The names we gravitate to are memorable, not too similar to names of other groups, and (hopefully) original and not copyrighted already.
Trends are odd factors in naming. For a while “like google” entered every conversation. And while some groups are perfectly suited to it, not many sound right with a Swahili name.
Your group’s name needs to “feel” right, and sticky in the right way.
One client came to us, a research group with the name “Technical Assistance for Prevention Outcomes and Measurements,” they went by the lovely acronym of “TA-POM.” We came up with the name, “Prevention by Design” which suited them to a T and greatly improved morale.
We created the campaign “Voices Not Victims” to say in shorthand that violence prevention can be more effective with communication and advocacy rather than with reinforcement of the idea of a victim. One is positive and hopeful the other continues fear and immobility.
We like to turn things on their head to get a point across like with “Respect is what’s Sexy” a campaign that took the tired concept of “asking for it” and spun it around.
Unlike a logo or other defining image, a name more often “nails it” rather than embellishes all you are trying to say. We take you through a process to get at the nugget of who your group is. Sometimes it’s more organic than listing out options, sometimes it gets blurted out by an unlikely candidate during the time we are working on it.
Then it’s back into the creative cave to work on a logo…
