Question

Topic: Branding

They Do Not Undersand The Name, But Does It Matter?

Posted by Anonymous on 2/20/2009 at 5:45 AM ET 500 Points
I have a small U.K. based business, and I choose the name
Cattle & Co.

But every time we introduce the company people ask.. "kettle", "Castle", so we end up spelling the name, which usually gets a confused "Cattle & Co, as in Cows?"

I know little about branding, but I choose the Cattle because cows are familiar to most people, especially in rural areas, and the Co. because I thought it would bring an air of respectability.Now I am not to sure.

Oh, I should add, that we are primarily involved in web design & development.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 2/20/2009 at 7:57 AM Member
    I personally do think a name is important, and if people do not understand it then I think it is an issue.
  • Posted by wnelson on 2/20/2009 at 8:09 AM Member
    Brian,

    Cattle and cows? How does that relate to web design and development? Cows and cattle are thought of as fairly dumb and when you see a bunch of people moving along without thinking, following someone blindly, they are moving like a herd of cows (even if this isn't the case). Is that the image you want to portray for your website? So you're in a rural area. Does that mean that you cater to farmers? If you're not, do you want your business clients to think "rural" - as opposed to a company they could hire from "the city?" Again the "rural" term drives one to think of less technical and worldly (even if this isn't the case). For web design and development, one can hire just about anyone anywhere. We don't necessarily need a neighbor; we can use a provider from another part of the world. Unless you have invested a lot into this name in terms of brand equity - like everyone knows the name now - then I'd suggest finding another name.

    As you think of a name, think what your core competencies are. Why would anyone want to hire you? What do you do better than anyone else in the world? Why would I hire you from rural UK versus hire someone from London? You're in an industry where your product and service has become a commodity. Microsoft offers free websites and hosting now. Any kid that can push a mouse and can buy an Adobe tool can be a website developer. What makes you better than them? These are things that need to be conveyed in your brand and name.

    I hope this helps.

    Wayde
  • Posted by ilan on 2/20/2009 at 8:14 AM Member
    A name has to resonate, no matter what. You can't "force" a name on people.
    The Cattle thing is not new.
    There's a famous design firm called Frog
    A famous bar called Elephant & ________ and many other animals brands.
    The big question is what do you do to promote, engage, involve the name with the soul of your brand.
    If you just let it hang there, of course people will not make a connection between cows and web design.
    I guess your main reason for choosing the name was to be cool, but you only have cool clothes (the name), maybe you should make the person (the brand) who's wearing them cool too...
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/20/2009 at 8:19 AM Member
    A spelling confusion can cost you business - especially if they find a competitor of yours' first.

    If you're sold on "cattle", consider "Web Cattle" (Tagline: We Herd Customers To You) or "Web Cow".
  • Posted by telemoxie on 2/20/2009 at 1:08 PM Accepted
    There are plenty of folks here who know tons more than me about branding (no pun intended for those cows) but you've asked for advice, so here goes.

    If this were my task, I would either personally survey my previous customers, or retain someone to survey my previous customers, to find out why your client selected you over the competition, and to find out what they like most about your services.

    This will of course give you valuable strategic information. It may also suggest a good name for your enterprise -- a name which is selected by your happy customers based on their impressions of your business, rather than something creative and out of left field.

    For what it is worth, I do not like the name cattle and company.
  • Posted on 2/22/2009 at 11:57 AM Author
    Hi Guys

    Sorry for the late reply, and thank you for your honest advice.

    The big issue is getting a domain name that matches the company name.

    We have registered :

    Alert Creative

    Creative Alert

    Call Creative

    Creative Call

    I would really like a nice domain/company name that contains the word creative, but its SO hard to find one.Any ideas?

    Again thanks for the honesty!
  • Posted by chough on 2/23/2009 at 12:40 PM Accepted
    Well, I prefer Cattle & Co to any of the above… it's pretty standout.
    When Steve jobs decided to take on IBM he named his company Apple, not SJC. And the most important product was a Macintosh not an XL500K.

    I think a name like Cattle & Co delivers strong differentiation – however you need a strong strapline, something like "Ahead of the herd" "Udderly Fantastic Web Design"or "No Bull Web Design". And if you need a logo designed…
  • Posted on 2/23/2009 at 11:05 PM Author
    Thanks guys for the advice. I still like Cattle & Co, but have rounded it down to a few other options...Lets have a vote!!

    STATE CREATIVE

    WORKS CREATIVE

    DESIGN CREATIVE

    BRAND NEW DEVELOPMENT

    BRAND DEMAND

    CREATIVE MIND

    CREATIVE BOOM

    THE CREATIVE STATE

    CREATIVE STATE

    ALERT CREATIVE

    CREATIVE ALERT
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