The Naming Group

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive of Terrestrial

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

My company creates a microarray skin patch to deliver GLP-1 therapeutics and other medicines in a patient-friendly way. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• Generate a list of names to rename our company

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

Online Search

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Naming Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The Naming Group began by helping us develop clear naming criteria — a process that required synthesizing our brand strategy, audience research, and competitive landscape into a set of shared standards that our leadership team could actually agree on. This was foundational: before we looked at a single name candidate, we aligned on what the name needed to accomplish. From there, TNG led us through two structured rounds of name development, presenting screened candidates with clear rationale and facilitating feedback sessions that kept a large group of executive decision-makers moving in the same direction. They managed a rigorous shortlisting process and coordinated final trademark and linguistic screening. The result was Terrestrial — a name that reflected both our scientific approach and our mission to make therapies more accessible to people around the world.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The clearest measure of success was arriving at a name that our full leadership team and board could stand behind — something that had eluded us in prior attempts to address the naming question internally. Beyond alignment, we needed a name that was globally trademark-defensible, linguistically clean across our key markets, and positioned to grow with us as we move toward clinical trials, commercialization, and a future where our technology might have many possible applications. Terrestrial checked all of those boxes, and the rebrand launched alongside our $50M Series C financing — a moment that made the right name feel more important than ever.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Naming Group kept our project on track despite the complexity of coordinating input from a large and busy decision-making team. They came prepared to every stage with a clear agenda and well-structured deliverables, and they were consistently responsive when we needed to move quickly or adjust course. The criteria-first approach they use — aligning on standards before introducing candidates — turned out to be especially valuable for us, because it gave our decision-makers a shared language for evaluating names rather than just reacting to them.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

As a team of scientists and engineers, my team really appreciated The Naming Groups clear and analytical approach to naming. Their naming criteria provided a consistent, fact based approach for evaluating names in a realm that is otherwise fairly subjective. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

N/A. We really enjoyed working with this team and are currently in the process of a 2nd naming projet with them. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Brand Strategist of QSR Restaurant

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Food & Hospitality

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• We brought The Naming Group in to address a naming challenge that had grown beyond any single project. Naming decisions across our menu were being made inconsistently and in silos, without a shared framework or process. We needed a partner who could help us not just name individual products, but rethink how naming works across our entire organization — from how names get developed and tested to how decisions get made and aligned across teams.

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

Referral

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from The Naming Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Our engagement with The Naming Group spanned multiple phases. It began with two discrete naming projects before expanding into a comprehensive naming systems overhaul.

For the systems work, they started with structured stakeholder research, interviewing teams across Brand, Market Research, Product Development, Culinary, and Legal to map how naming decisions were actually being made and where the process broke down. From that research, they helped us design a new cross-functional naming workflow, including defined roles, formal input processes, and structured review milestones. They also introduced a code-naming practice to prevent working names from hardening into de facto final names prematurely, which had been one of our most persistent sources of churn.

They then developed a full Naming Architecture Strategy, codifying the relationship between name types and product types across our menu, with clear criteria for when each approach applies. This and the process workflow was translated into a comprehensive Menu Naming Guidelines document, covering naming philosophy, process ownership, specific construction rules, and a full glossary.

Finally, they redesigned our name testing operation from the ground up, establishing a consistent, standardized methodology that can accumulate into a long-term strategic database. They also established a Naming Meta Review structure to keep the system calibrated and improving over time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The most meaningful outcome is a naming operation that now runs with clarity and consistency where there was previously ambiguity and churn. We have a shared vocabulary, a defined process, clear ownership at every stage, and testing data that compounds in value over time rather than starting from scratch on each project. Individual naming projects that used to generate internal disagreement now move through a structure that makes alignment more achievable.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Naming Group came with a well-defined process and clear goals for each phase, which gave our cross-functional teams a structure we could actually navigate. They were consistently responsive and flexible when our schedules or priorities shifted, and they brought both rigor and patience to a process that required buy-in from a wide range of people with different relationships to naming. When we needed quick turnarounds or had questions outside of scheduled touchpoints, they were always available and thoughtful in their responses.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to balance high-quality strategy with an optimized and efficient process stood out. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

Every project can be improved with hindsight, but we have been extremely pleased with The Naming Group's work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Founder of a beauty company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

beauty

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• Create a new name for the company

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

Referral

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Naming Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

This naming project encompassed a comprehensive brand naming strategy and development process for a beauty brand. 

