The Ten Commandments of Branding
Anthony Mitchell has a nice writeup on his proposed “Ten Commandments of Branding.” Mitchell is an expert in the Indian IT outsourcing industry.
The article mainly focuses on tactics for what he calls “Outsourcing 2.0,” where brand image is key for an outsourcing firm’s success. I have taken Mitchell’s points and applied them to the domain industry and web development.
For more of an “Outsourcing 2.0″ company spin on things you can read the original Ten Commandments of Branding on E-commerce News.
1. Focus on Target Markets
Make sure your brand or domain is well accepted by your consumers and visitors. Take into account geographical location.
2. Don’t Covet Another’s Brand
Copying the slightest detail of another company’s brand or someone else’s domain name can lose your credibility. The best thing you can do is be original and thrive on the uniqueness of your own name.
3. Match Brands Exactly With Domain Names
“A brand should be identical to its corresponding domain name. For example, a brand for news and services to protect against software vulnerabilities could be expressed as SoftwareVulnerabilities.com, not Software-Vulnerabilities.com or iSoftwareVulnerabilities.com. The dash can help in mirror sites put up for search engine optimization, but not for the primary brand. Unless streaming video is involved, only dot-com and dot-net names should be used for international and North American markets.”
Essentially your brand IS your domain name. However, it would be wise to remember that your brand also encompasses your logo, slogan and web design. The following “commandments” are essentially tips on how to pick a good domain name.
See also, “10 Tips for Investing in Domain Names.”
4. Don’t Use Silly Prefixes
We all remember the “e” fad in the domain industry and the recent resurgence of the “i” prefix. Unless you are a multi-million dollar industry (see: eBay, iPod) then I suggest you leave out the trendy vowels.
5. Escape the Background Noise
Mitchell reminds us to not use cliché words such as “global,” “tech,” “soft,” “serve” or “solutions.”
6. Obey Rules of Grammar
This one is self explanatory. Don’t make up words. No hyphens. No oddly placed numbers. Only capitalize when appropriate.
7. Avoid Negative Connotations
Mind your target audience and be sure not to offend them. Take a step back and make sure your name will be well liked by any potential clients or visitors. Make sure your name is not inadvertently making you look bad in some other context.
8. Make Brands Memorable and Easy to Spell
Memorable names bring people back. If you don’t leave a lasting impression on a customer then they are likely to forget they even visited you. You can also tie this into your logo with appealing use of color and contrast, give them something to “Wow” about.
These last two commandments are especially important for developing a strong company brand.
9. Obtain Internal Understanding and Acceptance
Make sure everyone in your company, partners and associates agrees on your brand. You want your employees to be proud and promote your company willingly.
10. Test Prior to Deployment
Find and survey members of your target audience, ask them about potential names. (Try to avoid domain snipers in your questionings though! :P) Getting insight into the public eye before you spend dollars on your brand is a must.
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May 18th, 2007 at 9:57 am
11. Feel free to break rules 4-8 at will if you think you can…
Yahoo, del.icio.us are just two examples of breaking the rules, some times a brand can be forged in the most unlikely form, a small penguin for example is now as much as symbol as the apple and windows logo, yet their is no definitive tux image still a brand is formed.
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July 20th, 2007 at 4:25 am
Great tips, I’m unsure on 4-8 after all quirky names are some what tough to forget. As for 8 and been able to spell, Come on really: You in a rush, typing while drunk, there are more mis-pelt words in this world then there are formal words and spellings.
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August 10th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
This is a great tip for me i think this will be useful nice tips really gr8 tips ………………
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August 20th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Nice set of tips. And, I guess the third rule is applicable in all cases, when choosing domain names.
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November 20th, 2007 at 4:42 am
This is a great article. Some useful tips here. Thankyou :)
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May 28th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Branding can be achieved in many ways, these are a few solid approaches but it isn’t highly advised they be kept word-for-word on a few of them (4-8 mainly). Brands can reach out and gain attention in a whole slew of different mediums and often times overlook the most cost effective and directly visible mediums. Great tips overall, thanks!
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February 12th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Great tips. I disagree with you about hyphens though. First, it is a rule of grammar :-), but more importantly, I strongly believe it’s better to have a domain name that reflects the company name as closely as possible. If by doing that, it becomes clear that it can be misread (particularly if it the misreading can be incorrect (Powergen Italia’s http://www.powergenitalia.com is a frequently cited example), then in my opinion, it’s far better to put in a hyphen than to pick a domain name that’s quite different to the company name. Americans may not like hyphens - the rest of us manage fine with them.
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February 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Sorry - I meant ‘if the misreading can be rude’!
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May 31st, 2009 at 2:45 pm
its all great tips i like this site so much thanks for sharing
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June 7th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I have to admit Branding is everything in business, but without any means of strategic marketing be it online or offline, your brand still would draw less customers.
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