When Do Acronym Brand Names Work?
Working with an acronym brand name is challenging. Most of them don’t have much meaning. More importantly, they are not memorable. Despite all that, there is no shortage of companies wanting a brand name like IBM or GE.
If your client has deep pockets and an extended timeframe, then acronyms might work. Otherwise, I recommend different naming strategies.
What if your client still wants an acronym brand name? Then the three points below could make your life easier.
Initialism
With initialism, we pronounce a string of letters (BBC, USA.) You should use your initials, only if people know the full name of your organization.
Everybody knows what the FBI or the SEC stands for. If your company name fulls under this category, then go ahead, use your initials. GE, IBM, BMW. and GM have almost five centuries of history combined. They have earned the right to use their initials. How long have you been around?
Speaking of GE, here is a rule of thumb for knowing when your brand is ready to use its initials. Whenever GE enters a new market, it deploys its logo only in baby blue. Once the awareness of the logo in baby blue has reached 50%, GE starts using the monogram publicly in any color. You can apply the same logic to using your initials.
Acronym
When you form a meaningful (or at least phonetically sound) name from your initials, you create an acronym. For instance, MADD is the abbreviation of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Honestly, can an acronym get any better than that?
Here are a few more acronym brand names that we like:
— MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)
— NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
— SUNY (The State University of New York)
Before we move on to the next point, let’s give you a few cocktail talking points.
Did you know that Italian auto brand FIAT stands for “Federation Internationale Automobiles Torino?” Or LASER means “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation?” Or Scuba stands for “Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus?”
Coined abbreviation
Finally, suppose the above two tactics don’t work. In that case, you can try to invent a name containing a mixture of initial and non-initial letters.
One of the most successful examples is Radar, which stands for radio detection and ranging. PanAm is the short form of Pan–American Airlines; Cadeca, Casas de Cambio; and Soho, South of Houston.
Now that you know the three tactics to create acronym brand names, here is a parting question for you: In which category does the NASDAQ fall?
Let’s end with an actionable tip.
Acronym brand names could work, but try to avoid initials. They rarely do, unless you have been around for half a century.
