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Deciphering The Indecipherable — The Dictionary of Branding
Welcome to the Scarcliff | Salvador Dictionary of Branding, the
most comprehensive glossary of branding and naming on the Web. Our
goal is to produce and maintain an up-to-date record of the terms
of art in use in our field, including the latest branding concepts,
naming styles and techniques, tagline types, and commercially-useful
linguistics terms.
Each entry is cross-referenced if appropriate and includes examples
from the marketplace wherever possible. Please contact us with your
suggested additions and corrections.
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Abbreviation (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name created by shortening a word or phrase. Inc.
magazine is an excellent example of an abbreviation which outdoes
its full form by conveying an insider image. Compare acronym, initialism,
and nickname. [Middle English abbreviaten < Late Latin abbreviare
< Latin ad- ‘to’ + breviare ‘shorten’]
Acronym (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name formed from the initial letter or letters of a series
of words in a phrase. To be precise, an acronym is typically pronounced
as a ‘word’ rather than as a series of letters; if it
can not be pronounced as a word, technically it is an initialism.
In other words, NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement)
is an acronym, and IBM (International Business Machines)
is an initialism, but the term acronym is often used loosely for
both techniques. Compare Initialism.
Adjectival Phrasal Doublet (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name consisting of two conjoined descriptive adjectives
which together suggest the key attributes of the offering. The chief
virtue of this type of name is that it immediately conveys the important
features of many simple products. Lea & Perrins Sweet 'n
Spicy steak sauce is a good example of this naming technique,
which is clearly overused.
Agentive Noun (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name consisting of a noun denoting the agent or doer of
an action, in English typically formed by adding the suffix ‘-er’
to the base verb. The advantages of a name of this sort are its
clarity and energy. The Ford Explorer sports utility vehicle,
for example, makes a clear statement about the aspirations of its
driver.
Alliteration (naming, verbal branding)
Any ancient poetic and naming technique involving the initial repetition
of the same initial consonant or vowel or, more rarely, of any initial
vowel. All of the names of Ford's sports utility vehicles, for example,
currently begin with the letter E (the Explorer, the Expedition,
the Escape, and the Excursion). Compare Alliterative
Phrasal Doublet. [Latin ad- ‘to’ + littera ‘letter’]
Alliterative Phrasal Doublet (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name consisting of two or more conjoined words, each beginning
with the same phoneme. In keeping with the Anglo-Saxon tradition
of alliterative poetry, English is replete with formulaic phrases
of this sort. Think of bread and butter, do or die, sink or swim,
wild and woolly, and so on. MCI’s Friends and Family
calling circle program is a successful modern application of this
principle; in fact, it is a direct modern translation of the archaic
English phrase kith and kin. [Latin ad- ‘to’ + littera
‘letter’]
Allusion (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name which includes a reference, explicit or implicit,
to a culture's classical literature, or any indirect reference to
pop culture. The Honda Odyssey minivan references Homer's
epic poem The Odyssey. [Late Latin allusion ‘a playing with’]
Alphanumeric (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name consisting of some combination of letters and numbers.
There are a plethora of alphanumeric names on the market today.
The Lexus ES300 sedan is an example of the frequent use of
alphanumerics to name luxury cars.
Amalgam (naming, verbal branding)
The blending of two or more meanings into one brand name. The Dodge
Caravan minivan is a serendipitous amalgam of ‘car’
and ‘van’, in addition to being a fitting name in its
own right. According to a Dodge ad, “We added '‘minivan’
to the English language; '‘car-like’ came from you.”
[Old French amalgame < Late Latin amalgama < Greek malagma
‘soft mass’]
Anachronism (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name whose use is chronologically incongruous. The appeal
of Orville Redenbacher's gourmet popping corn, for example,
is inextricably tied to its old-fashioned moniker. Roman Meal
bread is another clear example of a deliberate anachronism. [Greek
ana- + chronos ‘time’]
Anacronym (naming, verbal branding)
Any acronym or abbreviation that is so well established that its
origin is no longer widely understood. Scuba (self-contained
underwater breathing apparatus)is an example. [coined from anachronism
+ acronym]
Analogy (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name created on the model of another name or language
pattern. For example, the Mrs. Tea teamaker is analogous
to the Mr. Coffee coffeemaker. [Middle English analogie <
Old French < Latin < Greek analogia < analogos ‘proportionate’]
Anaptyxis (naming, brand name research)
The insertion of a vowel or vowels to break up a troublesome consonant
cluster. This happens frequently when English words are borrowed
into a foreign languages with a different consonant-vowel sound
pattern. For example, M&M's chocolate candies appear
in Japanese as Emuandoemu.
Andronym (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name with a distinctively masculine tonality. Red Bull
energy drink is an example of an andronym. Compare Gynonym.
Anonym (naming, verbal branding)
Any company, product, service, etc. that has not yet been given
a name or a code name. Also, a brand name so bland that it blends
into the crowd.
Antonym (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name created as the direct opposite of another name. For
instance, the nickname of 7-Up, The Uncola, depends upon
its antonym; the product is defined in terms of what it is not.
Aphesis (naming, linguistics)
Any name formed by the omission of the initial syllable of a word
or phrase. For example, the word ‘blog’ was formed by
aphesis from the words ‘web log’.
Appellation (naming, verbal branding)
An alternative name or descriptive epithet. The Uncola is
an appellation of 7-Up.
Aptronym (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name particularly well-suited to to its category.
Arbitrary Name (trademark law, brand naming)
Any brand name which bears no direct relationship to the company,
product, service, or attribute it describes. For example, Apple
is an arbitrary name for a computer company. Compare Descriptive
Name, Suggestive Name, Fanciful Name.
Archaicism (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name which, by the simple passage of time, is antiquated
in style or meaning. For example, Clabber Girl baking powder
hearkens back to yesteryear. A variant of Archaism. Compare Anachronism.
Archaism (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name which, by the simple passage of time, is antiquated
in style or meaning. For example, Clabber Girl baking powder
hearkens back to yesteryear. A variant of Archaicism. Compare Anachronism.
Associative Field (naming, linguistics)
Any set of names connected in form, meaning, or both. Compare Clutter
and Semantic Field.
Attributive Noun (naming, linguistics)
A noun which directly precedes the noun it modifies, without the
necessity of a linking verb. For example, the word ‘London’
in the name London Fog clothing is an attributive noun.
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