My fellow freelancers will I’m sure agree that no client wants to pay for our time in getting up to speed before starting work. Knowledge and insight must be acquired in the brief wave of a magical brand naming wand and this should translate with immediate effect in to on-brief and illuminating strategic and creative solutions. The less paid-for freelance namer time the better, obviously.
The thing is that ‘on-brief’ kind of assumes that there is one. On that note, today’s need for immediate response in no way negates the sense in taking the time to draw together a framework for what a brand is trying to achieve and the implications for whatever stream of work lies ahead. What’s more, the good news is that your remote creative resource really will have a chance of delivering relevant ideas – and more of them – if the process starts with a bit of a brief. I’d like at this point to claim that Briefs are Back. They’re not though.
I’m often working with agencies that don’t have time. For what? This will seem strange (I hope) but this includes not creating time to meet with or talk to their clients about the stuff that needs to form a brief. “They just want us to get on with it and go back with some ideas” might allow creatives to breathe a sigh of relief by way of freedom to ideate but how much more efficient would things be if we all sat down and talked before the Great Unbriefed come together with a fill-in-the-gaps Ppt deck that needs emailing to the client (sadly, not face to face presented) at the end of the day?
Let me set the context within my world of being a freelance namer. At the start of a day or two’s creative work it’s not unusual to be asking all the important questions about the brief, to discover a bit of a naming void. This might range from no brand positioning to no discussion with the client about the brand naming strategy or architecture, to no idea what the trade mark requirements are. At its worst, I have received a brief the sum total of which was “They want a name like…..” (fill in the gap with any abstract, meaningless name of the last 40 years). With no explanation to follow.
If we’re honest, brand naming can of course start before positioning is finalised. It cannot, however, make a decent start without any cues at all – even if these cues are not at this early stage defined creative cues, but are just a means to get the client thinking about the issues and the sorts of things that are going to have to inform their decision-making. The very good news about making the time for this stuff up-front is it may mean you or your freelancer nail things in a most cost-effective phase 1 (caveat: manage the client’s naming expectations most closely, which may involve speaking to them about naming more than once before that phase 1 presentation).
Here are some tips on that brand naming brief:
- I really really would formulate a structure and get client input and some kind of sign-off. It’s the blueprint for creative work and the thing that puts your freelancer in the pic really quickly. As well as covering your naming rear when the actual decision-maker arrives to the process many weeks down the line
- It’s not the same as the design brief. They come from the same place but there are some very specific naming things that need attention that the design process can’t resolve
- Specifically, design creative routes and naming creative routes are not the same thing. There will be far more brand naming platforms that might pick up on many different aspects of the brand, from positioning to functional or emotional USPs to personality traits and more. Your namer will need more input and possibilities than the two concepts that are starting to present themselves as design routes
- Have the trade mark and domain name discussion very early on and include the parameters in the brief. It may be the client’s problem to resolve this side of things, but an experienced namer will want to know what they are dealing with and will have this in mind as they create
- Include ‘should nots’, having explored this with client. Competitor names, industry terms to avoid, word parts the CEO and his/her significant other have a personal hatred of and (most importantly) examples of names that have been rejected to date and why. This deflects some curve balls up front.
Be it written or spoken, we freelancers really do work better with some kind of considered brief. Or, if time permits, we can help ask the right questions. We know you don’t have time and that we are paid to fix all this stuff once the wand is waved. I’m happy to name that brand in one (maybe) but let’s stack the odds.