Do brand names matter?

When I was younger, I was in quite a few garage bands. There came the point early on in the band's life (some of which lasted about a week) that we would need to come up with a name.

The band name was usually the first thing the band would argue about unless the guitarist had cranked up his amp, then it would be that.

I recall getting out a thesaurus and going through page-by-page to come up with the ultimate band name. After all, if success would be as lightning fast as we expected, we didn't want to be stuck with some terrible name.

Part of my job is working with start-up brands; usually, by the time Sociatech is involved, there is some kind of name. During the last year, I've talked two brands into changing their names to reflect their offering better. It's not that either was terrible, but we all felt they could be better after discussion.

What’s In A Name?

But let me ask you a question. Knowing what they do, would you have called a brand which, at the outset, sold books Amazon? Or a chemist, Boots? Or a computer company Apple?

A few years ago, I was given the somewhat tricky job of pitching to Apple to win a contract with them. The pitch could last no longer than 15 minutes, and we had to explain why we felt we were a good match with Apple.

Being an Apple fanboy, I knew it wouldn't be hard to speak about the brand. I can't recall it in detail, but I spent some time talking about how Apple built its reputation making great products; I didn't mention the brand once. At the end of the pitch, we were told we had won the contract; the feedback was enlightening. I recall it to this day; the Apple guy we were we pitching to said, "We've had lots of pitches talking about the Apple brand, but yours talked about the products. It's the products that build the brand; if we make great products, then the brand takes care of itself."

That was coming from one of the biggest brands in the world. The same brand named one of the most successful music players ever made, the iPod, after the doors on a spaceship from the movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.'

The Puppy Torture Lab

Do brand names matter? Yes and no.

I wouldn't suggest you think that any name will do.

Don't think you're going to have success calling a pet shop 'The Puppy Torture Lab' or a health spa 'The Fat Club'. It is said you don't get a second chance to make a first impression, so to some extent, the name you have will help people understand and associate with your brand, to embrace or reject it.

But, like with our early bands, obsessing over the name before you have something to enchant the world with is wasted energy. I tend to go with the Apple philosophy, make great products or do great stuff, and the brand takes care of itself.

Reputation Is Tomorrow’s Profit

Brand name matter to some extent, but only if you have something to offer the world that will make them remember the name for all the right reasons. Reputation is tomorrow's profit, so make sure you give people something good to remember your name for!