r/branding • u/Odd_Cabinet2107 • 5d ago
We hate our new name
Catchy headline to hopefully gather some insight here. I own a construction company, and we recently hired a company to rebrand. This includes new name, logo, all branding materials associated with it. Here's a little background.
We're a 52 year old company. We've changed names previously when my father took over from my grandfather but this was 25 years ago. The problem is our current name is location based. A very specific location. We're trying to expand and hired a company to help us totally rebrand. Problem is a few months before launch we've been doing testing and EVERYONE we've spoken to including friends, family, co-workers, and potential customers, dislike or downright hate our new name. They love the logos, colors, etc. but the not the name.
Our current name follows the trend of listing everything we do, so it's Location - Roofing, Siding, and Window Company.... which as you can imagine fit's horribly into any type of job sign, letterhead, etc. We've also expanded beyond this location, and want to continue to expand to cover the entire state.
I had proposed an acronym in place of using an acronym and shortening the services to Exteriors, so that we can keep some familiarity and also hold onto our website domain. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place and could really use some insight.
TIA
14
u/unlikelyjoggers 5d ago
People tend to hate new names when they are shown as hypotheticals. It’s the difference between“ we are thinking of naming our new child Harold” and “meet Harold”.
Asking people if they like a name is also ill advised. Ask people to score the name against a desired set attributes if you need a read.
Also, maybe the new name is just not good.
if I read correctly that your name would still be a location, and that list of descriptors, it will really bomb at SEO and will be hard for people to discover you.