Trying to decide between names for a new brand? Check their A.S.S.

ASSOCIATIONS, SYMBOLISM + SLOGANS

Let’s say you’ve got two names under consideration for your new computer company, Apple and Strawberry. Both names meet your brand positioning criteria: Be perceived as simple, warm, human, approachable, organic. Distance you from the cold, unapproachable, complicated brand attributes of competitors with names like IBM, NEC, DEC, ADPAC, Cincom, Dylakor, Input, Integral Systems, Sperry Rand, SAP, PSDI, and Syncsort. 

A problem arises when half your team champions Apple and the other half are pushing for Strawberry. In fact, it’s pointed out that the names couldn’t be more similar, they are both red fruits, so why not flip a coin and move on? Because they’re similarities are only skin deep.  The Head of Buzzkill at your startup will inevitably call for testing, reliably in the unreliable form of crowdsourcing or focus groups. At which point you can become the hero and invoke the A.S.S. test.

When leading names are this similar, simply tallying up the number of associations each have in our collective consciousness, in myths, stories, legends, idioms, etc, tells you how emotionally connected people are to each. And how much fodder each provides for marketing and advertising campaigns.

Apple

• Garden of Eden

• Issac Newton

• William Tell

• Snow White

• The Tree of Life

• McIntosh

• One smart apple

• A bad apple

• Easy as apple pie

• An apple a day

• Apple of my eye

• Apple polisher

• Big Apple

• Apples and oranges

• How ’bout them apples?

• Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

• Upset the applecart

 

 Strawberry

• Strawberry Fields

• Strawberry shortcake

• Strawberry blonde

Apple vs. Strawberry isn’t a fair fight. But it’s not always so lopsided. If the A.S. portion of the test doesn’t produce a winner, move on to Slogans. Put two names side by side and see which inspires the most taglines that play off the name. Of course none of the taglines  anyone can remember actually play off the company name, as doing so is too limiting to achieve tag line greatness. And they make the names one dimensional, by defining them linearly. Imagine, “Virgin Air, A Brand New Experience”. Deadly. Pure hack work. But the exercise does reveal a lot of about the power, connectivity and relevance of an unexpected name.

In this example, we’ll imagine we’re naming a creative agency and a leading name contender is Igor. SAFETY WARNING: AGAIN, THESE TYPES OF TAGLINES ARE NOT MEANT FOR USE!

 Igor

• Igor. Bringing Your Vision To Life.

• Igor. Get Over The Hump.

• Igor. A Few Spare Parts and a Good Storm.

• Igor. Throw The Switch.

• Igor. A Moveable Beast.

• Igor. Own Your Shadow.

• Igor. Talk Of The Town.

• Igor. No Job Too Horrifying.

• Igor. The Other White Meat.

• Igor. Never Say Die.

• Igor. A Good Brain Is Hard To Find.

• Igor. Alive!

• Igor. Better Living Through Science.

• Igor. Building The Perfect Beast.

 

More on the existential hell of a naming agency naming itself later.