|
|
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.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Taboo Word (naming, brand name research)
Any word to be avoided because it is sacred, politically incorrect,
vulgar, or otherwise inappropriate. [Tongan tabu ‘prohibited’]
Tautonym (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name or descriptor composed of two identical parts; e.g.
‘pawpaw’, ‘yo-yo’, ‘tutu’, and ‘bye-bye’.
Technonym (naming, verbal branding)
Any company name derived from the name of one of that company's
successful products or services. The term technonym was originally
applied to the practice in some cultures of renaming a parent after
one of his or her children.
Textual Visibility (linguistics, brand name research)
The likelihood that a given brand name will stand out in a length
of text, such as a Wall Street Journal article. Many factors
can contribute to a word's textual visibility, including its length,
initial letter, and spelling. Xerox is an example of a brand
name with high textual visibility. See Discourse Audibility.
Theronym (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name derived from the name of an animal. This naming technique
is arguably the oldest in existence, taking advantage of the natural
human desire to emulate the admirable qualities of the natural world
around us. The Ford Mustang sports car and Chicago Bears
American football team are two classic examples.
Toponym (naming, verbal branding)
Any brand name or descriptor derived from a place name or other
geographic feature. For example, Kyocera, short for Kyoto
Ceramics, is named after Kyoto, Japan, and champagne is named after
the historic Champagne province of France. The advantage of a carefully
chosen topnym is its richness and depth. Many truck and car brands
take advantage of the power of a place name: the GMC Denali,
the Kia Sedona, the Subaru Outback, the Suzuki
Verona, the Toyota Tacoma, etc.
Troponym (linguistics, verbal branding)
Any verb which more precisely indicates the manner of doing something.
For example, in English, ‘to stroll’ is ‘to walk’,
but in a more leisurely manner.
Typography (design, visual branding)
The typestyles characterizing a brand identity.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
|
|
|
