The Word

Thoughts and news. All about the language of brands.

FEATURED POST

What Questions Should I Ask When Evaluating a Brand Name?
"Do I like it?" is the question people think of first in a name evaluation. It's also the least useful...
By Jill Stanewick ●Naming ● Naming Tools
June 19th, 2026

RECENT POSTS

Name-review-01

Google's New Logo Takes Us Back to Kindergarten

When Google unveiled the name Alphabet, I’ll admit that I wasn’t inspired to write anything about it. I didn’t think...
By Jill Stanewick
September 1st, 2015
In-the-news

In the News: Tanj Quoted at European Domain Centre

We were invited to share our thoughts for a piece about the ever-expanding top-level domain space. Christopher Hofman...
By Jill Stanewick ●Naming ● Press
August 11th, 2015
Name-review-01

Natural Bliss Goes Nude

When we named Natural Bliss a couple of years back, we didn’t have any innuendos in mind. It was a wholesome, new,...
By Jill Stanewick ●Naming ● Branding
July 16th, 2015
Best-words-01 Created with Sketch.

How To Socialize Your New Company Name

“Seeing the new name in full context bolsters confidence and minimizes potential dissent.”When re-naming a company, a...
By Jill Stanewick ●Branding ● Naming
June 18th, 2015
Name-crush

How To Evaluate Names for Your Company

“Names should map back to your strategy.”So you’ve removed your creative thinking cap and your eyes are glazed over...
By Jill Stanewick ●Branding ● Naming
June 17th, 2015
Name-review-01

When A Brand Owns Its Mistake

Brands make mistakes. After all, they’re run by humans. PR folks definitely face challenging decisions when mistakes...
By Jill Stanewick ●Naming ● Branding
June 12th, 2015
Name-review-01

Assessing the Viability of Company Brand Names

Names are trademarks. Trademarks are intellectual property. Property is, well… property. And as most of us learned in...
By Jill Stanewick ●Naming
June 9th, 2015
Name-review-01

Developing Company Names: Quantity & Quality Are Key

“To get quality and quantity, you have to commit blocks of time to naming.” You’ve got your naming strategy, your...
By Jill Stanewick ●Naming
June 8th, 2015

How a Pro Namer Names His Children

As a professional brand namer, I have had the chance to name all kinds of things. Hit game consoles....
By Scott Milano
May 12th, 2015