At the very foundation of a brand is its name. It means everything as it becomes the material for a logo, for writing and for auditory representation. Developing names is a business in itself. It's a very lucrative, but very complex business laced with linguistic studies, cultural research and various other elements that collide into a strategy. A trend or pattern has emerged that seems to be the antithesis of brand naming. Let's call is genericisation.

 

Being in New York weekly over the last couple years allows me to experience new companies often. Some are crazy names who's origins no one could possible figure out. I have noticed a trend that seems to fall into a niche of hipster, artsy, earthy types of shops.

The gist of this trend is a single generic name for a company. Cut - a knife shop in Brooklyn. Baked - a bakery/coffee shop in Brooklyn. Quaint - a restaurant in Queens. The basic nouns and verbs that often go overlooked and seem powerless have become resounding in their message for brands. It is the ultimate form of "Keep It Simple Stupid," KISS for short.

I absolutely love the movement, but feel that it's appeal and affect could quickly wane. I believe its power is derived from the abuse of word combinations bastardized by pharmaceutical companies. Viagra, Cymbalta, Ambien, Wellbutrin, etc. These are words that are completely new and made up.

Although some are well done, the over-saturation devalues their effectiveness and opens the door for the one-word phenoms popping up left and right. Will either cancel the other out? Maybe the pendulum will swing back in full force. As long as we stop seeing geographical brand names like New England Plumbers and Mid Atlantic Communications, I'm all for either. Let's just use a bit of tact in integration and use. That's all. Thoughts?

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