Once, Twice, Three Times Creative: How to enjoy an effective extra round of creative work
Creative endeavors can sometimes produce an environment where a client is curious to see as many options as possible. In the case of our naming business we call this a third round. For reference, we typically develop company and product names across two rounds—a third is rare, but sometimes helpful. We’ve built our naming process around two-round projects specifically because they have a high success rate at scale. Let’s take a look at how and why third rounds happen, and when they can be useful.
At A Hundred Monkeys, we typically work with client-side teams of one to four people. Over the course of our naming process we gather their opinions and insights about names, and make sure that everyone’s voice is heard. Ideally, by the end of the process we will find that most or all of the team have gravitated around a set of favorite names. At that point, they can take the names forward for deep legal screening and trademark registration. Sometimes a team may split into “camps” that like a couple different directions for the name. Finally, on other projects a team’s favorable feedback may be uniformly distributed across the names we’ve presented and many of those names could still be viable options.
None of these situations are fatal, but each presents a different motivator for why a client might ask for a third round.
If the team has effectively completed the naming process—with anywhere between three and five names that they like as a group—and still wants a third round we are happy to indulge them, pending timeline and budget. In such a case, we push directly on those favorite names themselves, searching out new names that are similar in substance or style. This version of a third round may yield new fruitful names or demonstrate to a client that we have done our due diligence on the concepts they love best, in terms of creativity and availability. They can look at their existing favorites and a handful of fresh names with a sense of confidence and resolve.
If the team’s feedback is of “two camps” then a third round can offer several names that embody those specific directions and test their extremes. In some cases a team will realize that they have the strongest of a given camp in hand, but can make their decision easier having seen the different avenues followed to their logical conclusions. There are no epiphanies in naming and this scenario often leads to a serious and productive conversation about priorities for the name.
If the team’s feedback is spread across a broad swathe of names it could be that they have different opinions on the vital differences between the names and what they want to focus on with their brand. Could a third round offer a solution? Yes. But so could an open discussion with the team about the direction the final name should go, given everyone’s perspectives on the matter. It could be that there is a difference of opinion amidst their primary decision makers and time is better spent discussing those issues as opposed to creating more names.
Naming can be a tricky creative adventure for clients. There is a lot to learn over a short period of time — on both sides of the client-creative dynamic — and there is a lot of nuance to thinking about names in the right context at an early stage. It’s understandable that the process may lead to enhanced curiosity—a longing to know “what’s out there” or a variety of opinions on how best to home in on the right name. The naming process won’t always be a broad thoroughfare that narrows steadily to a neat path. There can be twists and turns — pivots in terms of name concept or preference can hypothetically occur anywhere during the process — and the excitement of seeing a fresh set of names can be invigorating, even emotionally charged and complex.
Ultimately, the reasons for having a third round that we’ve discussed today are pretty reasonable—wanting a few more focused options or to feel assured that we’ve explored every wrinkle of a concept. However, there are indeed bad reasons for wanting a third round, like not being ready, or able, to make a decision. Whether a client realizes it or not, a third round can be a cover for punting a decision or delaying other steps in the branding process. This is one of the third round dilemmas that can be explored another time…
Thanks to Ben Weis and Patrick Keenan.
