Why the name is vitally important What to expect of a name How the name development process works   Why is the name vitally important?  The name you select represents the very tip of the arrow when your new baby is to be positioned in the market. Any product, service or company will harvest great benefits for a strong name while communicating with the target audiences. The strong name will create added values that will keep gaining strength over time.   In foreign markets, poorly planned names can create unexpected setbacks. Even such a giant as General Motors has experienced the results of poor homework. When its model Chevrolet Nova was launched in several Spanish spoken countries, they discovered that the car didn't sell as well as expected. No wonder - in Spanish, "no va" means "doesn´t run".   When you select a name, you must determine if it can be registered in your market. The name must be phonetically and culturally acceptable. It must not be connected to any words or names with negative connotations. The name must be easy to pronounce and easy to visualize. Furthermore, the name should be acceptable for registration as a .com or .net domain, or other desired domains.   Many criteria must be met when a name development process is carried out. It is wise to seek professional assistance. NameAbrand AS is the only specialized name development company in Norway, housing a professional staff of people that know the tricks of this trade in great detail.   What can a name achieve?   A name is often founded on the emotional values in a company or a product - the core values that have been selected to spearhead the company, the product, the service or the concept. The name must reflect these values in a unique and competitive way. It must enable you to build a strong brand, utilizing the tools available in strategic market communications. A weak name is a major handicap. A strong name is very often the difference between failure and success.   Accidentally or strategically chosen names – what is the difference?   An accidentally chosen name can give you considerable legal trade mark problems. The name can be too descriptive to achieve trade mark registration, or others could already be using the name within the same trade mark classes. If that is the case, you are not in a position to use the name. If you still choose to use the name without performing the necessary controls and registration, you can risk big financial consequences, and in worst case claim for compensation from the owner of the name. Thorough preliminary procedures will make the whole naming and registration process a lot easier.    Demands for a good name   In our market today, it is increasingly important to be noticed, and naturally a unique name is recommended. A good name must communicate the values that the company or the product are to be associated with. The name must be distinctive, easy to read and easy to pronounce. It must work in all business relevant languages, and in all business relevant cultures – also as a bearer of the right associations. And most of all – it must meet the qualifications to register as a trade mark.   What´s in a good name? It is easy to catch Easy to remember Phonetically easy to pronounce in the relevant languages Internationally acceptable Has character Signalizes core values Works visually Culturally acceptable A potential brand Possible to register as a trade mark   How the name development process works   The first phase consists of a thorough briefing session based upon a Q & A form developed by NameAbrand. The brief details all aspects of the subject to be named, including objectives, competition, trends, target groups and core values. Based on this input, we will work out a project outline with a price quote and schedule.   If the core values of the object to be named are undecided, we welcome a working session to go through the process in collaboration with you. We do not start the creative work before the brief, the budget and the deadlines have been approved upon and signed.   The creative work is a combination of putting man and machine to work. The creatives are thoroughly briefed and get the juices flowing. Also, we search high and low in various databases and other sources of inspiration. The gross output is a very long list of names. Each name is evaluated against the brief and against trade mark registers, business registers, name databases and domain registers, thus eliminating the ones that are unfit or unavailable.   The final objective is a short list of 8-12 names that all reflect the core values and other aspects of the brief. This list is presented to you, the client. At this point, it may very well boil down to a matter of like and dislike. There is nothing wrong with that as long as the names are on target.   Should we be in doubt or have two or more favorite candidates, an identity control is a useful tool. This is a one to two week process. The control will tell us which of the names are most likely to get approved as a registered trademark.   There are certain traps that must be avoided when registering a new name. NameAbrand will coach you through the brand registration process.