Brand Acumen is a global brand naming agency based in New York that specializes in innovative brand name development. It operates out of its Chelsea Market location and takes a creative, culture of innovation approach to the naming process. The agency uses a tri-fold process including landscape analysis, name development through ideation exercises, and market research validation to create profound brand identities through names. Some of its clients and naming case studies highlighted include Microsoft's Xbox, Cadillac's Escalade, and Roche Pharmaceuticals' Xenical.

1. Brand Naming
Capabilities
Presentation

2. 2
About Us
Brand Acumen is a global brand naming agency based in New York that
specializes in innovative brand name development.
Brand Acumen operates in its Chelsea Market location where we infuse a
culture of innovation and creative inquiry into our process.

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Overview At Brand Acumen, name creation is our form
of artistic expression.
We redefine the
fundamentals of using
art and language
as a guide to developing
profound brand identities.
Bill Smith, CEO1200+ Names
800 Clients
27 Countries Bill Smith was previously the founder and CEO of
Addison Whitney, which today is one of the leading
brand consulting firms in the world.
Beginning in 1991 under Bill’s guidance, Addison
Whitney worked with over 800 clients in 27 countries.

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Clients in Telecom

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Brand Name Creation
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ClientName Creation
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Medalist
PowerVault
FieldFox
OptiPlex

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Brand Name Creation
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AViiON
Alpha
Pavilion Satellite
Stylus
CLARiiON

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Brand Name Creation
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Previously Un-named
Major Satellite Provider

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Brand Name Creation
Corporate Identity
Client Name Creations

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Xbox – Microsoft
Our Success: Case Study
Creating a brand name for a revolutionary video game console
Microsoft asked us to develop a name that would resonate with gamers around the
world and compete against other major industry players such as Sony, Nintendo, and
Sega.
From our conversations with Microsoft, this new gaming console was expected to
communicate the following attributes to the target audience:
Respondents quickly connected with Xbox, noting that it was ‘easy to say,’ ‘cool,’ and different from other console names.
Element
Cybes Xebo Synsato Exar
Xpulse Tast Vertium-------
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Brand name finalists
We conducted QualiQuantitative Interviews with 200 male respondents (ages 8 to 28) to test the 12 brand name
candidates.
Brand name recommendation
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------- Veom -------- Avelos -------- Cybersant ----- -----Xbox™
Ground-breaking
Adventurous Immersive entertainment Redefine gaming
Addictive Edgy Intuitive

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Escalade – Cadillac/General Motors
Our Success: Case Study
Brand name creation for Cadillac’s new luxury entrant to the
otherwise rugged SUV market.
Cadillac desired a name that would revitalize the Cadillac brand and
develop a single identity that would redefine the SUV market.
The following eight names were developed and evaluated through QualiQuantitative
Interviews that specifically included 100 SUV dealers and 100 individuals who had
owned an SUV for a minimum of three years.
Patagonia, a legally viable name in the automobile sector, spoke to vehicle ‘ruggedness’ and was recommended for a partnership with
the outdoor clothing/gear company of the same name.
Though respondents were not so attracted to the name Evoq, Cadillac later used the neologism (made-up word) for a concept car that
later became the CTS.
Terrex referred to ‘terrain’ and ‘extreme,’ and respondents noted it had an ‘x-factor’ that signaled the ‘great unknown’.
Compass evoked a positive response for having an ‘outdoor feel’; the name was later used by Jeep for its compact crossover vehicle.
BackPacker
Fitz Roy Journey Patagonia Terrex
Compass Escalade™ Evoq-------
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Brand name finalists
Brand name finalists
Brand name recommendation

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Xenical–Roche Pharmaceuticals
Our Success: Case Study
Creation of a global brand name for a prescription medication
that assists obese patients to lose weight and keep it off.
The primary focus in developing this brand name was ‘subliminal
messaging’.
After rigorous global linguistic analysis and trademark screening, we subjected our 12
brand name finalists to a ScoreCard analysis to evaluate the phonetic, aural, visual, and
syllabic elements of each name.
To further evaluate the resonance of each potential name candidate, we conducted
QualiQuantitative Interviews with 200 respondents including dieticians, physicians, and
obese patients.
• Respondents noted that Modese implied a ‘modification to obesity.’
• Asatia served as our secondary recommendation, resonating with feelings of ‘satisfaction’ and ‘satiation.’
• Respondents quickly connected with Xenical, noting it as efficacious, peaceful, effective, and powerful. Most notably, it is ‘zen-like.’
Asatia
Erastae Lithera Modese Quotra
Arcesa Brevin Destive-------
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Brand name finalists
Our research revealed the following:
Brand name recommendation
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------------- Sylaphe -------- Venix -------- Xenical® ----- -----Zalign

