Naming is hard.
It plays a significant role in making your business memorable, so there’s real pressure to get it right. There’s also brand equity at stake. Will it stand out in a crowded market? Can it be trademarked? Is the domain available? Does anyone else already have the name?
That’s why the Brand Spark process at KISS is so valuable. It brings the verbal side of your brand into focus on a single page. Naming becomes much easier when it’s not just based on personal taste, but rooted in your product or service offer.
We’ve taken part in many naming workshops and developed names for a wide range of brands - from Level X to Circe’s, to Melt Cult.
But one name that Matt (Strategic Director at KISS) developed earlier in his design career at London agency Springetts was for the global ice cream manufacturer Froneri.
The Connoisseur brand was originally created in Australia and acquired by Froneri in 2009. At this time, they wanted to launch a new super-premium ice-cream stick brand in Europe and beyond. Something with a distinct USP and more global appeal. Initially attempts were made by the Client to create new names of their own but they fell short of the mark. At this point, they reached out for creative expertise to get it right.
Naming needs criteria in which to work from, a strategy to measure against and create direction. In this case for this naming brief it was taste and adventure.
The naming process
Name exploration starts with big open thinking, grabbing sources of words and ideas from anywhere and everywhere. This could be maps, magazines, language dictionaries, films, games and everything in between. Names can come from anywhere. The knack here is knowing where to push the hunt and not giving in too early. With a broad list of ideas, all words are then filtered into the right or wrong pile.
Then cutting, merging, smashing and abbreviating, a real experimental mash up of words comes together to try and find the right name.
This carries on till you land on some strong contenders. Ones with promise that fit the criteria. These are then checked for existing use or trademarks and web domain availability. Once narrowed down to 3-4, we then capture the sentiment of each name with a moodboard to help really sell in the bigger idea and feeling of the name.
All of this gives the client confidence in the proposed ideas.
The chosen one
In a similar process to this, Matt uncovered the word Nui, which means ‘plenty’ in the language of Maori – very apt for a Pacific based brand. An exotic feeling, a sense of indulgence and adventure, reflecting accurately the benefits of this new product. With only one tweak, he added another ‘i’ to the word to complete the final name…Nuii.
Distinctive and evocative, ready to go head-to-head with Magnum.
Ten years on, Nuii has become a popular ice cream of choice in the freezer ailes at many supermarkets across the UK, continuing to bring adventurous flavours to consumers.
If naming feels stuck, try absorbing and remixing the ideas you’re already encountering. And when you need an outside spark, a creative team can bring fresh perspective and a large knowledge base to help shape an ownable name you can confidently run with.