Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

Sounds very interesting! I've quickly put together a couple of names that are customer-centric and speak to why someone would want to participate with your organization versus an alternative. These are quite preliminary as a name should only be developed once the essence of your brand is clearly articulated and understood. At it's core, it appears as if your group pairs music with empowerment (empowerment to create, meet others, get active, get healthy). However, I don't really have a sense of the personality of your brand - is it young, is it traditional, is it interpretive or is it structured...the personality should ideally be reflected in the name. Without this info, I've got two ideas that may be helpful or you may wish to build upon.

Heart Beats
- speaks to exercise, connections, excitement and music / rhythm

Soularia
- more evocative; speaks to music touching the soul of participants; smashes "soul" and aria (melody or a vocal solo) together

In regards to the names you listed in your latter posting...some of the names are very evocative (i.e. Borealis, Vortex, Living Tradition) which will require more investment to help your prospects understand what your group is all about. A name should be rooted in sound strategy - what does your company stand for, what makes you different, why would I want to be a part of it? (Borealis, Vortex & Living Tradition don't really answer these questions for me). SpringStep sounds interesting (speaks to energy and maybe a stepping stone to something else) and Tapestry makes me feel like there is a bigger story to being a part of this group and that there are varied cultures, backgrounds and ideas that make the company very unique (it also sounds very traditional - this could be good or bad depending upon what you stand for).

Lastly, what are you planning to do with your current name? Is there equity in the old name? Will you be co branding or endorsing your new name with the old? These questions (and many, many more) will help to determine whether you should employ a sub brand or stand alone name strategy. This will be critical in selecting a final name. For example, your existing name may add credibility, heritage and trust to the new name - something the new name cannot do on its own. Or, it could harm the new name if it brings with it some negative connotations.

All in all, there are a lot of things to think about and consider. I hope I've been some help. If you are able to answer some of these questions, I'd be happy to provide more insights.

All the best!

Hi Margec,

Since selecting a name can often be very subjective, I've often used a naming matrix to make name selection a more objective process. Once you've narrowed down to your top 6-10 names (max), create a chart with the following 3 headings:
Strategic
Creative
Tactical
You'll want to identify 3-5 criteria under each heading. For example, under strategic, you can include:
- reinforces brand essence (whatever that may be)
- works with existing brand name

Under creative, you can include:
- reinforces brand tonality - fun, creative, empowering
- will be easily accepted by target market: females, 25-45, etc

Under tactical, you can include:
- easy to say
- easy to spell
- easy to remember
- holds no negative connotations
- is understood in both French & English (doesn't apply to you - but is an example of a tactical element)

On a scale of -2 to +2 (in increments of .25) rate each criteria element for each name.

Then, weight each criteria section. For example, the strategic section could be worth 40%, the creative section 40% and the tactical section 20%.

Calculate the total score for each name and this should objectively give you the top 3 names based on your strategic objectives.

I like to get all key stakeholders involved in this process.