← DictionaryNaming
also called brand naming
The discipline of creating and evaluating names for businesses, offers and products.
Choosing a name that works legally, verbally and visually.
What It Is
In the BWH map, Naming lives under Brand. The working definition is simple: the discipline of creating and evaluating names for businesses, offers and products.
It is an idea you reason with rather than a deliverable you hand over, so two teams can both hold it correctly and still apply it differently. That definition is deliberately narrow — the narrowness is what makes it usable.
How It's Used
Naming comes up in positioning conversations, identity decisions and the language a business commits to. It rarely travels alone — expect it next to Brand Name and Domain. The practical test is whether a decision changes because of it.
Why It Matters
Getting Naming wrong is expensive in a quiet way. When it is unclear, every later choice about message, design and channel is made on sand. The businesses that treat it seriously spend less time redoing work.
Imagine a rule of thumb that helps you choose between options. Choosing a name that works legally, verbally and visually.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
In agency and in-house rooms, Naming means exactly the discipline of creating and evaluating names for businesses, offers and products.
In plain conversation it comes out as choosing a name that works legally, verbally and visually.
The Bottom Line
Naming pays off when it is specific and costs you when it is not. Choosing a name that works legally, verbally and visually.