A start-up online retailer sought to take on the competitive music and lifestyle merchandise category with both licensed and non-licensed products. Initial themes span all genres of music (classic rock, country, metal, pop, indy, etc.), followed by lifestyle themes including sports, cars/racing, alcohol and more. The brand launched with the classic rock theme.
One of the requirements of this brand naming initiative is the need for a brand name that can be used for a corporate entity, website sub-brand names, and its own merchandise—a tall order for a brand name.
As always, brand name breakthroughs are relevant to the category that the brand competes in. Following is competitive name mapping for the online music merchandise category.
Competitive Name Mapping
Typical of retail categories, brand names span all types, with metaphorical names that reinforce strategic positioning offering the greatest opportunity for commercial success.
One of the complexities of this branding assignment is the multiple applications for the brand name, as well as the number of themes, genres, and product types the brand will serve. Following are top ranked brand name candidates.
Naming Scoring and Ranking
Trademark and Domain Screening
The client preferred and selected Iconic Concepts for the corporate name and umbrella identity, along with www.IconicShop.com for the main retail website, but only after both domains were procured. The Iconic Concepts domain was available, but IconicShop.com required procurement from another owner in a private sale. The rationale for selection was the fact that both music and sports have iconic stars or teams. That said, there are many brands that use the name icon or iconic, so confusion is possible.
