Brand Naming Tactics
In today's hyper-connected world, where new businesses emerge at an unprecedented rate, the challenge of creating a distinctive brand name has become increasingly tricky and the scarcity of desirable domain names adds yet another layer of complexity.
Creators must balance creativity with strategic thinking, linguistic analysis with emotional appeal, and uniqueness with appropriateness to ideate the gold ticket — an own-able name that creates a foundation for a strong brand identity in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Brand naming is a strategic and creative process that is almost never linear; many factors, inputs, and processes interplay to create a successful brand name, but it’s worth the effort and investment.
At DBZ we’ve refined our brainstorming techniques over decades, aiming for brand names that evoke a narrative or emotion and align with a brands mission. Our researchers consider global nuance and ensure that names work across cultures and languages, avoiding unintentional negative connotations or translations, and our designers aim for visual appeal, noticing the qualities of a name that can be made into a logo or graphic feature.
Below are a few brand names we've created that have successfully passed through human and digital tests on their way to market.
GreenMade®
GreenMade® by Spaces of Green is a division of sustainable garden hardware focused on creating eco-friendly alternatives to imported products. Their flagship product is handmade pavers made from recycled materials.
Our brief was to develop a brand name for this eco-friendly venture that would convey the handmade quality whilst ensuring the name was memorable and ownable. It had to align with the parent company's ethos and be versatile enough for future product line extensions.
In 2024 GreenMade® was granted full trademark registration with IP Australia.
Industrie&Co
IndustrieIT was originally named by its founder Con Zeritis when IT was a meaningful department and buzzword. After over a decade of growth the business required a rebrand to communicate its offering and project its new Venture Capital division.
We created three territories derived from the approved Brand Strategy and set the naming process in motion across the team.
The ampersand "&" was earmarked in our workshops, for its meaning and symbolism, we wrote:
- & binds you and me
- & is open to balancing two opposing ideas
- & represents the unfolding thought process - it asks why, and then asks it again
- & embodies curiosity
- & symbolizes grit - pushing you to go beyond comfort zones and look over horizons
- & signifies progress
The client wished to retain the value and recall associated with "Industrie," so we merged concepts to create the winning name: Industrie&Co.
DBZ worked with Industrie&Co for over a year on every aspect of the rebranding process, and in 2021 the company was acquired by Accenture in Australia.
Umano + ojo™
Umano is software product creator elevating human performance in the digital age. They are the world's best digital coach for agile software teams, accelerating productivity and engagement through team-first metrics, health checks and AI-guidance to encourage continuous improvement.
DBZ’s relationship with Founder Chris Boys was fruitful and lengthy, developing the brand strategy first, before being asked to help name their parent company and suite of products.
Being a company all about human performance, we started right there, looking for ways to say just that. The process was thorough, but landed simply, looking at languages that would yield appropriate words that have resonance in English.
Umano translates to Human in Italian — it read easily, sounded cool, but also isn’t cryptic – it had the phonics of ‘human’ built in.
Umano was selected to name for parent company, and products followed. We named 3 products in total, but the one that is now public and trademarked is ojo™ - an Agile Copilot that gives accurate observations and tailored suggestions as you plan, track and review iteration and longer-term performance.
We also derived ojo™ from another language – Spanish. It translates to ‘eye’ which is perfect for software that is watching your progress, however the true beauty in the name is how it graphically shows up as a face.
Original Oils
Original Oils in the new line of essential oils which are lovingly handcrafted with the finest natural ingredients and designed to transform everyday self-care into moments of sacred ceremony. Developed by women’s wellbeing practitioner, Bec Simpson of MamaSoul, the new range celebrates the divine feminine, inspiring women to embrace their bodies with love and reverence.
Our brief was to develop a name that worked with MamaSoul and strengthened its brand offering.
DBZ created Original Oils by MamaSoul which would work as a cohesive, expandable naming convention where by individual oils play on the parent name, such as Original Face Oil and Original Ritual Oil. This neat naming convention allows for seamless expansion of the product line while maintaining brand consistency.
