How I Brainstormed A Brand Name In Seven Steps
Most brand names can be divided into seven different categories. That’s a good starting point when brainstorming a new brand name.
Being tasked with creating a brand name for a mobile game I then could used these categories as a tool in the brainstorming process.
The Case At Hand
I started by getting to know the game. This is a short description of the game play:
As the leader, you control a nation’s future by regulating laws, taxes, and state expenditures. You react to events, listen to your advisors, and you follow the nation’s development in news feeds and visualized metrics.
The app offers hyper-realistic gameplay based on real-world data, giving you the opportunity to realize your visions for your nation.
One of the central visions for the game is that it shouldn’t really feel like a game; it should feel more like a app for monitoring and controlling the nation.
All of this should be reflected in the brand name.
Let the brainstorming begin
I try all seven categories but using an abbreviation feels like a bit of an unnecessary detour. (Why invent a long name and then shorten it?)
Unconventional spelling
The second approach, to alter the spelling of an existing word, or to invent a new word from an existing one, seems like a better way:
- Leadr
- Youtopia
- Simunation
- Rulr
- Nationize
Nouns, verbs and adjectives
Trying to create a brand name from a noun also gives me some decent alternatives (but most of them probably makes more sense to me than to anyone else):
- Switch
- Power
- Regulator
- Oath
- Regency
Combination of words
To create a name by combining two words, is probably the most straightforward method (and many of the them do sound like typical video games):
- SimNation
- Empire One
- RuleMaster
- MyWay
- StateManager
- StateCTRL
- State of Empire
- Absolute Authority
- Commander Control
- Central Command
- The Presidency
- State of Affairs
- Rulor (“Ruler” + “Emperor”)
I can also use this approach to do some play on words with established brands:
- MyState
- Rulebook
- Instastate
- State Day
- Statecraft
- Rulify
- Rulehub
- Ruleit
Personal names
Basing the brand name on a personal name is more challenging. I don’t have an interesting name, and since I want the game to be unbiased, using the names of famous leaders or political thinkers is a risky way to go:
- Caesar
- Julius
- Lincoln
- Roosevelt
- Khan
- Washington
- Jefferson
- Ramses
- Socrates
- Voltaire
- Franklin
Using Latin
Borrowing words from Latin seems… interesting:
- Vulgo Electus
- Princeps
- Potestas
- Publicae
- Lex Populus
- Omni/Omnio
Going for the gibberish
Going for the cool sounding gibberish, well, it actually leads to some pretty interesting names:
- Leadron
- Imperion
- Heador
- Omnitron
- Omnify
Ok, so all in all, I now have about 50 brand name suggestions. It’s time to determine if any of the names actually measure up.
Finalizing a short list
After I have summarized my lists, I feel confident that a couple of the names actually could work. Now there’s just one small question left — is any of the names available?
I want a short name, good domains for the game, and I also want to avoid any potential infringement on someone else’s trademark.
I proceed by searching for available domains on GoDaddy.com, I search the names on Google, AppStore and Google Play. I google them and I check if they are registered as a trademark at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the European Union.
Unfortunately many of my favourites turn out to be taken. (It’s crazy how many companies, products and services there is out there.)
After having to kill a lot of darlings, thankfully, a couple of good names still remain — and after some hard thinking I finally pick my winner.
A strong brand name
The final name belongs to both the category of unconventional spelling and the category of paired words: it’s unique, it stands out, it’s short, it sounds good, and it’s relevant for the game.
Can you guess which one it is?
