Understanding the Psychology Behind Perfect Brand Names
See how the emotional response brand names elicit from consumers can impact your business to ensure you choose the best brand name. Almost all guides to starting a new business include picking a name as one of the first steps. That might sound like a simple task. Still, you should carefully consider the emotional impact of any names under consideration. You certainly want to avoid making the list of the worst all-time business names. Yes, there’s a pizza restaurant named Poopsie’s and a propane company called Passmore Gas. You can even find a popular taco joint in Texas called Dumass Tacos. The founders may have been in on the joke and appear to have succeeded anyway. As local business owners, they probably knew their market pretty well. Still, the joke might get old and in particular, not so well embraced for companies that hope to grow into a national or even international eCommerce brand. You’re starting a new business. Risky of frivolous company names can backfire when you need to use them to appeal to an audience that you haven’t even had a chance to get to know yet. That’s why business naming services exist. They focus upon not just helping new brands avoid offensive or misunderstood names but even by using the psychology of branding to create a positive impression. Why does psychology matter for brand naming companies? Brand names may do more than help people identify different companies. Sometimes names provide clues about what the company does, how they work, or what they believe in; however, often, they don’t. According to Psych Central, brand names trigger more of an emotional response than other nouns. While people tend to process language in the more rational parts of their brain, they also pass a brand through their more emotional, right side before responding. That makes brand names an important part of marketing. While the rational part of a consumer’s brains may make logical comparisons, advertising works mostly because of how it can make people feel about the company. Companies reinforce this response by presenting their brands with consistent fonts and logos. One psychologist who studied the psychology of branding even went so far as to conclude that the way people thought about brand names appeared to give them a “special, neurological status.” Creating a brand name you won’t regret Julian Shapiro founded NameLayer, a company which provides business naming services. He mentioned considering the emotional reaction that you want customers to have when they hear your brand, even without knowing one other thing about your business. Shapiro referred to this quality as gravitas, or the degree of seriousness you hope to evoke from customers, investors, and even employees. You can certainly choose a fun name, even for some serious businesses. Still, this tactic won’t work for all types of companies. As an example, he said that he wouldn’t pick a domain like Securit.ee for a cybersecurity firm. On the other hand, he’d be fine with playing with domains and extensions for a casual clothing or photo-sharing site. Think about the types of prospects you plan to court and how you attend to acquire them before you decide how serious you need your name to sound. If you choose your own name or try some suggestions from business naming agencies, you should still try to figure out what sort of emotional reaction each name elicits before settling. You will probably benefit by asking other people for their perspective. Shapiro suggested passing names by partners, colleagues, and perhaps even better, friends who aren’t involved in the business. How to choose the perfect brand name You can find plenty of advice about picking the perfect brand name. For every set of rules, it’s easy to find examples of companies that violated these rules and succeeded anyway. Still, these risk takers either knew their market very well or got lucky enough to enjoy some benefits that outweighed the potential risks of eliciting the wrong reaction. As a business owner, you’ll have plenty of other business matters to focus on without having to worry that you’ve offended part of your market.