Key Deliverables:

Brand Criteria Presentation - Establishes the strategic foundation including naming criteria (the "job description" of the name) and visual brand criteria for the identity system

Vetted Name Options - A curated presentation of naming candidates pre-screened for preliminary trademark availability aligned with established criteria

Final Name Selection - The chosen name that has passed comprehensive legal and linguistic clearance

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Clear strategy up front to guide name development made the names all feel like they “fit, Some of the names presented brought tears to my eyes - Nina really understood my vision, I was connected to all the right resources needed to make my project a success, my road to making the best decision was made clear by The Naming Group team

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Naming Group worked seamlessly alongside several other team members and myself. The project timeline was clearly mapped out from the outset, with all major milestones and deliverables explained and scheduled in advance. This upfront clarity allowed me to plan properly and afforded me peace of mind.

The Naming Group established expectations early on regarding the process flow and our role at each stage. They outlined what would be required from us and when, which eliminated any confusion about responsibilities or deadlines. This proactive communication approach meant we always knew what was coming next and could prepare appropriately.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Nina is an expert at distilling a founder’s vision into unforgettable brand names. Naming can be such a daunting process for any founder, but without Nina’s creative instinct for language, her deep, thoughtful listening, and her ability to truly understand my vision, this wouldn’t have been possible. The names we explored were almost impossible to choose between because of how intentional they were. She inspired me deeply—giving me the clarity and spark I needed to ultimately coin my own brand name from the incredible options she created. I feel so lucky to have worked with her and I would recommend her to anyone, no matter the scale of their business or where they are in their founder journey.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

She was wonderful to work with and laid everything out so clearly. Really hard for me to think of an area of improvement truly. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder, Principal of The Rocket Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Business and Corporate Partnerships Consulting

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• Create an enduring name for my consultancy that will be extensible as the company grows and changes over time
• Create an effective decision-making process around how select the right name
• Ensure the name was competitively positioned, ownable and on brand

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

Referral

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from The Naming Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

I hired The Naming Group to help us solidify the positioning of the consultancy and come up with a name that delivered on that positioning. Business consulting for Biz Dev is a crowd space and so we needed a name that cut through the noise - and could expand for years to come as we evolve into different service offerings. Key deliverables included educating us about the naming process/pitfalls/misheld beliefs, naming strategy research, creation of naming criteria, two rounds of names that passed preliminary trademark screening, visual and verbal contextualization for all of the names, feedback collection, alignment and final decision-making support, advice on URL and social handle availability, final name selection advising.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Given the nature of naming, it is hard to “measure” success but for me, I knew we had been successful when we had gone through the entire process and I ended up with a name that I felt was a strong foundation for me to use, pitch with and grow into over time. Another measure of success in the engagement was that I would have been comfortable with any of the names presented by The Naming Group. Multiple clients and prospects have remarked on the name positively, as well.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Naming Group was the best of all agency styles in that they were personal and attentive but also had the polish and competency of a larger agency. Deliverables were always on time or ahead of schedule and my questions were always thoughtfully answered. I loved the experience of working with them.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I think the most impressive part of my working experience with The Naming Group was how much I learned from them. Naming seems like a simple task but is far from it in reality. The Naming Group did an excellent job of educating me from the beginning and at every point in the process on the most subtle of factors that could have impacted our trajectory. I also appreciate how objective and strategic their decision-making processes are. They provided customized tools for decision-making that were invaluable.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

Nina and The Naming Group team were awesome, no critical feedback at all.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Dir. of Product of StarPRO

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

StarPRO is the best post acute care software for assessing, benchmarking and tracking KPI healthcare data for the nursing home industry

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• Create a Brand Foundation
• Build a Positioning Statement
• Shape our Messaging

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

Referral

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Naming Group were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We engaged with The Naming Group to lay the foundation for our brand. We had already started selling, but didn't know ourselves or our position in the market. We lacked an identity and sent out inconsistent messaging. The project was designed to help us remedy this, with deliverables including a positioning statement and recommendations for forming and communicating our brand and value proposition more effectively

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Establishment of a positioning statement 
• Consistent market messaging 
• The ability to acquire more and better customers

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

TNG's project management ethos was a lesson in and of itself. Nina communicated and set expectations often and clearly, came back for clarifications when necessary and challenged us to think new ways. Deliverables were sent on time and exceeded our expectations.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Nina's approach is very clearly well-researched and refined. Her methodology draws from industry best practices and examples of what's worked well in past projects. But it's not boilerplate -- it had to be adapted to our unique slice of business and Nina really took the time to understand what we do, where we sit in the market, and what opportunities we weren't seeing.

