Naming Tip #7: Don’t be afraid to be edgy

Share

Don’t be afraid to be BOLD. Distinguish yourself from your competitors; don’t imitate them. You think everyone felt comfortable with the name Virgin? Of course not. But it stood out and had a great story to tell. A name’s edginess can play to its advantage by signaling a brand that’s different and game changing.

Embrace the dark side! No, seriously. Most juicy words have a lot of connotations – positive, negative, neutral – depending on the context. Just because a good name has a dark side, that isn’t a reason to kill it. Just be sure that there’s enough “good” left in the name. (Even Darth Vader had good qualities deep down inside!) As long as your name’s negative associations don’t completely overshadow its positive ones, the edginess will likely help you stand out and be remembered. And remember: most consumers aren’t spending their time at the store thinking of all the negative associations that come to mind with any given product name. Context can help steer their perceptions in the right direction.

This is part seven in a ten-part CatchThis series. Check back every Monday morning for subsequent naming tips. Check out previous Naming Tips here.

RELATED INSIGHTS

What do expert namers think of the proliferation of "Deep" names? Catchword's take in The Washington Post
02.18.2025
Fast Company tapped the Catchword team to evaluate Dell's new brand architecture. Spoiler: great strategy, meh naming
01.09.2025

Maria is Co-Founder & Creative Director of Catchword Branding and has personally created hundreds of brand names, including Asana, Upwork, Vudu, and

11.25.2024