How a Brand Development Company can Help You with the Impossible
If a brand development company can make voting fashionable, then anything is possible. It might seem like a stretch, but some of the best minds in branding are on that very mission. Though doing your civic duty is critically important for democracy, the U.S. has historically underperformed in terms of voter turnout, regularly ranking near the bottom of most indexes. And that’s somewhat understandable — standing in line at a polling station is nobody’s idea of a glamorous way to spend a morning, and once civic apathy sets in, it can be hard to break. Fortunately, Bumble — and some of the other leading brands in Silicon Valley — are helping increase turnout by giving the voting process some social cachet. Making voting a social plus Until recently, voting was a solitary activity. You lined up, entered a booth, cast your ballot and trudged off to work. Today, however, you’re likely to see people uploading photos and videos of themselves voting to social media and even live streaming the event. Voting has become a public performance — and that may be the key to making it more popular. Bumble, a dating platform that is one of the most forward-thinking brands in the tech space, understands this and has taken steps to capitalize on it. Bumble teamed up with a public awareness campaign called “I Am a Voter” (admittedly not the best name we’ve ever heard) to increase voter turnout. To accomplish this, Bumble created a new profile badge that allows users to identify as a voter. It’s the digital version of those omnipresent “I Voted” stickers. The idea is simple: People know that voting is a social good, and that is perceived as a voter is a plus in the eyes of other people. By tapping into this sentiment, Bumble is helping to brand the voting process as something that’s desirable — something that affirms your status as a serious, civic-minded person. In addition to the new badge, Bumble also added new in-app functionality to assist users with voter registration. Bumble — a feminist dating app whose team is largely comprised of women — has a long history of using its platform and brand in the service of larger social goods, making the voting campaign a natural extension of both its ethos and brand. The dating platform wasn’t the only Silicon Valley company working to promote voting. Uber offered discounted rides to polling places on Nov. 6 (Election Day) and integrated directions to users’ local polling places, while Lyft offered free and discounted trips to the polls. Bumble competitor Tinder worked with voting registration project “Rock the Vote” to maximize turnout by offering swipe-based in-app registrations. Even Dropbox and other firms gave their employees free time off to do their civic duty at the polls. Is all of this having an appreciable effect? The early returns are overwhelmingly positive. Young adult voting (the demographic most likely to be influenced by these tech-based approaches) saw a staggering 188% increase in turnout during the Nov. 6 midterm election. Whether it’s the result of outreach efforts from companies like Bumble — or Taylor Swift urging her 112 million Instagram followers to vote — it’s clear that tech and social platforms have not only helped increase civic turnout but have also helped rebrand the process of voting for a new age. Finding the right brand development company Technology — and clever branding — have helped turn voting from a solitary and somewhat dreary civic duty to a communal experience meant to be celebrated. If your business is in need of working with an innovative brand development company, we know just the firm to provide it.
Success Is Written in the Stars and Creative Brand Consulting
Can a business guarantee its own failure before it even opens? Absolutely. Poor planning and strategic misjudgments can end any prospect of success before the doors open. Yet more aesthetic decisions — such as designing a logo — can also play a critical role in long-term success. That’s one reason why creative brand consulting is such a valuable service for many of today’s fledgling enterprises. Why the right logo makes all the difference Some new business owners view the creation of a logo as a second-level task. If they can devise a clever one, great, but if not, no big deal. You’d never find this kind of indifference in the C suite of a Fortune 500 firm, however. The most successful companies understand that their logo is the core of their visual identity and a cornerstone part of the overall brand. Research has shown that logos can impact not only the public perception of a company but also its performance. A logo is often the consumer’s first impression, for better or worse, and the first thing that comes to mind when a company is named. These perceptions are so powerful that even the mere shape of a logo can elicit powerful feelings about a brand in the eyes of consumers. If you’re skeptical, just think about the cultural cachet carried by the golden arches, the Nike swoosh, or that famous apple with one bite removed. A logo, when executed properly, is everything great about a brand compressed into one brilliant signifying image. All of which raises a key question: How do you create a logo that truly stands out? Creating eye-catching logos Great logos tend to have shared attributes, and these common features can serve as a road map of sorts for the creation of your own standout logo. Being a creative brand consulting agency, we have narrowed down some of the most important design principles in logo creations include: Originality. In order to stand out a logo needs to separate itself from the routine visual imagery we process every day. Simplicity. An overly complex logo turns viewers off. The best logos are elegantly simple and instantly recognizable. Connection. A logo doesn’t have to directly represent what’s being sold (Nike doesn’t sell swooshes, after all) but it should bear some connection with the company’s brand and story. Colors. As we’ve written before, color is critical to marketing. Different colors evoke different emotional responses. Understanding this is key to developing a striking logo that elicits the response for which you’re aiming. Flexibility. Today, logos appear in a large number of contexts (social media, TV, print, billboards) and devices (phones, tablets, laptops). A great logo should work well across any context and on any device, regardless of size or background constraints. How creative brand consulting can help create the perfect logo Developing a logo that meets all the necessary design elements is no small task for most business owners. A top Florida advertising agency like BIGEYE, however, has the necessary expertise and experience to create visually arresting logos that immediately stand out to consumers. By applying our insights into design aesthetics and color theory, we can help you craft a logo that instantly conveys your brand story, forging an immediate connection with your desired audience. Connect with us today about refreshing a previously existing brand or developing a new logo!