5 Steps for Effective Brand Name Brainstorming – Branding 101 – 05

Brainstorming is a vital part of any brand name creation process. But many people struggle to come up with ideas when they are brainstorming. Here is a helpful 5-step process for effective branding brainstorms that will help you get the most out of your sessions.

One of the most important tips for effective brainstorming is that two brains are always better than one; and three brains are better than two. Gather friends or coworkers to participate in the brainstorming sessions, because others who care about your cause can bring unique perspectives to your session.

1. Start With a Question

Creating a successful brand involves asking yourself the right questions.

What do you want to be known for? What customer needs does your product or service address? How can you differentiate yourself from your competitors?

Answering these questions will provide the foundation of your brand and help you develop a strategy for success. By starting with a question, brands can position themselves to better connect with their target audience and build trust.

These questions also help you spur ideas for your brainstorming session that are on the right track, help you categorize them in one of our next steps, and keep you focused on your brand.

2. Write Down Your Ideas

Brainstorming is a great tool for generating new ideas and exploring multiple possibilities. Writing down your ideas can help to capture the essence of your brainstorming session and ensure that no detail is forgotten. Not only is it helpful for tracking progress, but it also helps to identify which ideas are worth pursuing.

Taking the time to write down your ideas can help to focus your thoughts and give you a better understanding of the potential outcomes.

Remember, there are no good or bad ideas at this stage – they are just ideas. It’s okay if something seems crazy. Write it down anyway since it may spark other creative ideas that don’t seem quite so out there. ALL ideas are good at this point.

Avoid Groupthink

Groupthink is a phenomenon where members of a group become influenced by the opinion of their peers and make decisions that are not in their best interest. Groupthink can be a major inhibitor to creativity and productivity.

When brainstorming, it is important to resist the temptation to conform to the opinions of others. Instead, challenge your assumptions and ideas. This will help you develop better solutions and ultimately create a stronger brand.

Keep a Positive Perspective

It’s easy to get bogged down by negative thoughts when brainstorming.

But it’s important to keep a positive perspective. If you don’t, you may end up shutting down your creativity in favor of pessimism.

Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of a project, try to focus on the possibilities and potential benefits of your ideas. This will help to increase your motivation and allow you to explore more options.

Don’t Force Yourself To Come Up With Ideas

Brainstorming is not a race – there is no need to pressure yourself to come up with ideas quickly. Instead, take your time and allow yourself to explore all of the possible options. And don’t be so focused on a pre-determined end goal in your mind that you don’t allow yourself to fully participate in the brainstorming.

3. Organize Your Ideas Into Categories

Organizing ideas into categories is an effective way to brainstorm, as it allows you to better visualize and assess the different elements of a project.

By grouping related ideas together, it becomes easier to identify which elements should be prioritized, and which don’t necessarily fit the scope of the project.

Additionally, organizing your thoughts into categories can help you determine the sequence in which you will work on each element. This strategy can be especially useful for larger projects, or larger groups of participants.

From a branding perspective, organizing into categories can also help you to better understand customer needs and how your product or service can meet those needs.

Fewer categories in this step is better. You won’t want more than about 5 to 7 categories max; 3 to 4 can be ideal.

4. Rate Your Ideas From 1-10

Keep the Top Couple in Each Category

Now that you’ve grouped ideas into categories, it is important to rate your ideas in each category from 1 to 10 in order to prioritize them and ensure that the best ones receive top consideration.

This method of rating can help to improve the quality of ideas that are generated and can be used to identify which topics should receive further exploration.

Additionally, it allows for a more accurate and efficient way to effectively analyze ideas and determine which ones are worth pursuing.

Now, take the top one or two from each category; the exact number will depend upon how many categories you’re working with … a total between 10 and 12 is ideal for the next step.

5. Brainstorm Other Similar Names That Resonate With You

From your top couple of names ranked from the categories you developed, use them to brainstorm more words.

Think of words that are associated with your project and come up with other similar names that resonate with you.

Consider using these tactics:

• alliteration – >the conspicuous repetition of the starting consonant sounds of words. A familiar example is “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”
• rhyming words – repetition of similar sounds in the final stressed syllables or end of the word or phrase.  “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall”
• a combination of two words to create something truly unique. You can put two words together into a compound – like YouTube or Facebook.  Or use two words together like Estee Lauder or United Airlines

Brainstorming is an important part of the naming process, so take your time and explore all the possibilities.

Conclusion

Brainstorming is a crucial part of creating a successful brand name. Start with a brainstorming session: Before you start coming up with potential brand names, take the time to brainstorm and generate as many ideas as possible. This will give you a wide range of options to choose from, and will help you to come up with a unique and memorable brand name.