Juliet:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet” (II, 1-2)

We look to Shakespeare as the authority on all things related to the most excellent use of the English language. The bard was both poet and playwright, crafting language that created characters that have lasted half a millenium. And yet, in “Romeo and Juliet” he has Juliet diminish the most fundamental act of language — naming. True, the flower came before its name, yet its name embodies — with sound and later meaning — all that we come to associate with the name “rose.”

Naming

So, when an organization seeks a name for itself or its product, to whom should it look to create a name? Where do we find modern-day Shakespeares who can craft language to meet the many needs of modern-day name?

Understanding brand, what builds brand and how the name must truly embody the brand is critical to naming success. At Go East, we believe branding provides differentiation, which promises business success. A name is the core of differentiation execution. Taking a too-cautious approach to naming risks developing a name that refuses to stick in the mind of your customer. Living too much in the past can create a name that doesn’t work for future growth. And creating a name that is so different that there is no context, no point of reference, or is just too weird risks alienating the people you want to engage.

Finding the perfect name requires a balance of art and science. We believe naming is a craft that combines strategy and poetry, semantics and sound. There are so many considerations needed to create a relevant name it is imperative that businesses partner with agencies that have a robust naming processes that take all aspects into consideration. Our process, based on the best industry practices, allows us to flex our linguistic skills within our brand-building context to meet our clients’ business needs. We provide clients with a fresh perspective that considers all the angles — trademarking, digital needs, visual and verbal impact. And we help our clients to look forward to their business vision and ensure that the name can withstand the test of time.

I wouldn’t go so far as to go head-to-head with Shakespeare, but I will name a rose a rose when it makes sense for the brand.

1 person likes this post.

Unlike

Naming is a complex business, perhaps that’s why the blogosphere is chockablock with sound advice and clever anecdotes on how to come up with one. At Go East, we find the Do Nots are just as edifying — and sometimes more surprising — than the Dos.

Here are a few favorites.

Do NOT:
1. Go for bland

There are plenty of highly successful companies with straight-up functional names out there, but if you are just starting out — especially in a category with a lot of competition — the more memorable and engaging the name, the more differentiating. And the easier to find.

According to “Protecting Your Brand Online,” a Hitwise report, 86 percent of all searches are for names and brands. If your product or company name is too generic, your audience is going to have a tough time sorting through the mess it turns up in a Google search — and they may not find you.

The same goes for true yet tried words. Google “innovative” and you’ll see what I mean.

2. Invent meaningless names

On the flip side, it doesn’t always pay to go with a wholly invented name. Last year, Microsoft took a beating from pretty much everybody for naming its new search engine Bing, which everyone agreed meant nothing to anyone. Why is that bad? Because endowing a name with meaning can cost millions of dollars. To boot, ruthless bloggers pointed out, the name could be an acronym for “But it’s not Google!”

Microsoft marketing execs told the New York Times they hoped the name would evoke the sound associated with Aha! moments and that it would encourage people to “verb it up” ala Google … so Bing it!

3. Name by committee

As Phil Davis of Entrepreneur.com points out, you can only pick one name, so you risk alienating the very people you are trying to involve. And, in the process of trying to find something crowd pleasing, you are likely to land on a very bland sort of name that suffers from problem number one. Davis recommends only involving a small number of people who can put the company first and their egos second — we’d add collaborative people who are comfortable with change.

4. Worry too much about the URL

We’ve all heard someone say they chose their company name because “the domain name was available,” but are URLs as important today? Given the statistics above, it seems like consumers are less likely to try to type your company name and www. into a browser window, and more likely to look for it in a search engine.

In that case, it might be more important to choose a memorable name that is relevant to your brand and easy to spell — and to ensure that you have awesome search engine optimization.

5. Neglect to review meaning

Everyone knows about the Chevrolet Nova: allegedly the similarity of “Nova” to No Va, Spanish for “no go,” caused the car to sell poorly in Spanish-speaking countries, so the company was forced to rename it.

This is actually a myth; the car apparently sold well in Venezuela and Mexico. Yet it is still a good reminder that those pitfalls exist and that it is important to have someone review your name choice for foreign and other contextual language issues.

Like all things creative, naming can be a highly subjective endeavor, so what sounds bland or meaningless to one ear may ring evocative in another. And that’s why, of all these NO NOs, I will always come back to number three. With a strong team, you can set personal preferences aside, work through that subjectivity, and choose a name that is right for your organization, company or product.

Like

Unlike

Joe Ricci, an industry expert in P-O-P merchandising, gave the Go East-designed Post-it® Brand planogram (POG) an A+ grade in a past issue Shopper Marketing magazine.

The POG, located at Staples stores, is 16 feet long and separated into four, 4-foot sections, promoting easy navigation and a cross-sell feature among various Post-it®  products, all available in one location.

Check it out for yourself and let us know what grade you’d give this POG.

Like

Unlike

As a project manager at Go East, I wear a lot of hats. I say that figuratively, which is a good thing since I hate actually wearing a hat and wearing several hats at once is just plain weird.

Does that sound silly? Of course it is. One of the things I love about Go East is that we can be silly once in awhile. We are encouraged to have fun and keep in touch with the playful part of our brains. Creativity is not limited to art directors and designers; it’s asked of every employee. And as a freelance musician and a person who enjoys the arts, I embrace opportunities to stretch beyond the duties of a traditional project manager.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid coffee drinker. There is a mug at the end of my right hand so often, it’s almost like an appendage. It’s literally part of who I am. (ed. Enough with the literal vs. figurative thing — too much.)

