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\u201cWe have to make a distinction between the name and the brand. The name piques your interest or curiosity. It\u2019s like having someone over for coffee or dinner. The brand is the impression that\u2019s left after the experience.\u201d As the president and creative director of a verbal identity firm, brand names are Mike Pile\u2019s business. We took a deep dive on this critical brand touch point on this week\u2019s episode of the On Brand podcast.\nAbout\xa0Mike Pile\nMike Pile is president and creative director of Uppercase Branding, a verbal identity firm that specializes in creating powerful and evocative brand names for new companies, products, and features. He has more than 25 years\u2019 global brand development experience with advertising agencies, Fortune 500 firms, and startups.\nA name is the single most-used word in any marketing communication program, so Mike believes that a compelling brand name is a company\u2019s most potent brand asset. While a name can\u2019t help a bad business model or product, it can significantly aid a good concept by giving it buzz and a jumpstart that ignites the conversation with prospects.\nUsing proprietary creative, evaluative, and research techniques, Uppercase develops names for B2B clients such as Nokia, General Electric, FedEx, and others in the financial, CPG, healthcare, and high-tech sectors.\nMike is a published author, a frequent speaker, and word enthusiast who lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children. When he is not working, he enjoys mountain biking, playing golf, and cooking.\nEpisode Highlights\nWhere do you start with naming?\xa0Usually with a brief. \u201cSomething that distils what it is you\u2019re naming. Something that answers who, what, when, where, and why.\u201d This baton is critical in developing the right brand name. From there, Mike and his team consult numerous resources including surfer dictionaries, cowboy dictionaries, gem dictionaries, and more.\nWhat does a brand name have to do? \u201cWe believe that a brand name has to work very hard. It has to work emotionally and it has to work rationally.\u201d That\u2019s why we present hundreds of options.\nMike\u2019s naming tip: What if your brand was a superhero? Asking yourself this simple question \u2014 if your brand was a superhero, who would it be and why? \u2014 is great for bypassing hurdles in the creative process. It\u2019s a powerful trick for getting at your brand\u2019s true essence.\nThe Branded House vs. The House of Brands. Mike reminded us about this classic construct for organizing your organization\u2019s brand platform. In some cases, you utilize a \u201cbranded house\u201d like Ford \u2014 with the Ford Explorer, Ford Escape, and so on (all have Ford at the beginning). In other situations, you go with a house-of-brands model such as P&G, which is made up of strong brands like Tide and Crest. Others still find a hybrid model effective, like Hilton who has both stand-alone brands like Hampton Inn and extensions like the Hilton Garden Inn.\nWhat brand has made Mike smile recently?\xa0Tesla \u2014 but true to his roots in naming, Mike took us behind the scenes of the story of why this is a powerful yet unconventional brand name.\nTo learn more,\xa0check out\xa0Mike\u2019s website for Uppercase Branding.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices