Naming
A name is the first strategic decision a brand makes.
We name products, programs, and new ventures — working from strategy and agreed criteria rather than a brainstorm.
Overview
Naming is the one branding decision everyone has an opinion about, which is why it so often stalls. Without agreed criteria, a naming conversation becomes a taste contest — and taste contests are won by whoever is most senior or most persistent, not by the best name.
So we settle the criteria first. What does this name actually have to do? Work in three languages, or only one? Does it sit comfortably beside the names you already have? Mean something to a funder, or to a fourteen-year-old? Those answers get written down before anyone generates a single option, and they turn the final conversation from an argument into a decision.
Then we build the tools that decision needs — names developed across distinct strategic territories, each a different bet; a scoring matrix against the criteria; a spectrum from descriptive to evocative so the trade-offs are visible rather than felt. You end up with a name you can defend to the people who weren’t in the room, which matters more than it sounds like.
What this looks like in practice
— Discovery with each decision-maker, separately, before any names exist
— Agreed naming criteria: what a good name has to do here
— Names developed across strategic territories, each a different direction rather than variations on one
— An initial ownability search on every option
— A scoring matrix against the criteria, so the comparison is on something real
— A descriptive-to-evocative spectrum, to make the trade-offs visible
— A facilitated decision session
— Naming across a product line or program family, where the names have to work together
When you need it
— You’re launching something, and everything else is waiting on the name
— There’s more than one founder, and you’ve already discovered you don’t agree
— You have a name you’re not sure about and no way to test whether the doubt is real
— A program or initiative needs a name that works inside an organization that already has one
— You’ve been brainstorming for weeks and keep circling the same three options
FAQ
How do you choose a brand name?
Not by starting with names.
Agree what the name has to do first — does it need to work in more than one language, sit beside names you already have, be easy to spell over the phone, mean something to a funder or to a fourteen-year-old? Written down and agreed, those answers turn the final conversation from a taste contest into a decision you can check against something.
What if we can’t agree?
That’s the norm, not the exception, and it’s why we talk to each decision-maker separately at the start.
People want different things from a name and usually haven’t said so out loud. Surfacing that early means the disagreement happens over criteria, where it’s productive, rather than over a shortlist, where it isn’t.
Isn’t naming just an elaborate brainstorm?
A brainstorm generates options. It doesn’t tell you how to choose between them, which is where naming projects actually get stuck.
Most of our work happens before and after the generating — agreeing what the name has to do, and building the tools that let a group decide without it coming down to taste.
Do you handle trademark?
No — that's work for a trademark attorney, and you'll want one.
We do an initial ownability scan on every name we develop: checking whether it's already in use in your category, whether the domain and handles are available, and whether it's distinctive enough to pursue. That catches the obvious problems early, so you're not falling in love with a name that was never available. Formal clearance and registration are yours and your legal team's.
Featured Work
“As three founders, we all have strong ideas — and usually each of us is the one who has to make an idea happen. Megan gave us a process to channel all of that: rigorous, genuinely fun, and structured so we each felt heard. She pushed our thinking bigger than we’d have gone alone, and brought us to a name we’re all excited to build on. We learned something along the way, and we’d work with her again in a heartbeat.”
— CO-FOUNDERS OF NEW FOOD & WINE DTC BUSINESSFeatured Package
Naming Exploration
A fixed-scope package: landscape analysis, a working session to agree what the name has to do, three to five naming directions with five to ten options in each, an initial ownability search on every one, a presentation with recommendations, one round of refinement, and a facilitated session to reach a decision.
Let’s talk.
Find out if we are the right communications experts for your needs.