What's In A Name?

What goes into naming a company? How do they pick just the right order of their founders' last names, and how do they build the reputation behind it that makes these names iconic?

Is picking a name like writing a story? To me, it seems that it would have to be. When you write a story, you always write the text of it first- the actual plot, developing the characters, etc. The very last thing you do is come up with the title, because the entire point of the title is to sum things up, give an innovative and sometimes surprising aspect to the story in general. Some great stories have the most interesting titles, and not all are merely descriptive. In fact, it's the ones that aren't descriptive, the ones that lead you to believe something that may not actually be true in the tale, or may be inferred a different way than what is actually meant, that are the best stories. For example, take the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. The actual titles of the books themselves- The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass- are all descriptive for their respective books; however, the title of the series itself- His Dark Materials- almost, one would think, has nothing to do with the books themselves! Who is "he" and what do "his dark materials" have to do with anything that happens in any of these books?

As a matter of fact, it has quite a lot to do with them. Read the series, and then let's chat about it. I don't want to spoil anything for you right now, but I will say that this title provides a significant amount of insight in to the series' atheistic overtones, and the fact that God may or may not actually exist in these books. How do we find this out? Why, through using the dark materials, of course!

This name provides a twist. It gives insight. None of the words in the title is used in vain. All have a purpose.

This is exactly what the name of a legitimately good marketing or advertising firm should have as well. If the founder has an already-established reputation that speaks of good things to come, then use it. If not, see what else you can come up with. But the first and foremost thing you should do is establish the mission. Tell the story. Expound upon the philosophy. Make people believe you, and then they'll know your name and come to respect it.

In society today, it seems that almost all names are descriptive. But the ones that aren't are the ones that have the most credible philosophies, and those are the ones that I'm most inclined to trust. Don't get me wrong; there are quite a lot of great and wonderful agencies whose names are just that, and that's fine. But when starting out in today's economic situation and in today's world of cutthroat competition, it's important to have something that sets you apart.

So that a rose by any other name would definitely not smell as sweet.