Brand naming for businesses that have outgrown their name.
A name that made sense at launch can hold a business back once it has merged, grown or changed what it sells. A new name has to work in every market you sell to, clear the obvious conflicts, and still sound like you in five years. As a naming agency we run naming as part of the brand: the naming strategy first, then names that carry it, screened and shortlisted, with a naming system for the products and sub-brands that follow.
The right name carries the position before anyone reads a word more.
A name that describes the company you used to be.
A name that fits the business you have become.
Products and sub-brands named one at a time, each in a different style.
A naming system every new product slots into.
Shortlists chosen on taste in a meeting.
Names judged against a written naming brief.
A favourite name lost late to a trade mark or domain conflict.
Conflicts screened before anyone commits to a favourite.
Naming strategy
What the name has to do, for whom, and in which markets.
Naming brief
The criteria every candidate is judged against, agreed before any names.
Name generation
Routes from descriptive to coined, explored widely before narrowing.
Screening
First-pass checks for conflicts, domains and meaning in the markets you sell to.
Naming architecture
How the master brand, products and sub-brands relate, and how new names are made.
Launch
The story behind the name, and how to introduce it to clients and staff.
The name no longer covers what the business sells.
After a merger, two names compete for the same clients.
Every new product gets named in a rush, in a different style.
Clients still use an old name or an abbreviation.
The name is hard to spell, say or find online.
Diagnose
We work out what the current name is costing you, and whether you need a new name or a better naming system.
Brief
We write the naming brief and agree it before generating a single name.
Create and screen
We explore routes, shortlist with rationale, and screen the strongest candidates.
Launch
We set the naming system and the story, so the name is introduced well and new names follow the rules.
The naming system and visual identity for the F1 Drive charity Grand Prix, a structure built to return and grow, season after season.
The team at Pivitt offer so much more than creative support and production. The ability to offer guidance and advice on bigger strategic objectives is exceptional.
It is a million times better than our current website.
Common questions
Brand naming, answeredWhat does a naming agency do?
It sets what a name has to achieve, generates and tests candidates against that brief, screens the strongest for conflicts, and builds a naming system so future products and sub-brands follow the same logic. Pivitt runs naming as part of the wider brand, so the name and the positioning are decided together.
How do you choose a brand name?
Write the naming brief first: who the name is for, what it must signal, the markets it has to work in and the routes that are ruled out. Then judge every candidate against that brief, and screen the shortlist before anyone commits to a favourite.
Do you check trade marks?
We run first-pass screening for obvious conflicts, domain availability and meaning in your markets, then hand the shortlist to your trade mark lawyer for full clearance. Legal clearance always sits with a qualified lawyer.
What is a naming system?
The rules that decide how the master brand, products, services and sub-brands are named, so every new name fits without a fresh debate. Our naming system for the F1 Drive charity Grand Prix used a constant, a partner-led event name and a year, so the event could return as a series.
Your brand scored against the business, with three priorities and a 90-day plan, in ten working days.
One live jobThe BriefFixed fee, agreed firstOne live job at a fixed fee, so you can see how we work before committing to more.
OngoingBrand Operating PartnerMonthly, agreed firstA senior brand function that sets the standard and keeps the work to it, every month.
The full rebrandBrand Transformation ProgrammeFixed price, agreed firstThe rebrand, run as one programme from diagnosis to rollout.
Tell us what the name has to carry.
- You write in. We reply within one working day.
- A conversation about what has changed in the business and what you need.
- A written scope and a fixed price before anything starts.
Davuud Ghani, founderSenior-led on every engagement