Study your competitor’s names. This may sound obvious, but I’ve known many instances where it hasn’t been thought of, or has been give short shrift. So why do it? Well, first, you want to know what NOT to do. Do not use a name that’s like a competitor’s name. Now I know some short-sighted entrepreneurs [...]

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David Cohen, blogging at Left Brain, Right Brain, has presented and explained the “Three R’s of Branding”. The post incorporates the basic ideas of branding, and presents a very succinct and well conceived way of thinking about branding.

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If you’re going to make naming brands part of your marketing communications arsenal, you’re probably something of a word connoisseur already. Here’s another way to sharpen your skills.

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By introducing a slick insert called WSJ. targeted to luxury markets, the Wall Street Journal is diluting its brand focus.

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Why would K-Mart automate a blue light bulb as their spokes character? Why is a blue light bulb the way to demonstrate low prices?

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Here’s another opportunity for substitution. Let’s assume you’ve generated a list of 100-150 words you might find descriptive or evocative of your project. Peruse this list looking fin the words beginning with “ex”, “on”, “an”, “in”, etc. – syllables beginning with vowel-consonant. Then just substitute another set of vowel-consonant combos. An easy way to do [...]

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As promised, here are several web sites with color tools of all sorts. If you’re going to select corporate brand colors, a spectrum of product line packages, or design a “web safe” Internet presence, these tools can be helpful.

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I’ve been running a series within this series about creating coined words as brand name candidates. Here’s another technique. I call it consonant coupling.

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