What's in a name?

Naming your company, service, or product is a key component in establishing your brand personality. In no way is it a simple process, but here are some tips to make it a bit less arduous:

1. Convey the right message. Decide on the message you want to communicate and jot down all the words you can think of that relate to it.
2. Use word associations. Grab your thesaurus and create word banks for the words you identified in step one.
3. Mix and match. Go through your word banks and play with different word combinations. Consider blending words to make word hybrids, or even making up some new words!
4. Take it to the street. Get feedback on your top 20 name choices from your coworkers, focus group participants and friends.

North Star Marketing named and branded the Rhode Island Department of Transportation's (RIDOT's) program to increase and enhance participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) on RIDOT contracts. We developed the name Mission 360 and created a logo to capture the inclusive nature of the program. Read the case study here.