Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

Hi,

Prior to my current job in Marketing, I spent about 15 yrs in the brand consultation and naming field. So, I would just like to qualify that I can provide you with some insights on brand strategy and naming, but will not go down the tagline route (I'll leave this skill to the experts).

A brand is a promise of benefits. A brand should be unique and relevant to your prospective clients. Your first exercise should be to list all of your benefits. Second, circle all of the benefits that are unique/different than your competition. Third, highlight those that would be most relevant to your customers / prospects.

I am very familiar with the special events market. My business rents "creative enclosures" (aka very large tents / structures) to major fashion houses and event planners across North America. I guarantee that if you did an audit of names within your industry (which I recommend that you do), you'll find that 90% of them lack creativity AND sound the same - i.e. Extraordinary Events, Eclectic Events, Experiential Events, Classic Events, Elite Events....and the list goes on.
In order for a name to be successful, it needs to be distinct and memorable.

So, saying all of that, you asked the question:
"We are really stumped with a name and tagline...do we want to talk about how we are sisters and do everything or do we want to market ourselves as an elite events sort of company?"

My recommendations:
- the fact you are sisters...who cares? This is not relevant or beneficial to your customers / prospects.
- the fact that you do everything...this is not highly unique. There are a lot of event planners / wedding planners who are turnkey. However, there might be elements of what you do that are unique. Find out what those are.
- the fact that you are elite...what does this mean? You do high end events. Again, not highly unique. You're expensive. Not highly unique. However, this might work better as a tone than a brand benefit. I.e. all of your corporate communications can have an elite feel to it, your copy can feel prestigious, etc.
- the fact that you own an estate. To my knowledge, this is highly unique...is it relevant? - you might want to do some market research on this if you haven't already.
- are these benefits enough to make me choose you over your competition? I'm not sure. Find out what is unique & relevant.
- think about how you're going to overcome the stigma that you're new to the game. Your competitors might use this to discount you to your potential contacts.
- don't use "events" as an integral part of the name. Use it as a descriptor that is carried with the name.

I hope that I've given you some good food for thought. I'd highly recommend that you take a step back and answer some of the questions I've listed. If you provide answers, I'd be more than happy to provide my thoughts on a name specifically.

All the best! & Congratulations!!

Dear yourdistantassistant,

If your niche will be 'weddings' and not just 'any' event, then I can recommend the following:

'Blissful Events'
or
'The wedding planners' (Ok it cheesy, but may work)
or
'Memory Makers'

All the best

Lara is asking the right questions. Before you go down the naming path, you first need to define (for yourselves, let alone for us) what makes you unique, what benefit promise will be most appealing to your target audience, and why exactly the target audience should hire you and not one of your competitors.

If you skip this step, you're going to sub-optimize not only your name/tagline but also your entire strategic marketing plan. You deserve better than that.

The success of your business hangs on the up-front planning. Give it the time and focused attention it deserves.

Building on Lara's good comments, it seems like the uniqueness of the estate might be a way of creating a memorable name for the business. If the estate is known by a name in your area, then start with that and consider adding a word to describe the business. Like if the estate has been called Smithfield, brainstorm one more word that captures your business. You need to think about what your key benefits are before brainstorming on the business name, as Lara points out, but for example:

Smithfield Memories
Smithfield Celebrations
Smithfield Panache

Etc. Without knowing more about your marketplace and specific selling points, my initial feeling is that I would see if I could find a word (possibly not an English word) that is recognizable as representing brilliant style. I'd leave the word "weddings" out of the name, because you could host many different kinds of events at your site, and would not want to limit the business to just weddings. Corporate events, theme weekends, fundraiser events, etc. are all possibilities. It sounds like a joy to market! Good luck,
Marge

While Lara's advice is right on for those creating a brand. My question is do you have the money to educate everyone as you create the brand.

Here is the acid test that i suggest to retail customers...
If you went to a mall, sporting event, downtown, etc and threw a hundred cards in the air.. and a hundred people found them.. How many would know what you do? If the answer is less than 50% - you may be in trouble.

Icing on the Cake - "THE wedding experience"
Forever and a Day - Your new life starts here
White Bliss - Weddings to Remember

or any combination!
Great idea. Best of luck.