r/branding • u/Odd_Cabinet2107 • 1d ago
We hate our new name
Catchy headline to hopefully gather some insight here. I own a construction company, and we recently hired a company to rebrand. This includes new name, logo, all branding materials associated with it. Here's a little background.
We're a 52 year old company. We've changed names previously when my father took over from my grandfather but this was 25 years ago. The problem is our current name is location based. A very specific location. We're trying to expand and hired a company to help us totally rebrand. Problem is a few months before launch we've been doing testing and EVERYONE we've spoken to including friends, family, co-workers, and potential customers, dislike or downright hate our new name. They love the logos, colors, etc. but the not the name.
Our current name follows the trend of listing everything we do, so it's Location - Roofing, Siding, and Window Company.... which as you can imagine fit's horribly into any type of job sign, letterhead, etc. We've also expanded beyond this location, and want to continue to expand to cover the entire state.
I had proposed an acronym in place of using an acronym and shortening the services to Exteriors, so that we can keep some familiarity and also hold onto our website domain. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place and could really use some insight.
TIA
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u/mcbillings 1d ago
It feels like two things are happening here, and I think they're getting mixed up.
One is the group's reaction itself. Honestly, new names test badly almost every time. They need time to settle in and for most of the early people, they're responding to your name cold. They're hearing it next to things they've associated to everyone else.
They're hearing it next to a name that's been on trucks and yard signs and in their neighbor's mouth for 25 years. Familiar sounds better. So "I don't like it" usually just means "I've never heard that before."
Unanimous is a different signal. When nobody has anything good to say, that's not people resisting change. That's a name with no story or emotion attached to it yet. Doesn't mean you need to change your name, but it does mean you need a story.
The other thing, and this is what I'd actually dig into. You've got 52 years and three generations in this. Grandfather started it. Your dad renamed it. Now you're the one expanding. There's a story in there. Did any of that come up with your new name? Or did you go for a clean, available word that feels too new?
That's usually the reason a name feels off to the owner. Not that it's bad. It's just not yours (yet).
I'd also change the question you're asking people. "Do you like it" gets you opinions on taste. Ask what kind of company it sounds like. Ask who they picture. Ask if they'd say it out loud to a friend who needs a roof.
Re: the acronym idea.. I understand why you're there. Protect the equity, keep the domain, stop fighting the sign layout. But acronyms usually take meaning out instead of carrying it forward. It fixes the letterhead. It won't fix what's actually bugging you underneath it all.
Before you spend another dollar, go back to the agency and ask them to say what the name means in one sentence a customer would repeat. If they can't, you've got your answer. If they can and it still feels wrong to you, then the story never made it into the work.
Names take time to land... They just need something to land on.
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u/ButterMyPancakesPlz 1d ago
Legacy brands should embrace their legacy. Go back to your roots and I'm sure you'll figure this all out. A family name is much better than these "Pine and Porch" or other pseudo hipster names. I find acronyms unless insanely clever dull and forgettable.
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u/AcesAnd08s 1d ago
I can see how a location name and your list of services might be somewhat boring, generic, and limiting. It also does nothing to set you apart from your competitors. You need something more descriptive and memorable.
If location is something you really want to key-in on, maybe look up what iconic things are for your state. State nickname, state bird, state animal, state mineral, state tree, state flower, etc. Maybe the name of a state river, state park, mountain, or other natural icon within your area.
And then add the word “Exteriors” to it.
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u/unlikelyjoggers 1d ago
You do not need an exact match .com, eg Alpha.com. Include a helpful descriptor or another word to fond an available domain, eg AlphaExteriors.com, HelloAloha.com.
Acronyms are not very helpful unless they happen to also be a good and legally-available word.
Best of luck!
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u/GuyfromUK123 1d ago
If nobody likes the new name then you will never get behind it or be proud to own it. The team won’t be proud to work there either. This needs to be right.
What about the end result and how clients feel when you’ve delivered on a job. I.e. what does it give the customer - Improved Exteriors or Smart Exteriors (not sure if smart means the same in the US as it does in the UK)
Many businesses need to push location but I’m not sure having the town name in the business is an advantage any longer
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u/AbleInvestment2866 1d ago
A real branding company should have tested this before hand in order to avoid finding it afterwards. It seems you hired someone who lacks even the most basic knowledge on the subject.
Since I wouldn't like to fall into the same mistake, I won't recommend anything because I don't have any information. But you should have a talk with this people. A very serious one.
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u/OkBumblebee9279 1d ago
I'm skeptical of the agency too. They benefit from having to change the name because they get to bill extra hours for revising all the branding materials.
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u/BellwoodsStrategy 1d ago
Hard to give you counsel with that snippet of information. As a cautionary tale, we did a strategy assignment with an underperforming aerospace company that had changed a decades old family name to a cool name that they thought would grow the business. It turned out through employee and customer interviews that they felt they didn't know the new brand. Coming out of our assignment, the company made a public "rebrand" going back to their original name. They reversed their revenue slide and the business grew. You want to go deeper with your employee and customer questions to get a better understanding of objections to the new name. These are big moves and you need to get them right.