 By taking the time to speak with each team member individually, relying on time-tested prompts and adaptive questioning, she got insights out of us that we'd likely never have come to on our own.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

In general, we were very pleased with the process and the outcomes. No desire for anything different.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP, Product of Orbital Delivery Services Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provides precision orbital delivery services for satellites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• Develop names for two hardware products
• Advise on and develop product nomenclature

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

Referral

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from The Naming Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We hired The Naming Group to help us develop names for two new hardware products we were releasing. This was as much a naming project as it was a product architecture and nomenclature project. We asked The Naming Group to consider a number of different scenarios that created a range of different relationships between these two new pieces of hardware and one of our existing products.

It made the most sense to bring on The Naming Group to do this assignment as they had already developed the nomenclature for all other products at Momentus. Key deliverables included: 

• Naming process education
• Naming strategy research 
• Discovery and strategy meetings 
• Guidance of our product and executive team throughout every step of the naming process, including feedback collection, alignment and final decision-making 
• Two rounds of product name development 
• Guidance on shortlisting names and coordination of preliminary trademark screening 
• Final name selection advising

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• This is a harder question to answer because naming and strategy work is inherently hard to measure. That said, having The Naming Group supporting us on this project saved tens of hours of my time and my team’s time. I was able to easily corral key decision makers. The Naming Group deftly moved between creative generation to strategic advising to counseling executives on how to make long-lasting naming decisions.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

Virtual Meeting

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Naming Group was incredibly responsive and flowed with us as the landscape of the company was actively changing. They provided detailed timelines and work plans. They also consistently availed themselves to talk through our evolving product architecture and were able to quickly adapt their work to those changes. They were able to be as agile as we were and meetings were scheduled to accommodate the schedules of multiple stakeholders.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The Naming Group took a tremendous amount of time to deeply understand our product in order to understand our perspective and what we would value in a name. The result was an ability to discuss the pros and cons of various options on an equal footing which I believe resulted in a better outcome overall.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

None that I could identify.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director, Strategic Marketing of a real estate company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The end-to-end platform for real estate investing - financial and software solutions for active investors to build neighborhoods, and passive investment opportunities for accredited investors to back them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• Create a new name for the company that would set us apart in the industry while communicating our values and the opportunity.
• Advise on company and product descriptors and nomenclature

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

Referral

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Naming Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We hired The Naming Group to help us rename our company, a formidable task considering we are combining two separate companies that have been operating for many years with their own names. We had outgrown our current name and were looking for a new name to carry us into the next phase of the business and expansion. 

We needed a name that not only spoke to the broadening breadth of services and products we provide, but also a name that would truly inspire our customers and fulfill the brand positioning we had just created prior to bringing on The Naming Group. 

Key deliverables included: 

• Naming process education 
• Naming strategy research 
• Naming strategy, including Naming Criteria 
• Total guidance of our executive team throughout every step of the naming process, including feedback collection, alignment and final decision-making
• Two rounds of company names that passed preliminary trademark screening (conducted by The Naming Group) presented in full visual context with rationale 
• Creation of company and product descriptors 
• Conduction of digital screening (URL and social handle availability and recommendations ) 
• Final name selection advising

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• A great selection of options that met the criteria. Multiple team members remarked that they would be comfortable with any of the names presented by The Naming Group 
• Once whittled down to the short list, it only took us a few days to make the final selection 
• Satisfied internal stakeholders both from the board and employees at every level

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Naming Group provided an estimated timeline at the beginning of the project that they delivered on to the day. Every meeting was scheduled well enough in advance to accommodate multiple executive schedules. They also took care in briefing us from the very beginning on the overall process and flow of the project and what would be expected of us and when. In addition, they availed themselves for any meetings needed outside of the regular scope of work to touch base and align as needed.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The Naming Group merged the creative process with an objective, analytical approach that helped drive consensus in a decision that otherwise could be fraught with emotion. Nina and team were insightful, encouraging, and a pleasure to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Destnus SA

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Destinus is an innovative aerospace, defense, and energy solutions company, pushing the boundaries of supersonic and hypersonic aeronautics, hydrogen technologies, and advanced aviation and power turbines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Naming Group to accomplish?

