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Hans Riegel Bonn:
The brand name contains a regional reference, the name of the founder and an abbreviation
Photo: A3778 Fredrik von Erichsen/ dpa
Anyone who still wants to found a brand today has a mammoth task waiting for them.
The Patent and Trademark Office counted around 84,600 trademark applications in 2020.
For comparison: in 2019 it was just under 78,800.
For founders, this means the search for a brand name is becoming increasingly difficult.
"There is extreme competition in most markets," says
Tobias Langner
, Chair of Marketing with a focus on brand management at the University of Wuppertal.
Registered brand names are still protected even if the brands disappear from the market.
And similar terms can usually no longer be used because of the risk of confusion.
It's harder to find brand names these days
The professor therefore advises companies today to always derive several names if they want to register their trademark.
In the hope that at least one alternative can be protected.
In his opinion, this is much more difficult today than it was a few decades ago.
"Previously, most founders hardly thought about the name," says Langner.
Brands were often simply named after the founder.
Well-known examples are Siemens, Porsche, Würth, Dr.
Oetker and Hipp.
Hipp even advertises with his own name: "That's what I stand for with my name," it says.
Initially, however, consumers do not associate anything with the founder's name itself – as long as the brand has not yet established an image.
More originality is required today, says Langner.
Not only because so many terms are legally protected.
A brand today needs a name that immediately triggers something positive in potential customers and that they can easily find on the Internet.
You can be successful with any brand name - but it's faster with meaningful names.
That is why terms such as Patros, Cremissimo and Landliebe are increasingly being used.
With the feta cheese Patros, the consumer creates a Greek connection, Cremissimo stands for creaminess and love of the country for the good, natural country life.
The tip: simple, speaking, differentiating
"Today, many start-ups use names with a regional connection," adds
Matthias Weber
from Gerhardt & Partner Markenberatung.
In this way, a positive regional image is to be artificially linked to a brand.
Regions and products are sometimes strongly connected.
For example, Paris is often used for fashion products, Bavaria is considered a quality indicator for beer and Berlin for lifestyle.
Both experts agree: A good brand name should, in addition to protectability, meet three quality criteria in particular - simple, meaningful and differentiating.
Simply so that the customer does not forget the name.
Speaking, so that the first brand contact conveys what the brand stands for and differentiating so that the name is not confused.
For example, while the syllable Pharm has the benefit of establishing a connection to the pharmaceutical industry, there are already many brands with this part of the name.
Gallery of brand names
If you are looking for a brand name, you may find inspiration from existing names helpful.
We have put together a gallery of brand names - guaranteed to surprise you.
abbreviations
Many older well-known marks are often abbreviations.
Here are a few well-known examples:
Expand areaHanuta
hazelnut bar
ExpandareaSAP
systems, applications, Products
ExpandareaMilk
milk cocoa
Expand area REWE
Revision Association of the Westkauf Cooperatives
ExpandareaNKD
Low Calculated Discount
areaO.B.expand
Without bandage
AreaKiBuy flaps
customer is king
Open areaTesa
Elsa Tesmer
Expand areaCoca Cola
coca leaves and coca nuts
translations
Some brand names can be translated from other languages.
We have also put together some examples here:
Expand areaBifi
Bifi is pronounced like the English word "beefy", which comes from the word beef, meaning "beef".
Expand area Katjes
The cat on the logo is no coincidence: "Katjes" is Dutch and means "little kitten".
Expand areaMiraco
The name Miracoli is the plural of the Italian word "miracolo".
Translated it means "miracle".
ExpandareaLevel
Nivea comes from the Latin name "nivis" for "snow"
mixed forms
However, the categories often get mixed up.
With the abbreviations Haribo and Ikea, the founders have immortalized themselves - and their home town as well.
The abbreviation BMW stands for a regional connection.
Lego is both an abbreviation and a translation, and the abbreviation Trigema includes the name of the founding family.
Expand areaHaribo
Hans Riegel Bonn
ExpandareaIKEA
Ingvar Kamprad from Elmtaryd near Agunnaryd
Expand areaBMW
Bavarian Motor Works
ExpandareaLego
leg god – translation from Danish
Expand areaTrigema
Jersey goods factory Gebrüder Mayer
Brands that used to have different names
There are also well-known brands that have their origins in another name:
ExpandpaneTwix
raiders
In 30 percent of countries, the Twix candy bar used to be called Raider.
In order to unify the name worldwide, it became Twix in the 90s.
Expand areaAudi
August Horch
The German automobile manufacturer Audi was then called August Horch – until the founder had to leave the company after a dispute.
AreaKarstadt Galeria Kaufhofexpand
Karstadt source
Today there is nothing left of the good old Quelle catalogue.
KarstadtQuelle AG was given the name "Arcandor" in 2007.
Unfortunately, this did not bring a bright future either, but insolvency.
Karstadt and Galeria Kaufhof merged.
ExpandareaSky
premiere
The channel has been called Sky since 2009 and, just like back then, broadcasts the Bundesliga live and the latest films.
Hidden branded products
Incidentally, sometimes well-known brands also lurk behind no-name production.
Discounters are happy to buy leftovers of well-known foods from larger producers and sell them under their own brand.
But there are also numerous hidden branded products in other areas.
The furniture manufacturer Ikea offers WLAN and Bluetooth speakers under the names Symfonisk and Eneby.
Few people know that this is a partnership with audio electronics company Sonos.
Expand areaMaggi Ravioli
K-Classic Ravioli Bolognese from Kaufland
Expand the Alberto Stone Oven Pizza section
Casa Morando stone oven pizza from Aldi Nord
Expand sectionBondual garden peas
King Crown young peas extra fine from Aldi Nord
Expand areaStorck Super Dickmann's
Choceur giant chocolate kisses from Aldi Süd
Expand areaPrince's Role
Sondey sandwich biscuit roll from Lidl
Open the Leibniz Butterkeks Choco section
Choco Bistro chocolate duo from Aldi Süd
Open areaBrandt Der Markenzwieback
Gold ears of rusks from Aldi Nord
Open area Katjes Salty Herrings
Sweetland Salty Fish Spicy Salted Liquorice from Aldi Nord
Open areaPom-Bear
Crusti Croc Teddy's Hit by Lidl
Expand the Lorenz Chipslette area
Sun Snacks stackable chips from Aldi Süd
Open areaGolden ToastButter Toast
Breadies American Sandwich by Netto
Expand areaMilram Grainy Cream Cheese
Campus Grainy Cream Cheese by Penny
Expand areaPatros nature
Yes!
Balkan cheese from Rewe
Expand the Müller rice pudding area
K-Classic cream rice pudding from Kaufland
Expand areaDanone Fruit Dwarfs
Desira Frucht Juniors from Aldi Süd
Another example is very current: From January 27, Aldi Süd will be able to buy the "Renewd Watch Series 3".
A smartwatch that looks exactly like Apple's smartwatch.
And one thing is: A look at the fine print confirms this.
It is actually an Apple Watch Series 3 that Apple introduced five years ago.
Aldi is selling a refurbished model from Renewd.
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