hundreds of naming projects and this is what we’ve seen work the best. We’re not saying it’s the only way, but for most clients, this produces the best results.

We’re also going to throw in some questions you should ask when hiring an agency (see below).

Here is why you should hire a naming agency…

1.  The name is the most visible, long-lasting part of the brand.

If you want customers to pay attention, then it deserves your attention.

2. Send the right signal

You need a name to play a strategic role and convey a particular idea. What do you need this name to do? Does it need to stand out? Does it need to feel trustworthy? Can it be merely descriptive? Do you even need a name? Can we send that signal with semantics, linguistics, style, other branding elements, etc.? When I see an expected name or naming trend in the marketplace, it sends an unintended, undesired signal about your company, in addition to the intended signal.  

3. Get new ideas

Clients are busy. They either don’t have the time or capability to make a LOT of ideas. Also, do you really want to pay someone to look up synonyms and expected metaphors? You are very smart and can easily do this. You need “new” ideas.

4. Stress test

We can usually tell when someone doesn’t want a new name, and that is perfectly fine. Naming is the ultimate diagnostic. Sometimes you just aren’t sure and going through an established process will help confirm assumptions and provide rationale for upper management.

5. Efficiency

A good agency should know how to work effective and fast. We’ve trained many namers and certain people are good at certain tasks. It’s the same reason a band doesn’t have three drummers. The agency should deploy people appropriately. You don’t want four copywriters looking up the same ideas for one half-hour. We know where to look, how to look and what to choose. Also, helping clients really understand the process and focus on what is “working and why” vs. “what doesn’t work” is essential to momentum.  

6. Internal alignment

One of the first questions we ask in a kickoff is to describe the offering in one sentence. You wouldn’t believe how differently people see the offering and what signal the name should send. Going through the proper process helps clients align on what role the name needs to play so you can effectively review the work and sell it in.

7. Trademark guidance

In addition to decision making (see below), this is one of the most difficult aspects to understand. A good agency will help you get through this process. We are in the wild west of IP and people just launch with anything (until it’s a problem). We help you understand which words can be used and the repercussions of not adhering to trademark law. We always tell people, “Yes, you can USE that word, but owning it and standing out is different, so let’s make something new and memorable.”

8. Formalize the process

There is a bit of intended pomp and procedure to the process. This makes it “feel real” and instills the idea that decisions are coming, and they must be made.

9. Decision making

This is absolutely one of the biggest hurdles in naming and we’ve seen it derail many projects. In short, everyone involved in making the decision must be aware that naming is happening, what we need the name to do, and how the decision-making process will go. Your teammates deserve the respect of knowing what’s going on and what you need to accomplish. It’s also a great opportunity to reinforce that what you “like or dislike” is less important. What is most important is, “Does the name deliver on the strategic intent?”

10. Enjoyable

Naming is one of the more enjoyable aspects of branding. It should be exciting versus nerve-wracking. It’s something we can all weigh in on. Laugh and share ideas.

11. Worth the money

It’s hard to see this in the beginning but a good, timeless piece of IP is invaluable. You’ll most likely spend far more money and time if the proper steps are sidestepped.

12. Naming is branding, and that is different from advertising and marketing

It is always very surprising when a client hires an advertising or marketing agency to do naming. We completely understand why this happens though. “That is the building where young, fresh people make ideas.” This can be true, however, naming is very different from advertising and marketing. Put it this way, it’s the same as hiring a naming agency to make a TV commercial. Better yet, if you hire an ad or marketing agency, have them partner with a naming agency. We often work with partners, and it’s great.

13. Align the brand   

These are the traditional steps of branding and where naming fits in …

Brand platform →  brand architecture →  naming →  messaging (brand communications) →  design →  implementation →  research (can be interjected at several points)

Ideally, a new name, naming strategy and naming guidelines are all designed to express and guide the brand.

Here are some questions to ask when hiring a naming agency …

• What is your philosophy on naming?

  All agencies should be able to answer this for their discipline.

• What is your philosophy on making names?

  People never ask this and it’s quite telling.

• What style of name do you prefer, what are some of your favorite names?  

  Agencies have different styles. Personally, we won’t share anything we wouldn’t be proud to put on our website.

• Do you have criteria for what makes a good name?

There are universal criteria that should go without saying (easy to say, spell, etc.). These are completely standard and not worth mentioning. It’s like a designer saying the colors should look nice. What you want are specifics as to what makes a name really sing. For our agency, it means … the name should deliver on the desired strategic intent, it’s elegant and believable.

• What does your standard process look like?

Here is our approach. The process never really changes, but what should change is the range of fresh ideas.

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• How many hours do you spend naming and how many names do you make?

You do not want people going into a room for a half-hour “brainstorm” and that is the extent of the project. This happens ALL the time. You want many hours invested and thousands of names.  

• What have you named?

Look at their website, see the work they’ve done. Can you easily tell what they named? It drives us nuts when we can’t tell what kind of work has been done. I ran a website for a naming agency and people just want to know what names you have made for which big clients. Long-winded case studies are largely fantastical, people do not read them and always beware of the revisionist “name origin” stories.

• Who exactly makes the names?

You want professional namers. I’ve met some fabulous copy people but it’s a slightly different discipline, no disrespect.

• Do you do a preliminary trademark screen before you show the names?

  You don’t have to do this, but it is recommended. Again, just pointing out what “works the most.”

• How can you get my client team to align on what we want?

  Your agency should be guiding you through this.

• What do you do that is different?

You must make names in a different way. We take a counter-intuitive approach. You need to find ideas that others can’t. And you need a LOT of ideas.

• What do you think about modern trends in naming?

Trends go away. Names should be timeless.

• Do you think we need a trademark? Global?

Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you don’t even need a name. They should tell you the truth based on your situation.

• How much experience do you have in brand architecture and naming strategy?

“Naming architecture, naming system/framework/strategy” is really brand architecture. Here’s how it works. Yes, we can guide you through broad considerations and suggestions, but there is a science to this as well.

Please reach out, we are here to help. Even if we don’t work together, we can point you in the right direction!