Brands: Namestorming

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SO "BE" IT: DeSando and partner Barry Falck Markham Johnson

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Last year, My Artist's Place, a child actor's talent company and television production studio in Emeryville, Calif., decided to change its name to something more kid-friendly. President Erik DeSando invited six managers of the 40- employee, $10 million company, including the heads of marketing, graphics, and production, to brainstorm names that suggest creativity and individuality to teens interested in art. The team bandied about ideas for weeks, developing a list of about 150 possibilities before the company's chief operating officer lit upon the winner—"Be." Says DeSando: "The minute we heard it, there was no more discussion needed. It branded everything we wanted to say."

Keep in mind that this street runs two ways. Your products must also reinforce the image conjured by your name. Experts frequently point to Apple. The name piques interest by evoking knowledge and education, and the company follows through by making great products with similar connotations. "There is a virtuous circle of the name helping to create interest and the products feeding back to the name," says Shore.

You'll do well to remember the sort of names that many executives wish they could forget. ValuJet, the former name of AirTran Airways (AAI), made the airline sound cheap and downscale, says Shore. Back in the 1980s, United Airlines (UAUA) parent UAL spent millions of dollars to rebrand itself as Allegis, only to spend millions of dollars to revert to UAL when customers didn't respond favorably. Says Carr: "There was a total disconnect with the airline, and no reason to remember it."

If It Ain't Broke

As UAL learned the hard way, changing the name of a well-established business comes with some risk. No matter what the shortfalls of your current name, your customers identify your products and services with it. But it may be worthwhile to change your name if your brand has been sullied by bad news, or it no longer suits your company. Because changing a name can be tricky, you may want to enlist the help of an outside firm that will help choose and market the name. To minimize disruption, pros recommend talking about your new name early and often. "It is essential to have a campaign to announce it, and provide a rationale for it," says Mike Ladd, president of Smith-Winchester, a marketing and branding firm in Southfield, Mich. Steps might include holding focus groups, mailing brochures, and creating a new logo. Depending on the firm and how detailed the plan, expect to spend between $10,000 and several hundred thousand dollars.

In 1997, after Potomac Funds, named for the river the founders saw outside their window, moved into more innovative investments and wanted to reach more money managers, the executives decided a new image was in order. Plus, the company relocated from Washington, D.C., to Boston. Says Todd Kellerman, chief financial officer: "We wanted to express innovation and excellence and partnership with the customer base." Potomac hired Boston branding consultancy Sametz Blackstone Associates, which interviewed current and prospective customers about the company's name, products, and services, eventually producing a positioning document to guide communications and marketing for the new name. They ultimately settled on "Direxion Funds," because they felt it suggested the direction of the markets, and denoted a sense of leverage and movement, Kellerman says. The process took six months and cost about $50,000.