Should Your Company Name Also be Your Brand Name?

Consumers buy your brand, not your corporation. So you should choose the name carefully. For example, you buy laundry detergent based on the brand name and not the corporation that makes it.

This is why the brand name almost always comes before the company name, like swiggies by HydroSport. The brand name should get top billing because that’s what the customers remember. You can make it simple by using the brand name as your corporate name.

The company name matters to their employees. They work for the company and not the brand names they manufacture. The company name matters to the executives that work there. So that divides it into two different situations. The corporation has its own life separate from the brand. It’s usually the company that is talked about in the trade papers and the Wall Street news.

Instead of using the company name and the brand together, you can put them both on the packaging. Always make the brand name bigger than the company name.

There’s another way to look at the brand names vs. corporate names dilemma. A corporate name will live on even if the brand name dies out. A brand name could be a trend or fad, like Beanie Babies, yet the corporate name they fall under, Ty, could continue to live on. That’s another thing to think about as you pick a name.

Your corporate name can be boring, but never pick a boring name for your products. It needs to be unique and different and be something that resonates with your customers. It needs to connect with them emotionally. Don’t pick names that limit you too much. You never know what direction your business is going to go in or how big your product line will become. You also need to think about how your brand names and corporation name will play out around the world. Some names don’t translate very well.

A brand name, whether you use the product or corporate name, should be well thought out in advance. The positive side of having a successful brand is that it can become bigger than the corporation. But if the brand sinks for any reason, or is associated with something negative, you take the whole company down with it. Rebranding down the road can be a tricky and expensive undertaking. So choose wisely.

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