Criteria for Brand Name Success

Criteria for Brand Name Success

A major part of developing a successful brand is to select the appropriate brand name or mark. Avlontitis and Papastathopoulou (2006) developed a list of guidelines associated with brand name success:
1. Use many vowels (e,a,u,i,o,y) for making pronunciation easier (example: IKEA)
2. Brand name must be preferably short (example: Fiat)
3. Brand names should not carry negative or offensive meanings (note that words have different meanings in different countries/languages)
4. Use artificial brand names (example: Apple)
5. Name could describe certain product characteristics or uses (example: Everyday ...)
6. Name may suggest the impact they have on people (example: Easy jet)
7. Brand names should not be similar to competitive brands for avoiding confusion. (example: Goodrich and Goodyear tyre manufacturers). Besides 'Googling' the intended name, there are also companies providing the service of checking for similar names.

Furthermore the brand name has to support the product positioning; inconsistencies may create confusion in the customers' minds.
Source: Avlontis, G. J., Papastathopoulou, P. (2006). Product and Services Management. London: Sage Publications Ltd.