Can you fall in love with a new brand or company name?

Love at first sight: it exists.
But as fast as it may come, even faster it may wither.  

As a naming agency, we work on things that last. Things that are permanent, as scary as that might sound. The fact is: names come and names stay, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish. That’s why we strive for unconditional love.   

Concepting

Like everything in life, it all starts with the concept phase. A phase in which ideas come together. In our creation process and during our workshops we bring those ideas to life by discussing, defining, and describing the mix of elements that make the product or service in question unique in its kind.

What are main characteristics of the brand? What are the brand’s values? We discuss its future: in what environment will this creature exist? What will the world of the new brand look like? What place will the brand occupy there? Together with our clients, we create an identity. Together we work towards the birth of a new brand.

Name strategy

Fortunately, the turnaround time of our process is much shorter than nine months (and a lot less heavy…). But it is still a process in which the new brand takes shape. It is a process which makes clear ‘who or what’ has to be given a name. The name-strategic phase sharpens this picture and shows the possibilities when it comes to naming.

Shortlist session

By means of targeted creation and well-founded selection, a long list of name proposals is created and presented to our clients. Of course the ‘first impression’ plays an important role in this: a feeling of recognition, which can be traced back either to what has been discussed earlier, the company behind the new brand, or to something else that ‘is already there’.

The trick is to also look at the name from a more visionary perspective. Does it fit into the picture of the future? Could this be the title of a story that is yet to be told? Will this name lead a long and happy life?

Name choice

Just as with a real pregnancy, the hardest part is saved for last. Making the final decision is often the biggest part of delivery. Because from the moment you give something a name, it really exists. Then the party can really begin.

Eureka?

You could definitely fall in love with a new name. But in most cases, there will be no love at first sight, or a so-called Eureka!-moment. The process doesn’t end with a tempestuous climax, because we’re not looking for something as if we’d lost it – we create something new. And when something is really new, you need time to get used to it. Choosing the most suitable name isn’t something ephemeral like a crush, but something constructive, like a marriage. A name is not a ready-made product, but a framework that starts to grow and develops into a brand from the moment it’s there.