Saturday 17 January 2015

The Cost to Develop a New Name for a Product: $3,000 to $75,000?

In a recent entertaining and informative article, The Weird Science of Naming Products, by Neal Gabler, published in the New York Times Magazine (January 15, 2015), Mr. Gabler discusses the process of choosing a name for a new product or service for a technology company in Northern California.  Notably, the article discusses the process of choosing a name by brand guru Anthony Shore.  Mr. Shore has created names such as Soyjoy and Yum!.  The article also describes the results of a study on the relationship between sounds of different words and emotions, and the use of that research to develop brands.  The article spends about a paragraph noting the importance of trademark law and the impact of preexisting marks.  Interestingly, the article does not discuss consumer studies of the potential names for products.  It notes that it costs about $3,000 to $75,000 US to develop a name, but tens of millions to establish the name in the marketplace.  Does that cost sound about right?  It seems low to me.  Any other estimates for the cost to develop a name? 

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