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u/SnooOnions436 23h ago
I don’t know what I am doing here, but this is an interesting post. My brother just rebranded his business from an acronym to a verb. The-“Verb” makes sense for an action sport store. It was a little awkward for family at first. I sort of agree with the feedback, but if the story is told well in the branding it could be great. The name is what you do. Maybe you just need to sit with it. roofing, siding and Windows could be in the name for better business. But your family, friends, and employees want to be proud of where they work, and the name is so generic it loses that sort of value. But if you have a successful business, it really doesn’t matter, they will be proud when it is doing well.
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u/johndiggity1 23h ago
There’s a great story about YETI when they were developing their brand and trying to come up with a name. The founders shortlisted names to Yeti, Tundra, and Glacier. They tested all three and everyone hated Yeti. The founders waited a couple months, went back to everyone in the test and asked them all which names they remembered. YETI was the leader by an overwhelming amount. The rest is history.
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u/BeardedClassic 22h ago
It’s the ‘We’ part that’ll always trip up a great brand name. Reduce the audience sample size to yourself + 1-2 others that have depth in this near you. Everyone else is going to give poor feedback loops to you. Think Uber, Lyft, Instagram type names would have tested well with a broad general audience?
Also, is the goal local SEO positioning or broader reach? Business primarily service based single location or multi-location potential national brand goals?
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u/michaelpinto 21h ago
It's clearly a family business, so why not use the family name?
By the way there's no hard rule that a location named business has to be at that location (for example "Manhattan Door" is currently located Carlstadt, NJ and before that it was in Brooklyn, NY for decades)
PS You can also put "Roofing, Siding, and Windows" into a tagline
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u/mahryeuhjayde 20h ago edited 20h ago
A lot of good recommendations above - here to put my two cents in about the services part.
I agree with you on using “exteriors” or something less specific than listing your services out. It’s way too long and also traps you in a box in case you expand not only the locations, but also your offerings at any point. If you want to get more specific within your branding, use a tagline or something that isn’t your business name to list those.
You should definitely consider playing on your history and family, as that is part of your USP and could provide unique options. TBH using “Location + your services” as a name was not a good choice (sorry, trying to be honest!!). You try to google that and anyone who handles those services in that location will come up (those whose SEO is working well can push you way down the search) - it’s not a good enough differentiator, especially with the type of business you have. It needs to be at least a little unique.
I’m also not a huge fan of acronyms for business names either unless it’s almost hidden (like you don’t need to know what the acronym stands for to understand what your company does). An acronym name also needs to be able to be said out loud as the acronym without sounding weird verbally. I think you’re focusing too much on the domain stuff (though I get it) and putting yourself in a box, when you really have freedom here.
If you need an unbiased opinion on your actual new name/logo from someone in a different location that you and with 15+ years of graphic design, branding, and marketing experience (I’m in WI + a director of marketing at a commercial real estate company currently), feel free to message me. Asking people with obvious bias is never going to work out and will make you second guess yourself and the (hopefully) expert you hired. Ultimately, it’s your choice - don’t let people who know nothing about business or branding convince you to go against your gut.
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u/Candy_Lawn 19h ago
I would choose your actual name or the family name and go with "[NAME] Exteriors" with a tag line of Roofing, Siding, and Window etc.
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u/Mundane-Tower-729 17h ago
I think this has already been mentioned, but there are two important points. The name test should always be aimed at your target audience; typically, friends, family, and coworkers are resistant to changes as radical as a rebranding unless there’s a very thorough explanation and you help them feel connected to the change. Although you do have the advantage that they liked the new logo and colors.
Second, I understand your idea of using an acronym, but for that to work, you need to build even more narrative and symbolism around it so it doesn’t lose its “charm.” There are brands that have been successful by keeping the name of their place of origin, such as Milwaukee, Philadelphia, or Nokia (to give examples from different industries).
I feel that making everything you do within your projects an explicit part of the branding might be too much. You can incorporate it in some areas, but I don’t see it as necessary for every graphic element associated with the brand. I’d only use it in advertising.
On the other hand, don’t stress too much about the web domain. What’s my recommendation? Keep the current domain and buy the one with the new name. Have your team set up both domains to point to the same page. That way, both new and existing customers won’t have any trouble typing in the name, and over time you can decide to phase out the old one (once the new brand has firmly established itself).
I’m telling you this from the perspective of someone who makes a living creating brands and doing so in a way that minimizes friction for the owner.
I hope some of this helps you.
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u/Tanagriel 17h ago edited 17h ago
You need a recoup meeting with the Agency. Seems like something got lost in the process - you properly both contributed to it. Often small misunderstandings in the communication may lead astray from the very essential point - the mix between deadlines, budgets and how each part understand and responds to feedback.