• Create a mission/vision
• Create brand style
• Create values

SOLUTION

How did you find The Naming Group?

• Referral

Why did you select The Naming Group over others?

• Company values aligned
• Other

What was the size of The Naming Group’s team?

2-5 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Naming: Create a distinctive and memorable name for the company and its products or services that resonates with the target audience. Conduct extensive market research and competitive analysis to ensure the proposed names are unique, legally available, and aligned with the brand positioning. Provide a shortlist of potential names with rationale for each, and collaborate with the Destinus team in selecting the final name.
• Vision and Mission Statements: Develop a clear and inspiring vision statement that represents the long-term aspirations of Destinus. Create a compelling mission statement that outlines the company's purpose, values, and strategic objectives. Collaborate with the Destinus team to refine and finalize these statements, ensuring they reflect the company's goals and resonate with its stakeholders.
• Product Naming Develop a cohesive naming system for Destinus' product lineup, taking into account the target audience, product positioning, and brand architecture. Provide a list of potential product names, along with supporting rationale and any relevant trademark considerations. Collaborate with the Destinus team to finalize product names and ensure consistency across the brand portfolio.
• Identification of Cultural Values Conduct workshops and interviews with the Destinus team to identify the company's core values and cultural attributes. Analyze findings and synthesize them into a set of key cultural values that differentiate Destinus from competitors and resonate with the target audience. Develop actionable recommendations to embed these values throughout the organization, from internal communications to employee training programs.
• Brand Voice Development Establish a distinct and consistent brand voice for Destinus that aligns with the company's vision, mission, and cultural values. Develop a comprehensive brand voice guidelines document, including examples of tone, style, and messaging for various communication channels (e.g., website, social media, advertising, and internal communications).
• Provide ongoing support to the Destinus team in implementing and maintaining the brand voice across all touchpoints.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Deliverables: Shortlist of potential company and product names with rationale Finalized company name and product naming system Vision and mission statements Set of core cultural values and implementation recommendations Brand voice guidelines document

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They did a great project managment,we finalized project in time.

What was your primary form of communication with The Naming Group?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

• Holistic Approach: The Naming Group took a comprehensive approach to understanding the Destinus brand, conducting thorough research and analysis of the company, its competitors, and the market. This holistic approach allowed them to develop an integrated and cohesive branding strategy that addressed all aspects of the brand, from naming to brand voice.
• Collaborative Process: Throughout the project, The Naming Group maintained open communication and fostered a strong partnership with the Destinus team. They valued input from the client, held regular progress meetings, and made adjustments based on feedback to ensure that the final deliverables met the client's needs and expectations.
• Creative Solutions: The Naming Group demonstrated exceptional creativity and innovation in their work, developing a unique brand identity and messaging that set Destinus apart from its competitors. Their attention to detail and ability to think outside the box resulted in a memorable and impactful brand presence.
• Cultural Alignment: The agency's focus on identifying and integrating the core cultural values of Destinus into the branding strategy helped to create a strong, authentic brand image that resonated with both employees and customers. This commitment to understanding and reflecting the company's values contributed to the overall success of the branding project.
• Results-Driven Approach: The Naming Group's focus on measurable outcomes and continuous improvement allowed them to monitor the impact of their work and adjust strategies as needed. Their data-driven approach ensured that the branding efforts directly contributed to Destinus' growth and long-term success.
• Post-Project Support: The Naming Group's commitment to the success of Destinus extended beyond the completion of the project. They provided ongoing support and guidance to help the client maintain brand consistency, adapt to market changes, and continue to strengthen the brand's presence in the market.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Naming Group could have done differently?

As a satisfied client, I found that The Naming Group delivered an exceptional service, meeting and exceeding our expectations. Their holistic approach, creative solutions, and collaborative process were instrumental in the successful development of the Destinus brand. I cannot identify any specific areas for improvement, as the agency's performance was consistently high throughout the project.

