Of all the elements that make up a brand, whether for-profit or non-profit, your name is the most crucial. It is the heart of your brand, the start of your story. It is generally the longest living artifact of your enterprise.
She always wanted words, she loved them: grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape.
Michael Ondaatje
Review: 5 Star Coffee/Tea Names
Whether crafted from beans or leaves, there’s nothing like a steaming cup of brew to warm the body, mind, and spirit during November’s chilly days and nights. And today, finding a coffee or tea that matches your taste and temperament, has never been easier.
Review: 5 Star Cider Names
When autumn comes, our minds naturally turn to the traditions of fall: carving pumpkins, picking apples, and the imbibing of ciders, both hard and soft. And while many are familiar with the names of ciders owned by the big beverage companies like Angry Orchard and Woodchuck, a fabulous crop of newer regional and local cider has hit the market in recent years.
One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.
– Jack Kerouac
Review: 5 Star Fashion Names
The tradition of a designer using their namesake as their company name still runs strong; however it’s not the only approach. And maybe it isn’t even the best approach as it may invite legal headaches down the road.
Review: 5 Star Ad Tech Names
Today, advertising has gone beyond traditional dissemination through television, billboards, radio, magazines, newspaper, and circulars. Digital devices have opened up new avenues for brands, marketers, and companies to more effectively reach their audiences.
Review: 5 Star Wine Names
The month of July is associated with down time. And what better way to relax than kick back with a glass of wine under a beach umbrella or summer moon? Along with providing insights for the wine-name curious, the monikers and tips below can provide a bit of inspiration for marketers and entrepreneurs charged with creating a name for a wine or winery.
I like good strong words that mean something.
– Louisa May Alcott
Review: 5 Star Travel Names
In the month of June, the mind turns towards summer—for many the season of travel and leisure. And though some of the world’s great hotels and destinations have far from creative names, the space is also filled with intriguing monikers that invite wonder and curiosity.
The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — ’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.
– Mark Twain
Review: 5 Star A.I. Names
It’s May, and much of the world is bursting into bloom. The same can be said for Artificial Intelligence (AI), an area of the tech industry that is sprouting up everywhere and in every industry.
Review: 5 Star Personal Care Names
Spring has sprung. It is time to get fresh. As we step up our grooming game in anticipation of warmer weather, we pause to celebrate some of the best brand names launched in personal care. So if you find yourself tasked with naming a product or company, the 12 examples featured should provide ample inspiration.
Review: 5 Star Women’s Co-Working Names
March is International Women’s Month, a time to reflect on women’s contributions to history and contemporary society. As such, we are dedicating this edition of Names of Distinction (NOD), River + Wolf’s monthly gallery, to outstanding brand names of women’s co-working spaces.
It is with words as with sunbeams – the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.
– Robert Southey
Review: 5 Star Fragrance Names
In tribute to Valentine’s Day, February’s gallery highlights women’s, men’s, and unisex fragrance names as fragrance is often the gift of choice for February 14th celebration of love and friendship. Like cosmetic naming, fragrance naming is often considered a holy grail for naming experts because it provides so much latitude in terms of name construction, personality, and messaging.
River + Wolf Wins Clutch Global Award
Starbucks. Nike. Google. These are just the names of some of the biggest brands in the world today—anyone who hears or reads these names is instantly reminded of who these companies are. And while many elements contribute to a brand’s success, a name is the foundation—in fact, it may be the most crucial part of you brand.
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, now that’s creativity.
– Charles Mingus
Review: 5 Star Shade Names
Cosmetic naming is a holy grail for naming experts, as the beauty industry is generally open to every style of name, from the descriptive to the allusive. This means there is ample room for creative play, and we namers love to play. That said, the mind-boggling number of marks already registered or in use makes finding a name immensely challenging, at least from the trademark perspective…
An Approach to Global Trademark
Clearance and Registration
For multiple reasons, the trademark clearance and protection process are some of the more one of challenging areas of brand naming, increasing in complexity for clients operating in a global marketplace. And while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to clearing a trademark for global use and/or registration, there are some broadly applicable considerations and strategies you will want to keep in mind.
Getting Clear(er) on Trademarking
In trademark law, a business’s trademark (the name word, symbol or design that identifies the business, product or service) is known as the mark.
And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen turns them to shape and give to airy nothing a local habitation and a name.
– William Shakespeare
How to Name a Medical Device
Medical device names are tricky. Not only is the medical field a crowded one when it comes to trademarks, but marks must accomplish multiple things in a somewhat restricted playing field. To assist marketers and others confronted with this task, here are some basic tips.
River + Wolf Ranked as Leader in Clutch’s Brand Naming Matrix
Here at River + Wolf, we focus on finding names that capture the vision, voice, and benefits for a business or product. We believe our relentless focus on client satisfaction, along with other factors, has placed us in Clutch’s Leader’s Matrix.
The 4Cs: A Product Naming Strategy
Like cakes, product names—in fact, all kinds of brand names—are built from multiple ingredients. At River + Wolf, we call these ingredients the 4 Cs: character, communication, construction, and continuum. Combined they establish your strategy for naming. Below is a breakdown of each. Character is the personality of the name — what in the branding…
3 Tips for Business Naming
Like product names, great company names should capture key attributes, roll off the tongue, and trigger terrific stories. Company names are no different, but have some extra lifting to do. Like product names, great company names should capture key attributes, roll off the tongue, and trigger terrific stories.
