The 4 Reasons You Chose a Bad Company Name … Now What?

February 18, 2020

By Darpan Munjal

Picture the scene from the film The Social Network where a fast-talking Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake) glides into a lunch meeting with Mark Zuckerberg, Christy Lee, and Eduardo Saverin.

Sean confidently expresses how he envisions the company’s thrilling growth, impressing two out of the three start-up enthusiasts.

And then, right before his sudden departure, Sean offers a piece of advice to the crew, a recommendation that Eduardo passive-aggressively states was Sean’s biggest contribution to the company: “Drop the The. Just Facebook. It’s cleaner.”

Would The Facebook have been as successful as Facebook? Many will argue no. Sean’s influence led Mark to update the company’s name and further pivot the platform toward the minimalistic look we know today.

Many social networks have adopted a similar approach to naming their platforms. YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, and Instagram all mirror a short, one-word naming construct. Like Facebook, their names and branding remain memorable and engaging a decade later.

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to naming a company. The naming patterns that work for a social network may not necessarily work for your company. However, regardless of industry, selecting your company’s name can make all the difference to its eventual success.

Here, let’s explore the components of a “bad” name, so you can ensure you avoid these mishaps if you’re currently in the naming stage with your own company (or the re-branding stage).

‘The Facebook’ and Other Bad Names

Mark’s decision proves that a change as little as ‘The‘ can have a huge impact on branding and strategy. However, Facebook isn’t the only company that made tweaks to its name. In fact, many companies we embrace today underwent complete name changes or rebrands.

Google, the most popular search engine in the world, had a very different early name. The search engine’s first name was BackRub, referring to the way the search engine analyzed backlinks. The name was short-lived and Google was trademarked on September 15, 1997.

On July 6, 2006, ‘Google’ became a newfound verb in the English dictionary. Merriam-Webster announced it added Google as a transitive verb, meaning “to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (someone or something) on the World Wide Web.”

Shaping the English language is true brand goals.

Let’s consider another example — would you take a sip of Brad’s Drink? Probably not. But most of us have tried a Pepsi. You guessed it, they’re the same soda. In 1893, Caleb Bradham developed a drink recipe after formulating a unique concoction of cola nuts and spices. Proud of inventing a unique beverage he believed to be a healthy cola alternative, Caleb named the recipe Brad’s Drink, after himself.

Five years later, Brad’s Drink was renamed Pepsi-Cola after the pepsin enzyme that supports digestion. The brand later shortened its name to Pepsi in 1961 — which sounds much more refreshing, in my opinion.

And finally, Dunkin’ Donuts decided to rebrand after 68 years with the …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

      

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