It was William Shakespeare in the play Romeo and Juliet who wrote the words, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” meaning that it does not matter what one is called, if you look like a rose or smell like a rose, you are a rose. That may be true when you are in love (as Juliet was when she uttered these words to Romeo), but does Shakespeare’s words ring true for your business name and your logo?

We help companies brand themselves. A good part of that is coming up with a business name and a logo that will help their target market identify them. The first thing you need to consider when you are starting a new business, launching a new division or creating a new product brand is that your name has to be memorable. If someone hears your name one minute and forgets you the next, what good is it? This has caused a lot of creative juices to be sloshed about in pursuit of business names – and subsequently, logos – that are quite unique.

The idea of coming up with a unique brand name and image is nothing new. Association marketing works when you have marketed the brand well. For instance, here is a list of brand names that have nothing to do with the product, but have successfully associated their brand with their products and services.

Red Bull
Uber
Etsy
Progressive
Google
Apple
Gorilla
Fandango
Zoom
White Castle

My guess is, you have in mind what the products and services of each of these brand names are by simply hearing their names. You may be able to recite their tagline along with the brand. (Red Bull gives you _ _ _ _ _ _ _ !) There is no confusion about what each of them represents. You would not get a highly caffeinated energy drink brand mixed up with a search engine or an online video-conferencing app. Why? Because they are unique and have been marketed in association with their product.

In many cases, the brand name has nothing to do with its definition. Uber is a German word for “super” or “superior.” Etsy is a misspelling of the Italian phrase, “Eh, sì” which means, “Oh, yes.” Fandango is a Spanish dance. Google is a made-up name based on a googol, which is a mathematical number – 1 followed by one hundred zeros. Most people would not understand that Google is a reconstruction of the name of that very large number, even if they did, they would not associate the number with a search engine. But they do associate the brand name with search engines because a smart marketer promoted it that way.

Can you get too over-the-top with creative naming so that people don’t catch it? I suppose you could find a case, but I couldn’t point you to it. The one caution I would give you is that brands fail when they get too complicated to remember. Branding can be avant-garde, but you have to keep it simple to be remembered. And you have to market for awareness of your brand associated with the product. If you keep these things in mind, you will do well.

William Shakespeare may have been onto something when he talked about calling roses by another name. Maybe he was a marketer ahead of his time.