Neworld, Great relationships build great brands

Marketing guru Pat Kinsley delivers a masterclass in naming a company.

COMING UP WITH a trade name is one of the most enjoyable parts of brand creation. It’s also the most painful.
But before you start brainstorming ideas for names, you have to understand what type of positioning you want to have in the marketplace.
A lot of people confuse branding with visual design, but that’s just one aspect of it.
Branding is the very essence behind everything you do. It defines what makes you singularly different from your competitors.
To find that nugget, you have to have a clear understanding of your point of difference from everybody else. You have to do lots of research to see who else is operating in your sphere and find what makes you different from them.
From there, you can start to carve out a personality for your company. It’s helpful if you think of different archetypes. Is your brand funny? Is it going to be a ‘challenger’? Is it a market ‘leader’?
Then comes your tone of voice: how does your brand walk and talk?
You kind of come up with a script of what things it can and can’t say. Could it be a bit cheeky or is it more serious? That kind of thing.
The name really comes in at that stage. You’ve narrowed down your brand essence so now you’re looking for a name that fits all of those personality traits.

Read the full article discussing categories and games with final tips at fora.ie

Pat Kinsley is founder and managing director of branding agency Neworld. This article was written in conversation with Conor McMahon from Fora.ie as part of a new series of masterclasses with some of Ireland’s most influential business people.