Developing New Brand Names

Abstract

The brand name performs a number of key roles:

• It identifies the product or service, and allows the consumer to specify, reject, or recommend brands.

• It communicates messages to the consumer. In this role the name can be either an overt communicator, for example, Draino or Sweet ‘n’ Low, or a subconscious communicator.

• It functions as a particular piece of legal property in which a manufacturer can sensibly invest and which through law is protected from competitive attack or trespass. Through time and use, a name can become a valuable asset.