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Our linguistic experts employ theoretical approaches to model brand
language in a way that clarifies intuitions about core meanings and
explains our creativity behind words without confusion.
As the most integral part of our process, we screen name candidates
for legal defensibility and cross-linguistic viability alongside creative
generation
Brand Acumen uses a tri-fold approach to creating brand names
Brand Name
Development Process
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Landscape Analysis & Review
PHASE 1 PHASE 2
Name Development Market Research Validation
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PHASE 3

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Project Kickoff Competitive ReviewNaming Strategy
PHASE 1
Landscape Analysis & Review
Identify and understand
existing name strategy,
positioning, market research,
potential for growth.
Analyze how competing
brands are presented, viewed,
named, and accepted in the
target market.
Uncover insights and
define objectives with key
project stakeholders.
Our team will ask a battery of questions in order to understand:
What types of messages should
the brand portray to existing and
future customers?
Who do you currently consider
to be your customer base? The
future customer base?
What type of name do you believe
would have the greatest impact
(i.e., descriptive, “made-up,” non-
English, and/or a real word)?

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Naming Brief Final Candidate ListName Creation
PHASE 2
Name Development
Identify the framework for
developing the brand name
candidates, based on the insights
from the naming strategy.
Analyze the name candidates with regard
to structural analysis, trademark, domain, and
common law availability and harvest a short
list of ten to twelve final candidates.
Uncover naming candidates
through three separate
iterations of deep source
mining and ideation exercises.
A proper name and brand strategy hinges upon
discovering the authentic essence and purpose of
the brand across all of its receptions—its brand
ethos.
Name development will be performed through an iterative
process. The first iteration will contain thirty to thirty-five brand
name candidates. Our creative team will present each name and
identify patterns of words or styles upon which to expand.
We will continue to develop lists of potential brand names until
we generate a finalized candidate list of ten to twelve mutually
agreed-upon brand names to take into Phase 3.
Our Approach Creative Process
Using a combination of deep inquiry pursuits and ideation exercises, we
seed and harvest a short list of name candidates that express the brand’s
ethos across a comprehensive range of associations, connotations and
evocations, in line with the conceptual target we have established.

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Recruitment QualiQuant Interviews ScoreCard Analysis
PHASE 3
Market Research Validation
Identify a sample
of 200 key users and
construct a project specific
questionnaire.
Uncover user insight on
each name candidate by
probing participants during
one-on-one interviews.
Provide a quantitative
“score” for each of the
created brand names.
PHASE 3
Market Research Validation

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AccuBrand™ Report
We analyze our data and present our final recommen-
dation in the AccuBrand™ Report, a stacked ranking
of the name candidates, from most to least viable.
The AccuBrand™ Report serves as our final client deliverable. This report
includes our name recommendation supported by our QualiQuant Market
Research data and our ScoreCard Analysis.
The AccuBrand™ Report also includes a stack ranking of all market
validated names from most to least viable. All final recommended names in
the AccuBrand™ Report are available for client to trademark.
Phonetic
Viability
Phonetic
Viability
9
Intuitive to spell based on pronunciation
(with slight chance of interpreting “i” as
“e”) and poses little conflict as how to
pronounce based on orthography.
Durability
& Longevity
9
Closed Syllable coda connotes strong
foundation with potential for
technological extensions. Surprisingly
unique in direct space.
Name Refers to BeverageDifficulty to Pronounce
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Responses 26 11 38 13 20 6 0 0 1 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Difficulty to PronounceCalibrium
Yes
63%
No
37%
Name Refersto a Medical Device
Company Interview Breakdown
Loyal Consumers
90
TBD (by client’s request)
20
Buyers
90
Sample Analysis

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Testimonial
“Since1995BillSmithhasdoneasignificantamountofourbrandmarketing
on an outsourced basis. Everything from developing new products, to
developing go-to-market strategies, to preparing our annual marketing
plan. I would have no hesitation in recommending Bill to any food and
beverage company that needs marketing support of any kind.”
Mary Minnick* Chief Marketing Officer
Coca-Cola *Listed on Forbes Top 100 Most
Powerful Women

18. Contact Us
Address:
Website:
Bill Smith - Chief Executive Officer
Email: william.smith@brandacumenstudios.com
Phone: 917.745.3620
19 Leonard St
1W
New York, NY 10013
www.brandacumenstudios.com