The Principles of App Naming
With a proliferation of mobile apps on the market, a good name can make a difference. And while a weak name won’t necessarily spell disaster for a well-conceived product, a great name makes the all-important first impression. A few solid principles can help.
Pros & Cons of gTLDs
With the Internet hovering around 1 billion registered domains, it is, to put it mildly, a very crowded place. Given that staggering number and the comparative pittance of top-level domain extensions (TLDs), especially dot.coms, it’s easy to see why registering a new domain is so challenging.
The Music of Words
Depending on the strategy, we often produce names that are explicitly linked to brand attributes through syntax and semantics. Another approach is to create names that are not so obviously connected to product features, but rely on phonetic finesse, or, sound symbolism – the linguistic process in which the very sound of a word suggests meaning.
River + Wolf is a 2018 Global Leader in Naming
Clutch recently released its list of the best Global Leaders on their platform, and River + Wolf is incredibly excited to announce that we have been selected as one of the best of worldwide naming agencies in 2018.
My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel–it is, before all, to make you see.
– Joseph Conrad
Clutch Announces Global Leaders 2017 – River + Wolf is a Top Naming Agency
In their first-ever global report, highlighting the best digital and traditional agencies worldwide, Clutch has once again identified River + Wolf as a top naming agency – this time not only in New York, but throughout the U.S. and beyond.
Top Naming Agency – Featured in Clutch
At River + Wolf, we believe in the power of words. The right wording can make or break a branding strategy. That’s why, since being featured on Clutch, we are so proud of the work we’ve accomplished so far for our clients and the extremely kind words they’ve given us in exchange.
Name Style: Constructions to Consider
There are many things to consider when selecting a brand name for your product or company. One of the most important is to determine the construction or style of your name.
The secret of being boring is to say everything.
– Voltaire
Storytelling Takeaways from Two Giants
In today’s incredibly noisy business world, brand storytelling is the key to your company being heard. Not just a means of getting noticed, storytelling provides a way for you to put a stake in the ground and get customers, investors, and stakeholders to truly buy into your vision.
Brand Storytelling: Behind the Buzz
If you’ve visited any branding blog or website in the past few years, you will have read claims touting the importance of so-called “brand storytelling.” Like any useful buzzword, “brand storytelling” simply restates a truth that smart marketers have known forever—your brand is nothing without a good story.
5 Keys to Compelling Copy
Though literary and brand writing serve different purposes — the first to make sense of the elusive human experience, and the second, to drive goods and services into the hands of elusive customers — they have much in common when it comes to craft.
Five Star Brand Renaming
There are several reasons for renaming your company or product. Among them, a merger between two companies, legal troubles, a public relations nightmare, or negative political or cultural associations. But a name change can have serious consequences – from lost equity and consumer recognition, to a precipitous drop down Google’s SERP. These companies’ name changes were fully five star.
I only achieve simplicity with enormous effort.
– Clarice Lispector
Moonshot: A Wondrous Word
One of the highly enjoyable tasks of brand name development is researching multiple disciplines in search of words and concepts. On one such exploration, I encountered the word “moonshot”, a term that originated during the Apollo 11 space launch to describe the act or procedure of launching a spacecraft to the moon.
Review: 5 Star Story Names
Through effective storytelling you can create authentic connections with your customers and transform your company into a bona fide brand. Campaigns like Apple’s The Song, Airbnb’s Wall and Chain, and Under Armour’s “I Will What I Want”, are just a few examples of wonderful tales that help spring brands to life and bring customers closer.
Names Get Political
The 2016 presidential race has been lacking in many things, but name-calling is not one of them. Beyond the tried-and-true–demagogue, jerk, idiot, racist, sexist, and xenophobe–less common monikers have been hurled during this toxic election season.
Review: Five Star App Names
Every so often, we like to act as name curators, selecting and showcasing great marks in various industries. This month we turned our attention to apps.
Words can be like x-rays if you use them properly—they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.
– Aldous Huxley
Microsoft’s Suite Spot
For many, the principal programs of the Microsoft Office suite – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook – are such a part of our daily lives that it’s hard to think they were once products in search of a name.
The Tone of the MTA’s “Courtesy Counts” campaign
First deployed throughout New York City’s subway and bus system in late 2014, the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) “Courtesy Counts” placard campaign centers on subway etiquette.
Hospital Naming Trends
In the past three years, nearly a hundred healthcare institutions have decided to rebrand under a new name. Several forces are driving this trend.
Coworking Naming Trends
While many forces helped shaped the coworking phenomena, it largely arose to meet the needs of independent workers for flexible and affordable space. Today, coworking has matured beyond desks and free coffee; the best spaces include extensive opportunities for networking, personal, and professional development. In fact, coworking has become so popular it even boasts its own industry journal — DeskMag.
How Brands Are Using Books As Messaging
If you’ve walked into a J.Crew store in the past couple of years, you might have stumbled upon a few literary classics or large-scale art books nestled into a display of Oxfords or cashmere crews. Books are part of the Warby Parker brand as well. The socially conscious eyewear company has teamed up with publishers to offer a selection of titles on sale in their library-inspired flagship. These references honor an otherwise marginalized world of literature and work to hook (knowingly or not) a population ever saturated in the digital age.
Wine Names Get Wild
The Millennial Generation has come of age and stepped up as one of the most dominant consumer groups in the US, and the wine industry has taken note. Not only are young people, women in particular, driving sales, but they are influencing trends in naming and design as well.
