One of the first tasks when embarking on a new venture is to dream up a name. My business was originally called ‘Keep This Design’. You’d think this would be the fun bit, it took me months. I took the decision to change it after two years. Here are the five reasons why…
1 – Is it memorable?
If you find yourself repeating your business name, or worse still, having to spell it out, then you know it’s not working. It can be really hard to decide on a name and when you finally settle on one, it becomes so familiar to you that you can easily make the mistake that it’s equally familiar to everyone else. Our name was quoted as ‘Keep It Design’, ‘Keep The Design’ and all other possible variations. It was clearly not memorable or indeed meaningful either.
2 – Does your name adequately describe your business or product?
I wanted to keep my options open when choosing a name, and that it should describe the design activity rather than the product. But it’s only when you begin using your name in different contexts, you see the proof of the pudding is in the eating. When ‘Keep This Design’ was printed in trade show directories and above our exhibition stands, it didn’t adequately describe what I was selling. Seems very obvious in retrospect.
But don’t rule out the use of abstract names, it may work for you. Nick Jenkins chose to call his company ‘Moonpig’, it was his nickname at school.
3 – Does it work?
In other words, is it effective across all applications eg. marketing material, packaging, online? I found that ‘Keep This Design’ wasn’t getting the message across, so I made the decision to change the name and update the logo to ‘Keep This Cracker’. The usual expectation is that a cracker ends up as rubbish when it’s pulled, so why would anyone want to keep one? It’s great if a name can spark a conversation. The intention is that ‘Keep This Cracker’ will make people stop, think and question.
When choosing your name, consider the following;
- Is it legible and easy to pronounce?
- What images does it conjure up?
- Does it have any negative connotations?
- Does it fit with your brand concept and suit your target market?
4 – Should you use puns?
Initially I thought it was the obvious route and spent far too much time trying to devise one. I wasn’t clever enough, luckily, as I have since learnt that puns are not the best option. The general consensus is that they are funny on first reading but can become a bit tiresome over time. A recent trend is the use of imperatives and I decided on this approach instead. ‘Keep This Cracker’ tells customers what to do with the product – don’t bin it, save it.
5 – Is anyone else using it?
Last but not least, are you encroaching on someone else’s rights? Do searches, for example; at Companies House, on Trademark registers and for available domain names, etc.*
One of the original choices for my business name was ‘Keep It’. I was delighted with the idea but it was quickly binned. I learnt not to get too attached when I found another company in Europe was already using it.
How did you choose your business name? Share your story.
*Please seek professional legal advice on intellectual property issues. Please note there are rules on which names can be registered. Check with your local Patent Office for more information. Rules will depend on territory.
© 2023 Bea Thackeray on behalf of Keep This Cracker