Flora v/s Nataraj

When you're thinking of names for your product, you sometimes wonder whether your name should, in some way, refer to the product category. Here's my take on the matter: The product category in the name matters if it's a new one. A familiar product in a category with many brands is better not alluded to when you're trying to launch a new brand. Example, pencils. Everyone knows pencils. So if you've got to launch a brand of pencils, go crazy and try and come up with an interesting brand name without worrying about whether the brand name should allude to pencils.

Speaking of pencils, let's talk about two of the oldest brands of pencils in India: Flora and Nataraj. In terms of the basics of brand naming, they both do quite well. Flora has a nice and simple feel to it, it is easy to pronounce and it rolls off the tongue easily on a set of alternating consonant vowel sounds. Ditto for Nataraj. So what makes Flora a better brand name? It scores on the visual connect matrix. Flora is good example of a brand name that is in sync with the look and feel of the product.

A quick deconstruction of the 'Flora' visual connect matrix goes like this: Flora means something to do with flowers, the pencils have flowers on them. The visual fits with the brand name and thus registers better on the mind-map. Nataraj loses out on this parameter. But only just.

Naming claus: Try to map the name of your newly launched product with the first thing people will visually notice about your product. It will make the name easier to remember.

As an interesting strategy aside, the first name that comes to mind when you say pencils, in India, is Nataraj. This might have something to do with Nataraj having chosen to go the 'single brand for different kinds of pencils route', as opposed to Camlin that has different brand names for different pencils. And of all these brands of Camlin's pencils, Flora is the best recognised brand. Hmm...fascinating stuff, this business of branding.