“Of course it needs a name”

A name feels like the logical (and mandatory) conclusion of most product and service development endeavors; a neat little bow.

The name is the end point! The name proves it’s real!

If you missed last month’s Naming Playbook, I shared some ways to filter out the naming requests that might not actually require names.

Naming every single feature or product extension can weaken your brand, wear out your customers’ patience, and confuse your message in the market. It also heaps work onto the plates of your product, marketing, brand, leadership, and legal teams, and racks up costs to clear, monitor, and enforce trademarks. 

Table of Contents

• Let’s start with a worst-case scenario:

• See what your strategy says

  • But plenty of the brands we work with already have …

• Here are four ideas for communicating what your of …

  • 1. Label a bundle of features

  • 2. Skip labeling, and just tell a story.

  • 3. Describe it in a distinct way.

  • 4. Look for a visual solution

Let’s start with a worst-case scenario:

I will, once again, hate on Nespresso:

With a mix of distinctively and descriptively named coffees (Melozio, Stormio, Sweet Vanilla), machines that use an indecipherable mix of modifiers on top of their product brand names (Vertuo, Vertuo Pop+, Vertuo Latissma, Vertuo Next, Vertuo Next RELOVE, CitiZ, CitiZ Platinum) and branded accessories (Aeroccino3), there is no simple way to shop, compare, or recommend a purchase without learning a pretty extensive vocabulary of brand names.

When you find yourself faced with the possibility of over-naming your portfolio, revisit this example, and see whether you’re at risk of creating a similar situation if the brand keeps creating names.

See what your strategy says

One of the first and best ways to get ahead of naming things that don’t “need” names is to have a clear naming strategy that helps every agree about what the brand devotes its naming efforts to: Often, it’s the places in the portfolio where you want audiences to have a relationship. With automakers, that’s the car’s model name—and not the technology on the center console hinge.

But plenty of the brands we work with already have naming strategies and naming guidelines in place, and STILL face demand to name…everything.

A big part of that is that no one wants to hear “no.”

But what if you focus on other ways for the requesting team to succeed based on the same goals they’d hoped the name would help them achieve? Things like communicating the value of their offering, standing out from competitors, or signaling to audiences that their needs are being met?

Here are four ideas for communicating what your offerings without developing brand names

1. Label a bundle of features

We work with a lot of technology companies. I’ve spent at least a decade and a half fielding requests to name features that, while important, are relevant to a small subset of users, or are only every VERY occasionally going to be seen.

That’s a lot of resources (name development, consensus building, clearing and registering a trademark, ongoing monitoring and enforcement, marketing of the feature) to communicate something that users will only find as a dropdown, under a dropdown, under a dropdown…(you get it).

Rather than naming every single feature separately, group related features together under a single, clear label. What’s their value, in audience terms? How will it change their experience? Tell a richer, more comprehensive story and make it easy for audiences to feel like you’re working hard for them.

What it can look like:

• Jira’s automation features: When you see this clearly organized lineup of features under the header Automation, it’s hard to imagine them being presented any other way. But anyone who has spent time naming can imagine a request coming in for each of these features to be named independently—resulting in something that looks more like Jira DragDrop, Jira Handraiser, Jira AssignPro, Jira SyncOne, and Jira Support Attendant.

2. Skip labeling, and just tell a story.

Sometimes, the best strategy is not naming at all. Let the new stuff speak for itself through clear messaging, great copy, or a compelling campaign.

• Notion: Notion rolls out improvements and new integrations without naming each update, instead clearly describing what's new and why it matters. In the email below, I highlighted the line that really stood out to me: “…we focused on reducing the number of clicks it takes to get things done.” A benefit I can understand, put into simple terms, and then played out across gifs that showed the supporting improvements in action.

  

3. Describe it in a distinct way.

Use evocative descriptions or unique-to-you phrasings to highlight what’s new or distinctive: A clear description is often more helpful than a branded name.

• Glossier: Frequently introduces product variations or attributes described vividly—“sheer-glaze shades,” “buildable formula for customizable coverage”—without distinct naming. They fit with the brand’s voice and personality, and are fun and memorable to say. Having a strong voice is an excellent way to save your brand from excessive naming.

  

4. Look for a visual solution

Sometimes, a little “Psst! Over here!” cue is all you need. Instead of bothering audiences with another name to remember, simple visuals can communicate important information effectively. Paired with some descriptive or navigational language, they can do the work of signaling, “This might be relevant to you right now!”

• Airbnb: Uses icons to help users work their way through new and useful information to help them make the right booking. Below, the little price tag paired with “Prices include all fees” let uses know that they have a new model for displaying prices. In the world where they named everything, this could have shown up as All-in Pricing or Price Certainty….or something worse…

  

Asking your audiences to learn too many names is often asking too much.

When you create focus by bundling, storytelling, describing distinctly, or visually gesturing “hey, check out this stuff”, you simplify your communication. And simpler comms are stronger comms.

I won’t pretend that the demand to name everything will subside anytime soon. But showing your internal requesters other paths to clarity about what they made and why it’s great can lead to better outcomes for your brand, your budget, and your relationship with your audiences.

Want more help naming, un-naming, or knowing when or what to name? Shoot me an email: [email protected].

 – Caitlin Barrett
Founder and naming expert, Wild Geese Studio
Your strategic naming partner for development, operations, and evaluation.

P.S. If you manage naming in a large organization (1,000+ employees with a robust portfolio of names or frequent naming requests), I’d love to interview you or share our naming operations benchmarking survey. Reply to this email, and I’ll send you the details.