The Power of Language in Branding ✍🏼 When Brand Names Become Verbs

Have you just come off your weekly Monday Zoom? About to Google 'how to set up Facebook Ads’? Realised you need to Hoover the office? I bet you know exactly what I'm talking about with those three questions, yet none of them uses the correct verb. We should be saying 'video call' instead of Zoom, 'search' instead of Google and vacuum instead of 'Hoover'.

For me, this is the ultimate in brand recognition. These brand names have become a verb for the action we utilise their products or services for or a noun used instead of the original name. They are so integrated with our lives we barely notice they are there until they aren't.

This level of brand strength is what we aim for when creating brand strategy and identity. As a brand, we aim to become such an integral part of our ideal clients lives that they feel the loss if they couldn't use our services. And, our brand name is used in their everyday language.

Big-name brands aren't a stranger to this intention. A recent Squarespace campaign shows hypothetical clients of Squarespace coming up with very niche products, like Sauna Chess, with the slogan 'Squarespace it'. The intention here is for 'Squarespace' to replace 'create a website for it/sell your service online. The purpose of Squarespace is to give the user the ability to create websites to showcase anything in their life, be it their business, wedding, family photos, blog...the list is endless, and their clients can do this because Squarespace is so easy to use. Even you could do it. By reducing the process to two words, 'Squarespace it' the audience can fully understand the purpose. Clever right?

So how can we aim for a brand that integrates so seamlessly into our client's lives? Firstly, the brand strategy needs to be done. We need to know our goals, purpose, customer and brand framework in order to target the right people at the right time. Visual identity needs to be created to reflect that strategy and attract those superfans.

Secondly, the name. Consider your brand name and how it could develop in the future. For instance, a single word tends to work best when creating a verb later on...Etsy it, Facebook it, Tweet it. Nouns are a bit easier to replace... 'I'll have a Coke' instead of Cola is a simple replacement, yet we all still know what is meant.

Lastly, like Squarespace have done, marketing is vital to encourage this word replacement. Often this starts with internal culture; encouraging staff to use the phrases we would like to put out in the world can have an impact on those around them. This can then spread through association.

Have you ever considered this clever brand tactic? I'd love to hear of any other brands you can think of that have become part of your everyday language, so please leave a comment below and let’s share some for inspiration.

L

Xo