How much does a name matter? When it comes to your products, everything. Just ask the companies who’ve watched their rebrands flop or flourish based on a single word. A product name is the customers’ first impression, and with shelves overflowing with choices, yours must instantly stand out.
Get it wrong, and you’ll struggle to gain traction, no matter your quality. With so much on the line, it’s critical to approach any product renaming with care. This article is a complete guide and provides all the essential steps necessary for the naming process.
You will learn the different strategies for refreshing or replacing a name, from subtle evolutions to complete overhauls. You’ll also discover how to test potential product names for maximum impact and avoid costly missteps that could set your product back for good.
Understanding the Need for Product Renaming
While an existing brand may have served a company well for years, circumstances constantly evolve. The market is dynamic, customer preferences shift, and competitors relentlessly innovate.
As a result, even the most established products may someday outlive their name. There are several common reasons why companies ultimately decide product renaming has become necessary.
A clear example is when a brand strategy or positioning changes substantially. Altering the target audience or expanding into new categories often warrants aligning the name with the updated vision. Marketplace dynamics can similarly drive the need for renaming.
Emerging trends, disruptive technologies, or saturated categories may leave an existing brand less relevant. Companies may also rename after an acquisition or merger to bring disparate product lines under a unified identity.
Renaming further allows businesses to leave problems of the past behind. Negative brand perceptions from quality issues or missteps need correcting to earn new trust. A fresh name presents an opportunity to start afresh.
While challenging an established brand is never taken lightly, product renaming can power necessary course corrections to meet the evolving demands of tomorrow. With care, a new name can reinforce a brand’s renewed purpose for continued success.
Evaluating Your Existing Brand Identity and Assets
Before starting the product renaming process, Evaluating the existing brand identity and assets is essential. It helps companies get a reference and easily measure the rebrand’s success by comparing the results with initial values.
Companies must step back to analyze all relevant elements objectively from various angles. It includes re-examining brand positioning in the market and any established naming conventions, taglines, and imagery. It’s also important to audit how the existing brand name resonates with existing customers – are any frustrations or points of confusion expressed?
Interviews can provide deep insights. Additionally, an audit of digital assets like websites, social media profiles, and collateral will reveal consistency and gaps to consider.
Analyzing Brand Recognition Among Existing Customers
Companies should conduct in-depth customer surveys and interviews to analyze brand recognition and perception. The goal is to understand top-of-mind awareness of the existing brand name alongside any positive or negative associations customers have developed. Insights around perceived quality, reputation, emotional responses, and brand attributes will reveal likeability and identify aspects needing improvement to ensure a new name.
Here are some additional tips companies can follow to analyze brand recognition and perception among existing customers:
- Run online brand perception studies and collect unprompted feedback on social media to gauge spontaneous awareness
- Analyze customer support transcripts and online reviews for sentiment around the existing brand name
- Conduct in-person interviews with open-ended questions to uncover deeper feelings toward the brand beyond surface-level feedback.
- Test recognition of the brand name versus competitors through tools like brand recall surveys
- Evaluate if the existing name conveys the intended messaging or creates confusion through explicit questions.
- Look for correlations between demographics or customer segments with the most positive or negative associations.
- Consider quantitative data and rich qualitative insights when assessing brand recognition and perception.
Assessing the Strength of Existing Branding
Properly assessing the strength of existing branding and trademarks is vital for any product renaming efforts. Companies may analyze consistency across marketing materials, digital properties, and branded touchpoints. Evaluating trademark coverage and any prior issues can indicate vulnerabilities. The positioning within the overall product naming architecture should also be considered, such as if a name applies to just one variant or the entire line. This upfront audit provides important context regarding protections and flexibility with the existing brand.
Review Marketing Collateral
When reviewing existing branded materials, companies must audit all product marketing touches to identify consistency and areas needing updating. It includes an examination of collateral like brochures, case studies, and ads, as well as physical packaging, uniforms, signage, and digital assets for adherence to any product naming framework. Focusing on recently created and outdated items can show where improvements are required. This process reveals the extent of rebranding efforts and informs timelines.
Starting the Renaming Process
Companies can start the rebranding after understanding the need for product renaming and assessing the current situation before implementing the rebranding strategy. Here are the essential steps to follow during the renaming process.