Being able to indulge in my over-caffeinated lifestyle at work may be a small thing, but it makes me feel comfortable knowing I can bring that part of my personality to the workplace.

To me, “living the brand” means that I can be myself while staying true to the brand personality of Go East. Some words that come to mind are these: passionate, focused, driven, intelligent, curious, connected. And hats. Lots of silly hats.

1 person likes this post.

Unlike

As a company that helps clients build their brands, we, too, must continue to build our own brand. At Go East, we realized we could either let the process take care of itself, or we could guide and direct its growth. The latter certainly takes more effort, but we’ve found that spotlighting individual employees who live our brand makes it more relevant to those around them. Go East recognizes employees who are loyal to our brand in a number of ways. Two of them are by established programs: Brand Moment and Brand Leader Awards.

At each monthly staff meeting, we give one or more Brand Moment Awards. The winners of these awards are chosen based on nominations given by their peers. The award recognizes an individual who embodies our values and personality traits in a single act, someone who demonstrates the Go East brand in the eyes of our stakeholders. We recognize the winner with a unique award and $50 in cash, as well as peer recognition, which, in itself, goes a long way.

Brand Leader Awards are presented by the Leadership Team. Each quarter we determine who in our organization consistently lives the brand and who we’d like others to emulate. Again, peer recognition has tremendous value. A cool award and $200 cash is given with pride.

As an owner, there is nothing more important than having employees embrace a brand and clearly understand their roles in building it. When employees understand who we are as a company and where we’re going, it makes describing and selling our services an easy and enjoyable venture. Continuous direction and acknowledgement help ensure that our brand comes to life every day.

Like

Unlike

Whether you are interviewing for a job, meeting with a client or, in my case as the business office assistant for Go East, greeting visitors, first impressions can make or break the deal.

Being the first point of contact for visitors and clients, I am also the first impression of the company.

I often wonder, “What does it take to be on the front lines at Go East?”

When I was first offered this job I thought, “What was it about me that stood out? Was it my previous work experience or my personality?” I like to think it was a little bit of both. I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the reception desk. I’ve had both good and bad experiences.

Living the Go East brand takes a person who is passionate about quality customer service. I know how important it is to greet every caller and visitor with a friendly word and smile. It also takes a resourceful person. When a call comes in for someone who is busy I track that person down. If the person requested is not here, I find an appropriate alternative — someone who will be able to assist with meeting the caller’s needs.

That’s why when I walk into a place of business, the first thing I notice is how the receptionist treats me. When I experience good or excellent customer service, I remember it.

I keep these things in mind when I am at the front desk at Go East. I always try to make eye contact, look presentable and be friendly.

Like I’ve always said, “First impressions are key!”

Like

Unlike

Lost, sick, confused and in a foreign land: Iconography can be so important when you need to find information.

The work Go East did on the United Family Medicine identity/mark was an excellent example of personal experience aiding a designer’s creativity. Living in Norway for three months, working and wandering, helped me understand that good design can lead you to the help you need. When the language is foreign and the surroundings are unfamiliar, you rely on recognizable images to find what you need. I knew some of the language, but icons and marks helped the most.

As a team, we approached the United Family Medicine brand mark from quite a few directions (see the top of the blog), which ultimately helped our clients on their journey to a new identity. In our concepts, we strove to use universally recognized images since UFM is a community clinic located in Saint Paul and serves a culturally and economically diverse community. 

To reinforce UFMs values, we wanted to see one person caring/teaching another. UFM also wanted to reference the new clinic’s location, which is near the Mississippi. To reinforce name recall we wanted to keep a “U” shape.

We researched sans-serif fonts for a welcoming feel, but chose to marry the icon with a serif font to give the clinic a strong professional stature.

In the end, the mark with the two figures forging a river made it to the final three and, with multiple refinements, was chosen. The new mark has been well recieved but, as a designer, the real reward would be to know that someone found the help they needed in a time of stress and uncertainty.

Like

Unlike

Living the brand is an ongoing aspect of full brand management. To live the brand is to strengthen it and to make brand management a part of your culture. How do we at Go East recommend you manage and live your brand?

Assess and align areas that are inconsistent with the brand. Look at all the places where your brand touches people externally: memos, email sign-offs, outgoing voice mail messages and information communicated through your social media strategy. Examine processes and procedures and change those that are inconsistent with your brand position. Identify areas where decisions impacting the brand can be improved.

To intensify brand management throughout the organization, establish principles and guidelines for when, where and how to apply the brand. Create accountability for decisions that affect consumers’ perceptions of the brand. Remind your staff about brand principles and ways to reinforce and build the brand so everyone feels responsible and engaged in brand-building activities. For example, everyone at Go East recently created their own statements about how they live the brand. We all wore the statements, like nametags, throughout the day and talked with others about our part in living the brand.

To monitor the results of your efforts, conduct audits of consumer perceptions. It’s the only way to truly know if you are having the impact you are trying to achieve. Are the attributes that your customers identify the ones you want? Share the findings with staff members so they can celebrate the success of their efforts or hone in on areas that need improvement. Constantly refine your indicators of success and measure again.

To make living the brand fun and rewarding, we at Go East recognize employees who are doing an outstanding job of living the brand. We share examples and celebrate successes. We acknowledge “brand moments” formally by thanking individuals for contributions to building the brand.

It is through all of these efforts that, eventually, managing your brand becomes less work and more a way of life.

Like

Unlike