In the current business and marketing environment, having a positive brand name can make a big difference. It is the introduction, the attention-grabbing opening line that introduces a company to potential customers, and the basis for marketing presence.
But with such a selection on the table, which name is the best choice for your brand? Worry not, we have listed 10 types of brand names that would give you better perspective. Whether an origin name that alludes to a business’ origin or a playful name that creates a splash of fun in the market, each approach has its positives and negatives.
Come with us on our journey towards exploring brand names concepts so that you can determine which might be most beneficial to you.
Descriptive names
Descriptive brand names are not too complicated and indicative of what the brand provides. This can include two or more words that describe your product or brand.
These names are quite ordinary and there is nothing unique or creative about them. Your name tells consumers what you do and what you sell. The negative is that if your business grows later your name cannot be changed to sell a different commodity.
Several brands have descriptive names, such as Netflix and PayPal, which tell you what they do.
Emotive names
Emotive brand names are a powerful branding strategy that leverages emotions to create a strong connection with consumers. These names evoke feelings, associations, and experiences, resonating deeply with the target audience.
Emotive brand names create strong associations with personality, purpose, and values. This helps to differentiate the brand and attract a specific customer group. However, a con of emotive names is that they might lack context for new customers when a brand is just starting out. This requires additional efforts to establish recognition and understanding among the audience.
Emotive brand names include Uber and Fortune, LIC that people can instantly relate to.
Acronym names
Acronym brand names are popular and have specific strengths and weaknesses. The naming of companies in this category is often necessary, for example after merger or change.
A positive aspect of acronym brand names is that they allow a person to convey the entire business name through a single word. This is relatively easy to remember. But the downside with using acronyms as names is that customers do not develop any kind of emotional attachment or association with the name since it is largely meaningless letters without any underlying connection to the company’s identity and goals as would be the case with other choices.
Acronym brand names include H&M (from founders Hennes and Mauritz) and IBM (short for International Business Machines).
Traditional names
Positive associations with brand names that have been around for a long time create the perception of higher quality and durability, thus justifying the high prices purchasers are willing to pay for a well-made product.
The names tend to be built using a standard vocabulary of terms in use on commonly understood notions to present an average and global appeal.
One positive thing about traditional brand names is that they pass on power and tradition to businesses such as banking, law, or luxury goods. However, there are some disadvantages of such traditional names: they can tell clients that they are an old-fashioned and out of touch with the current trends and wishes.
Some classic examples are Tata Group, SBI, and HUL.
Invented names
There are no such names, and these names have no roots and meaning in real life thus companies have a free spot to define their identity.
It is worth mentioning that sometimes even invented brand names can tell a lot about creativity and innovation in branding.
Invented brand names are unique and easily trademarked. This means that businesses can establish a brand identity. Among the disadvantages of the chosen method is the difficulty of recognizing a brand whose name cannot be easily pronounced or is unfamiliar.
Brands that have been developed, such as IKEA, Yahoo and Xerox are examples of successful brands.
Keyword domain names
Keyword domain brand names use keywords in the form of the brand name of the site for the domain name which makes it easy for users to identify the content of a site. These names have a positive SEO effect as they directly point to the main topic of the website or a particular page.
The main advantage of keyword brand names is that they help the site gain position in a certain keyword. This is so that more users will be able to find it easily. However, the drawback with these names is that they may appear less memorable and less branded than other kinds of domain names.
Keyword domain brands include examples like shaadi.com, policybazaar.com, naukri.com
Evocative names
Such names are essential in branding as they emotionally appeal to customers. Their descriptions are not merely descriptive but embody the soul of human experience that immortalizes the readers’ message.
The power of evocative brand names is that they can create an emotional attachment with people and increase their attention and interest in the brand. But another weakness concerning the above names is that their meanings may sometimes be ambiguous or interpreted differently depending on the feeling toward a name.
Some of the most successful brand names illustrate the nature of the concept in question: Dove (for ‘purity’ and ‘beauty’), Apple (for ‘simplicity’ and ‘innovation’), Amazon (for ‘vastness’ and ‘variety’).
Lexical names
Lexical names are a fascinating way to articulate brand names using word plays and puns. These names may use puns, alliteration, misspellings or foreign words for their catchy titles.
The positive side of lexical brand names is that they can be humorous and attractive and friendly. This is not corporate and intimidating. However, their disadvantage is that they might be too childish for corporate branding.
Examples of successful lexical brand names include Furlenco and Flipkart and Freecharge.
Alphanumeric names
Alphanumeric brand names are a creative combination of alphabets and digits to create a brand name. By using the numerical part of the name, new names can convey information or values related to the brand.
Alphanumeric names are unique and easily recognizable in a highly competitive market because they combine letters and numbers. But the one negative aspect is that the name can become confusing and vague if it is not suitable for the brand and audience.
Examples of successful alphanumeric brand names include 7UP, 3M India, and 99acres.
Compound names
Compound names are words that consist of two or more words combined to create a name tag for a product. This approach provides an opportunity for brands and companies to incorporate several notions and perceptions into one brand name, increasing the chance of creativity and the probability of obtaining a high-quality trademark.
These compound brand names have the advantage of conveying a specific message about the product. There would be a downside to the split combination of words in terms of fluency or pronunciation due to the split combination.
Examples of companies incorporating such expressions are Netflix and Snapchat.
Wrapping up
In conclusion, brand names are a fascinating arena that presents many opportunities for companies in constructing their identity. Some of them use names that elicit emotion while others prefer to stick to names that convey about their business. Regardless of whether a brand chooses a traditional, invented, or compound name, the answer lies in the choice of a name that appeals to a brand’s target audience. If the name shares the businesses’ values, then it will play a prominent role in further success in the market.