They demonstrated a strong commitment to our brand's success and provided valuable post-project support. Overall, I am pleased with their work and would highly recommend The Naming Group for their branding expertise.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I served for 30 years at HP across different divisions. I retired in Nov 2019. While at HP I worked with The Naming Group and House of Who during my tenure as a Marketing Specialist within HP’s Personal Systems division. This encompassed PCs across personal and business use.

My role was to lead the integration of consumer and business marketing strategies into a unified front for cross-organizational and company-wide initiatives such as trade shows, events, portfolio planning, and omnichannel marketing. I was also the HP Naming Manager.

Much of my time was spent managing and overseeing the naming process across hundreds of products and solutions as well as implementing cross-company naming process improvement.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Naming Group?

I had the opportunity to work with HoW & TNG, HP’s primary naming partner across the whole company, on a number of naming strategy and brand and naming architecture projects within my division, Personal Systems. This included laptops remote workforce solutions, and security software.

As marketing team leaders at HP, we’re inundated with ongoing brand and naming challenges and the demands of speedy deadlines and complex decision-making matrices. Not only do we need fast support, but we need incredibly skilled support to help us navigate through our internal strategic questions and team dynamics.

HoW & TNG are so valuable to have as skilled, outside consultants - they often grasp our challenges better than we do since we’re in them all day, every day. Their unique perspective, creativity, and deep expertise in leading and improving naming at large, complex corporations have saved us time, stress, and confusion, resulting in stronger work across the board.

What were your goals for this project?

For every project that we worked on with HoW & TNG, we’re looking for high-level insights and fresh thinking on our naming and brand strategy, a tight objective process as well as all-around great creative generation when we get to naming.

What is particularly helpful about their process is how thorough their discovery work is at the beginning of a project as well as their ability to distill down all the most important parts of a project into 3-5 criteria.

This becomes a beacon for all of the creative work we do, helping create alignment amongst the broader team.

SOLUTION

How did you select The Naming Group?

We originally found The Naming Group through an RFP to lead naming at HP. They soon partnered with House of Who on the HP account and the dovetail of the two agencies - bringing together rigorous process, strategy and wild creativity is invaluable.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Every project with HoW & TNG begins with an initial email or call with their team. Once we’ve shared the scope of the project, they prepare a proper SOW for us to review and sign ahead of our kickoff meeting.

Before any creative generation begins, we always align as a client/agency team on what the criteria are for a given project. After our teams align, they go away and do their magic--whether that involves a full strategic assessment, competitor audit, and/or multiple rounds of creative development, legal and linguistic screening all the way through selling in names and concepts to leadership.

Whatever our ask is, HoW & TNG always deliver work in a step-by-step process that’s thorough and fruitful.

What was the team composition?

HoW & TNG are a powerful team that consists of one or a creative director, account director, strategist, project manager, and namers on each project. We always feel incredibly supported.

HoW & TNG are not only experienced but incredibly agile. Through each project, they accommodate our shifting internal strategies and present back to us updated creative work that reflects where our team is at. This nimble and highly collaborative work style allows us to get to the best thinking and work every time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

TNG and HoW brought in a valuable tool and process to minimize "subjective group think" when it came to providing feedback on the name candidates. They also helped us to evaluate names against the aligned naming strategy/criteria set forth at the beginning of the project. This gave us a more objective way to evaluate names.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow, communication, and accessibility between HP and TNG/HoW was quick, professional, and very effective. This was key as the projects were on an expedited timeline and needed instant turnaround for feedback, updates to name candidates, and decisions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive feature of TNG and HoW is the upstream deep dive into the customer to get in their minds on how they behave in the market to design names that resonate with them and would entice them to buy.

One marketing leader said she was very impressed at the upfront work done to understand the customer.

Are there any areas for improvement?

HP is a complex organization. It would benefit TNG and HoW to continue to learn about the various groups within the company in order to build more integrated and consistently executed brand names and brand architecture systems for the entire HP product portfolio.

I know that as they execute more projects across the company this will become easy for them to accomplish.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and creative director of Cosma Schema, a global brand strategy, design and experience agency. We focus mostly on the new space economy, however from time to time take on truly innovative projects in other industries. Clients hire us for design and brand strategy work and we’ve engaged The Naming Group multiple times for foundational brand strategy and naming work across all different clients and industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Naming Group?

