What does a namer actually *do*?
There's so much more to naming than making names. So what can a namer actually do for a brand?
While teaching certain parts of the naming process during last month's Naming for Newer Namers series, a few people realized, out loud, "Oh, I didn't know this was something *namers* did."
This lines up with a lot of my professional experience, and it's why I'm still careful to also call myself a "brand language strategist" in certain circumstances: People think of a namer as someone who *just* comes up with names.
That's a huge part of the equation. But for most of us, we get involved early, and can stay with you until you've gotten a name to the finish line (and sometimes beyond).
A namer might…
(The list below is purely based on what I offer through my own studio, Wild Geese Studio—some offer more, some offer less).
Help a brand understand if it needs a name in the first place
Analyze a brand strategy to identify the footholds from which to build its naming strategy
Define naming guardrails based on what will translate to a name that respects the brand’s audiences:
What languages do they speak?
How do they like to be spoken to?
How might they be most likely to talk about the brand?
Look at how competitors name and figure out ways to either mirror important conventions, or differentiate with a new direction
Work with the brand team to build a naming strategy that defines the job the name should do, what it should say, and how it should say it
Wrangle misaligned stakeholders to get everyone to agree what a successful name looks like
Tailor due diligence to match the way the brand plans to own the name:
Check for trademark conflicts in priority classes and markets
Look for linguistic disasters in the languages its audiences are likely to speak
Unearth other project-specific risks
Bring names to life visually and verbally so that everyone can test drive the names, and see the potential in ideas they might not have considered on their own
Work with decision-makers to narrow down candidates
Guide the client team through working with its own legal team to clear a name for registration
Design naming validation research to get more context about leading names
Come up with lots and lots of names :)
I've loved running my own naming practices for the past 7 (about to be 8!) years because it's allowed me to define what's in and out, based on what helps my clients get the results they need, and what keeps me sane. (I will NOT take on a project where a requirement is a pure dot come URL and an associated low-risk trademark—I don't have the hair to lose.)
Whether it's through my full-service Wild Geese Studio work or my Naming for Everyone classes, it's always a thrill to help people see naming in a new light.
Happy naming!
Caitlin