Anyone can come up with a new name. Ive heard of companies that literally brainstorm with everyone they know till they have an impressive list to consider.

The following process is how to sort the wheat from the chaff and find the best one.

Once the names have been generated (at this early stage, nothing is discounted to keep the brainstorming session flowing at optimum creativity), they then go through a screening process designed to eliminate those which dont meet the initial criteria ie 1. names that have an unintentional double meaning 2. ones that cant be pronounced easily, already in use, or too close to an existing name 3. names that have obvious legal complications (this is where the Trade Mark Attorney comes in) and finally 4. names that represent an obvious contradiction of the positioning and brand strategy.

Once the list has been narrowed down to a list of five possibles, it is advisable to do a quick initial search with the Trade Mark Attorney, and if he/she advises, undertake an extensive international (in these days of global business, considered prudent) legal search before spending large amounts of money on customer research. Because of the legal costs involved, it is wise to proceed in a sequential basis, eg only testing those which passed the legal screen from the first country.

Once the final group has been cleared, customer research can be undertaken to confirm management expectations of the memorability and meaningfulness of the names.

Finally, based on the results of the investigation, management can choose the name which best maximises the organisations branding and marketing objectives.

The last step in this process is to formally register the name.

Name verses No-name:

Some companies find themselves with a name which has become redundant because of changes in focus, products and services offered, amalgamation etc etc.

Often they make the decision to use their initials thinking this will help. All it does is reduce their status from a name company to a no-name company. Research shows the average awareness of a name company is 68%, while no-name companies rank at 49% - a whopping 19% lower. (Why do no-names like IBM work? Because theyve been around long enough to do it successfully and have a huge marketing budget.)

Why have a logo?

The combination of a name and symbol (collectively called a logo today) activates both sides of the brain, and is considered to be the strongest, most memorable approach.
A logo and powerful corporate colour scheme offers consistency, instant recognition and strong differentiation from competitors.

Why is Positioning such a big deal?

Positioning is of vital importance as it helps an organisation be seen and heard in the extraordinarily overcrowded marketplace. Without it, an organisation has nothing
meaningful to say, thus losing valuable marketing opportunities to their competitors.

Professional design firms have proven systems to establish positioning and points of differentiation, which is the method used to determine what form a new logo and corporate look should take.