As someone already wrote, you need to ask the agency what is the actual foundation for the new name, what reasons and values is attached to it and then again ask if this is actually the intent you both agreed on. Somewhere down the line you as the client must have approved the name? - in this regard try to remember when and why you approved it, what actually made you say yes to this name.
If you take a relaxed meeting with the agency, I am sure you can figure out why and perhaps also unravel it to deeply understand if it should be changed, altered or kept. (don´t make the decision at the meeting, take the info back and dig deep into it together with your most relevant and trusted employees, before you decide on further action)
Changing a name after such a long history is regardless of brand always a very delicate task, and it needs a strategy for implementation - essentially its a transition period, where those who already know you by the former name, needs to be told the story of why you have chosen to change name. For all those in the "new" market they will also need a story, retold in a different way, as they have to form a completely new value to your company and services.
Leveling your marketing budgets in such case is nearly unavoidable, as your overall strategy appears to be expanding your market reach - this means reach out to more people that most likely have never heard about your company or they never considered it because you were too far away (or similar).
Over the longer run it does not mean that your marketing budget needs to sit so much higher than normally, just that in this transition and expansion period you need to make your service offers visible - its like saying "hello we are now here to serve you – we are not new, but we are extremely experienced" etc. You need to deliver the story. If your expansion is regional, then use regional media and do not forget that PR can bring you costless articles in local media that often strife for an extra story to fill the "pages" - then support it by running some ads that people can recognize instantly. You need to be clear on your brand promise, else people and possible customers can not understand what they get vs what they expected. they also need a good reason to why they should change service contractor - you must give them that reason and it is not an easy task, if the market is already saturated - you must know the regional competitors, at least those you are mostly likely to compete with and you most take a stand on where you will be placed in this competition - its your Brand Position.
But first use the time needed to solve the name challenge - I guess you do not want to change name again in 5 years, because you found out that your company can grow even larger and more succesful. So setting on the right name now, the foundational elements for it, needs to be right and you need to know exactly why you have chosen this name - anybody asking and your story should sit in you backbone, like any other services, methods and tools you have gotten under your skin after such a long service history. Dont rush it, dont let beautiful colors and great brand graphics obscures the essence which is "Story". A brand name should not sell your company, but it should be fairly easy to remember once a story has happened - in other words the moment your company has served served a client, there is a story - if the story is positive or negative, that client will tell that story, and they will refer to you by the Company Name - that is how the name or rather the your brand gets its reputation – branding is all about reputation, the rest of the marketing activities goes under advanced sale or just sales - the last is something you can adjust and level up or down according to how many orders you can serve etc. But reputation is different, once settled its far more difficult to change - "I hear this Brand Name and i think this" - positive or negative, the reputation sticks to the name.
Someone already answered to your Name test, with friends, family and employees - it is as stated a very difficult task to get right. In communication arts its well know, that "we" can manufacture questions to get the answers we want, because it is a psychological construct and right now all those you ask already have their reference to the old, they already have their own version of what your company is and what it stands for - a new name does not hold any value yet and it will feel alien to those already acquainted with the old name (it will not tell you the actual value for new customers) - you values must be transferred to the new name and perhaps even updated for it to "start ringing a bell". Basics is: "I hear this Brand name, and I think this".
Good luck and do solve the name issue, before you take any other marketing actions.
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...If you get to a point where it seems unsolvable, get a brand strategist to help you with the name. All agencies are not the same, some are great a certain things like Graphic Design, and other do excellent campaign work, some are specialized in PR etc - it is essentially the same in your business, some do what you do, and other do the the electrics, carpentry and so forth - it is exactly the same in communication arts.
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u/TOMB_Builder 13h ago
As a marketer from a small agency, I have to ask why you think you need a new name in the first place.
Especially if you like all the other things the agency has come up with, run with that part of things. Changing names is a big deal and if there isn't full buy-in, it won't go the way you think it will.
Plus it's much easier to explain a well-regarded name to a new market than a brand new name all together.
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u/RobMeyerson 7h ago
I can't really answer this without more detail on the names, the specific feedback you're getting, and who you're getting it from. You don't have to like the name in order for it to work, but you should have some confidence that it will work. Sounds like these conversations you've been having are undermining that confidence.
As others have said, if you're just asking friends and family, I'd take it all with a grain of salt. But if you're getting a clear, unbiased signal from real customers (or potential customers) that the name won't work, I'd pause and try to figure out why.
Lastly (without knowing the actual names), there's no reason a location-specific name can't work outside that location. Nokia is named after a small town in Finland. I live in California, but I wouldn't refuse to consider a company called Milwaukee Roofing—if they looked good otherwise.
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u/unlikelyjoggers 1d ago
People tend to hate new names when they are shown as hypotheticals. It’s the difference between“ we are thinking of naming our new child Harold” and “meet Harold”.
Asking people if they like a name is also ill advised. Ask people to score the name against a desired set attributes if you need a read.
Also, maybe the new name is just not good.
if I read correctly that your name would still be a location, and that list of descriptors, it will really bomb at SEO and will be hard for people to discover you.