Forming a cross-functional team
With preparation steps completed, companies can move into actively working through the renaming process. First, a cross-functional team must represent all relevant internal stakeholders. This team will guide research, idea generation, and decision-making throughout rebranding. Their diverse perspectives are crucial.
Conducting Competitive Research
Next, conducting thorough market research and deeply analyzing competitors’ product naming conventions is necessary. Understanding what resonates with current and potential customers informs brand positioning opportunities.
Exploratory brainstorming sessions should generate fresh naming ideas and concepts aligned with the company’s strategic goals. Both logical and emotive options should emerge from these sessions.
Brainstorming naming ideas and concepts
Brainstorming is a crucial step in the brand naming process that allows a company to cast a wide net and generate many potential names and concepts through structured product naming exercises. Practical sessions use techniques like limiting judgment of ideas, encouraging wild ideas free of critique, and building on others’ suggestions to spark new thoughts.
The goal is to complete this initial brainstorm with a wide range of options that can then be assessed more objectively against evaluation criteria. By broadening the product naming net through brainstorming, companies can explore diverse strategies and discover unexpected ideas.
Choosing the Right New Name
After generating potential new names, companies must carefully evaluate options to select the ideal one. First, all names must be aligned with the brand’s strategic goals and positioning in the market. A name encapsulating the brand promise and resonating with target audiences will serve the business best.
Companies must also thoroughly test top names. Assessing clarity and memorability through customer surveys or focus groups provides essential feedback. Additionally, trademark searches are crucial to avoid costly conflicts down the road.
Conducting initial customer research on the most viable names allows observation of reactions and subconscious connections. Both qualitative and quantitative methods provide insights. Brands learn which names feel the most descriptive premium and motivate purchase intent at first exposure.
Selecting the perfect new name is a pivotal choice requiring due diligence. Careful evaluation across these critical areas guides selecting the option best primed to drive the business forward meaningfully.
Implementing the New Name
Once a new name is selected, careful implementation is crucial to its success. First, companies must update all marketing, sales, communication, and digital collateral with the new name, logo assets, and brand guidelines. It includes websites, packaging, advertising, and more.
A comprehensive education program should communicate the meaning and benefits of the new name to essential audiences. Customers, partners, and employees must understand why the changes are made and gain acceptance and support.
Launching an integrated multi-channel marketing campaign debuts the new name to the world. Different tactics like public relations, social media, direct mail, and events drive awareness and understanding. The goal is to transition external perceptions smoothly.
Internally, rollout support ensures a seamless switchover. Training programs instruct teams while signage, systems, and documentation updates cement the new identity.
Continued tracking gauges the new name’s impact on critical metrics. Brand tracking, sales data, website analytics, and user research provide insight into performance. Ongoing optimization ensures long-term success.
Additional Tips for a Successful Renaming Project
Choosing the right product name may require much effort, but it is worth it. Companies must research easy-to-remember, lucrative, and even descriptive names. Here are some additional tips for a successful renaming project that helps retain loyal customers and attract new ones.
Engage Stakeholders Early On
Involving loyal customers, partners, employees, and other stakeholders from the beginning of the rebranding exercises helps ensure buy-in and support for the new company/product name. Their insights are also valuable during evaluation.
Leverage Social Media
Social media provides an opportunity to engage potential customers in rebranding through campaigns that drive feedback. It’s also practical for announcing the new name and building awareness.
Consider a Phased Approach
For major rebrands, transitioning the new name gradually across different target customer groups or marketing channels reduces risk. This phased approach allows adjustments before full rollout.
Test Name Alternatives
Testing more than one name option with target audiences through market research provides visibility into how each name resonates. Selecting the best-performing alternative increases success chances.
Highlight Strategic Rationale
Communicating the strategic rationale behind the rebranding project and new company/product name helps stakeholders understand why it was necessary. It fosters support for the change.
Data-Driven Approach to Product Renaming
Are you having difficulty choosing a great name for your products? Need help in renaming your product names for maximum impact? SmashBrand is your one-stop solution. Our data-driven strategy process assists in identifying product naming opportunities. We discover the potential name with the highest impact by conducting thorough testing. Subsequently, our design team incorporates this name into the packaging design and branding strategy.
Book a meeting with our team to discuss your project and learn how we can assist you in finding the ideal name for your product.
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