As mentioned above, The Naming Group is our go-to naming and brand positioning firm. Whenever we have a client in need of brand clarity and naming work, we bring them on to lead the process directly with our clients. For this project in particular, one of our long-term clients in the space sector was creating a new side business in the food tech industry in the Bay Area. We needed a partner who was not going to merely come up with creative ideas. The Naming Group consistently goes above and beyond merely creative naming in that they consider all related language and terminology in a clients’ industry, taking into account the larger communication landscape in which a name will ultimately live.

What were your goals for this project?

Our client needed clarity on how to position and name their company in an extremely crowded, competitive landscape. Their need was also slightly more complex than the average client in that they needed a brand strategy and name that worked well across a very broad market - in major US cities and beyond, reaching into suburban areas, too. The name also had to work within very specific constraints as it would show up on existing software platforms and applications. This meant that the name had to be short and also powerful because it will ultimately be paired alongside other brand names on said platforms. Our client wanted a name that would signify a completely new way of approaching food in everyday life, so, in short, this name had to really nail it.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The Naming Group is our preferred partner because their process is the most thorough and has had the most success with our clients. When they are available to work with us, we choose them because their work goes beyond throwing out creative ideas (where other naming consultants and agencies often stop) and instead creates naming criteria that our clients can use to judge the success of the names they are presented with.

The Naming Group also conducts preliminary trademark and URL screening which is valuable to our clients and saves us from having to coordinate those screens with other vendors. I am the primary decision-maker on which partners and vendors we use.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

There are four main phases that The Naming Group took us through. The first phase was all about gather information, both from the client and many hours of research into their industry, tracking trends in the food tech startup space and examining how consumers use language in this realm. After that, they presented research in a comprehensive brand positioning deck that gave our client language for how to speak about their audience and how to address industry-wide challenges. The Naming Group also delivered their signature “Naming Criteria” - the 4 things we’d use to judge the success of the names they’d present, based on the research and brand strategy. They proceeded to develop two rounds of names along with preliminary trademark screening, mockups to show what the name would look like in context and showed available URLs for each name.

They then helped our client narrow down names and navigate an extremely crowded trademark landscape with the help of a trademark attorney they referred to our client. We could not have been nearly as helpful to our client without The Naming Group interfacing directly with them and with legal counsel. My role in the project was Creative Director. I worked with my team to manage the client and worked with The Naming Group to give feedback on their work throughout the process. That said, there was very little feedback needed - they are pretty plug n’ play!

What was the team composition?

We interfaced with a core team of three people across the project. I like working with The Naming Group because it’s easy to access leadership and they work nimbly and responsively.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

After The Naming Group helped our client land on a name, my team and I took over to do the visual design work of creating a logo and visual brand design guidelines. The positioning work that The Naming Group put into the project was absolutely invaluable to my team of designers in the work they did. We referred back to it constantly with the client when presenting our design work. They completely set us up for success. I think a true test of The Naming Group’s skill is their ability to handle difficult decision-makers and stakeholders. On this project, we had an important stakeholder come quite late to the game who was fairly critical of the process and name, despite the rest of the leadership team being on board.

The Naming Group constructively, patiently worked with this team member to help catch them up to speed and feel more comfortable and confident in the name and brand strategy overall. They helped us dodge a serious bullet in this way.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Totally a breeze. They had no qualms about integrating into our vendor portal and communicating with my team on Slack. Not every vendor we work with is willing to integrate in this way so we’re grateful for The Naming Group’s ability to roll up their sleeves and jump right into our systems and processes. Makes our lives so much easier. They also availed themselves to help us design the scope and proposal for our client which we really appreciate. They give us as much valuable feedback as I hope we give them when working together!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

As usual, The Naming Group far exceeded our and our client’s expectations. The entire client team is on board with the way that The Naming Group helped clarify their positioning and love the name.

They’re excited to launch later this year. It’s worth noting that something this agency consistently does is helps clarify the business strategy of our clients - whether its part of the scope of work or not. They ask critical questions that generally push beyond brand and into company vision and operations. I think the true test of a good partner is one that already feels like a part of your team and at Cosma Schema we certainly feel that way about The Naming Group.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope. We are always stoked.