During name development, it is important to keep all options open, but names must always support the brand positioning. The discussion of the names we present during the course of a project leads to a continual refinement of the brand positioning, as we hone in on the perfect fit between name and positioning.
There are of course many different types of names. But for the sake of discussion, clarification, and mapping the competitive namescape, we consider four broad name types:
Descriptive Names
Descriptive Names are purely descriptive of what a company or product does or its function. They might also take the form of an acronym or the names of the company founders.
Invented Names
The category of Invented Names includes the purely invented, the morphemic mash-up, and foreign words that are not widely known to English speakers. At their best, Invented names can be poetic, rhythmic and ripe for investing with the soul of a brand. Brand names like Google, Oreo, or Snapple.
Experiential Names
Experiential Names are names that map to the experience of using a product or service, or to what a company does, or to an aspect of human experience. This category also includes all the generic adjective-based names, such as Advanced, Superior, Vantage, Smart, Super, Ultra, Mega, etc. Experiential names, especially weaker ones, tend to be overly literal, and are the types of names often created by cross-referencing a vision statement with a thesaurus. Still, some great brands have experiential names: Yelp, Medium, and Obvious Ventures are examples.
Evocative Names
Evocative Names are names that map metaphorically, rather than literally, and linearly, to the brand positioning. These are names that rise above the level of the goods and services being offered, and paint a bigger picture. The best of them tap into a deep reservoir of shared cultural knowledge, myth, story, imagery, association, legend and art, and usually work on multiple levels. Nearly all the greatest brands that you are familiar with have evocative names. Brands like Apple, Amazon, Oracle, Virgin, Tesla, Warby Parker, and Patagonia.