Naming A Product: 8 Keys For Brainstorming Your Ideas

Properly Naming A Product Should Involve Brainstorming Your Ideas

Properly naming a product should involve brainstorming your ideas

Picture someone walking into a store to buy your new product. They step up to the counter and the salesperson asks them what they’re looking for, but instead of responding with the name of your product, they stare back blankly at the salesperson, not knowing what to say. This should strike fear in your heart. Naming a product is one of the most important parts of the launch process. It can also be the most difficult. Waiting for the right idea to pop out of thin air isn’t the way to go about it.

The following are 8 ideas for brainstorming and naming a new product. Keep in mind that your goal should be to come up with as many names or components of names as possible. That way you can combine them or sift through them to find something that perfectly represents your new item.

Brainstorming 8 ideas for naming a product

  1. The Thesaurus

    The Thesaurus can be an excellent tool when brainstorming ideas for your product name.

    The Thesaurus – A thesaurus can be a great repository of ideas for naming a product. Look up words that relate to key elements of your item. You might also want to consider using multiple thesauri. Differences between publishers or the book’s audience, can give you a wider variety of results. Thesaurus.com is also an excellent place to start looking.

  2. Metaphors – Ask yourself, “If my product was an animal, what would it be?” Look at different areas you can pull metaphors from like food, drinks, cars, art, or music and make notes about words that might relate, or be used to describe your product in some way. Take our animal example. You could write “furry,” “cuddly,” “big,” “small,” “ferocious,” or anything that you think might fit. Just think, you could name your new flavor of ice cream Cuddly Cookies ‘n Cream.

  3. Check out your industry – When naming a product, it can be helpful to look at similar items in your industry. Your intent isn’t to copy what’s already out there, but to be inspired by other companies’ choices so that you can create something that is unique.

  4. Leave it to chance – Try opening up a random website, magazine, newspaper, email, or video game, and see what words and phrases jump out at you. You never know what ideas they might influence. Another option you have is to go to Google and just start typing words you might find interesting into the search bar to see what others they suggest. Also, check out the indexes of books that are about your industry. Scan them for terms that may jump out you or that you might find interesting.

  5. Jerry Seinfeld

    How would Seinfeld describe your new product?

    Change your point of view – Another great idea to use when you’re choosing a product name is to pretend that you’re someone else. Think about the words that Martin Scorsese, Jerry Seinfeld, or Paul McCartney might come up with. But don’t just limit it to famous people; think about family members, teachers, neighbors, or friends.

  6. Keep it simple, painfully simple – Think about how Beavis and Butthead or the cast of Jersey Shore would go about naming a product. Come up with the words that they might use to get the process over with as quickly as they can. This can help you to create a name that’s straightforward, descriptive, and easy to remember.

  7. Opposites attract – Examine what the opposite of your product might be. Are there specific words that come to mind? Obviously, you’re not going to want to name your product the opposite of what its intended function is. You’re simply looking for a means of further inspiration.

  8. Try explaining it – If you had to describe your product to someone who has no idea what it is, what words would you use? The process of breaking down your item to its most important elements can help you to think in ways that you might ordinarily have missed.

Conclusion

Don’t try to qualify your ideas while you’re amassing your list, just focus on numbers. Try to come up with 100 – 150 different words that you can use and combine to form different variations for your new product name. Remember that sitting around waiting for ideas to randomly strike you is not a proactive or efficient way to go about naming a product. Keeping these methods in mind will go a long way towards completing one of the most important parts of your product launch.

Posted in Marketing, Product Launch Marketing

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Printwand Staff
Author: Printwand Staff

Our marketing, design and printing experts are passionate about sharing their knowledge. We're eager to help make your vision a reality in print. Be sure to explore the rest of the Printwand blog for more reliable, easy-to-understand information.



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