The science of naming your business

Boxers & Briefs Podcast #40: Brand strategy for businesses with Tim Dove.

What should you name your business? What story are you trying to tell? Who are you trying to reach? These questions keep countless entrepreneurs awake at night, scrolling through domain registrars and brainstorming sessions that go nowhere. For Tim Dove, Strategic Director of Re:brand, an award-winning branding agency operating in Auckland and Wellington, these challenges represent not just creative puzzles but strategic opportunities that can make or break a business. With 20 years of experience in brand strategy and brand naming, Tim has built his career on a radical premise: your brand decisions should be based on evidence, not opinions.

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The marriage of creativity and business

Tim’s path to becoming a brand strategy expert began at university, where he pursued both a design degree and a marketing degree. This combination of creativity and business thinking has served him well over the decades, particularly as it applies to brand naming—the intersection of positioning, strategy, and creative expression.

Working in the design industry over the years, Tim developed expertise in brand strategy, brand research, and ultimately brand naming—a specialisation that’s become increasingly niche within the marketing world. It’s also something that his team at Re:brand perversely loves, despite acknowledging how challenging naming can be for businesses.

Re:brand has been operating for 25 years, though Tim didn’t start the company. He joined the founders who’d been working together for years and eventually became a director. The agency describes itself as “evidence-led,” a positioning that sets it apart in an industry often dominated by subjective preferences and design trends.

What evidence-led branding actually means

The concept of evidence-led branding might sound like marketing jargon, but Tim’s explanation cuts through the ambiguity. When dealing with something as valuable as your brand, you don’t want to pay people for their opinions. You want to base every decision on facts.

This applies across the spectrum of brand development: what you call your business, your brand strategy, how you’re positioning yourself, what your identity looks like creatively, and how you roll out and implement everything in the market. Re:brand’s approach involves gathering evidence to inform every decision in the world of branding and business.

“Some people like pink and others don’t, so who really cares if you like pink or not?” Tim explains. “It needs to be the most evidence-led, valuable thing for the business as to why you’re making any decision.”

This philosophy extends particularly to brand naming, which Tim argues is more important than ever given how significant a portion of business value it represents. A name isn’t just what you call your company—it’s a strategic asset that can position you advantageously or disadvantageously in your market.

Despite being a small team, Re:brand consists entirely of experts who love what they do. Tim subscribes to the saying that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life, and believes his whole team shares that philosophy—though some days are admittedly more fun than others.

Becoming one of the few, not one of the many

When asked about when he felt Re:brand had “made it,” Tim’s answer reveals an important business lesson. The turning point came when they realised they were “one of the few, not one of the many.” This required some explanation.

In a move they now joke about, Re:brand went through a rebranding process themselves—they rebranded to become Re:brand, which confused everybody initially. But this process allowed them to distil, package, position, and tell their story in a uniquely powerful way. They could use their brand to be one of the few at the top of their industry, owning what Tim calls “the high ground.”

This positioning created a snowball effect. Having a brand and therefore a business that’s powerful, succinct, and attractive to customers meant people started recognising them. The calibre, quality, and size of clients began growing. There wasn’t one single event that marked success—instead, numerous touchpoints and indications confirmed they were onto something significant.

The difference, as Tim notes, is that they started with intention. Many people launch businesses by giving it a shot and falling forward through decisions until they eventually feel like proper business owners. Re:brand took a different approach: they deliberately decided not to be everything to everyone, instead positioning themselves at the top of their market. This meant potentially doing fewer proposals annually—perhaps 10 to 20 instead of 1,000—but working at that premium level.

Tim points out that Kiwi companies are terrible at this. They try to be everything to everyone, becoming so generic that they can’t tell their brand story, particularly through a name. Niching down and becoming known for something specific is extremely valuable for both brand and business. A couple of years ago, Re:brand’s biggest ever client came to them for major work that isn’t even live yet, demonstrating how positioning as specialists attracts significant opportunities.

Brand as evolution, not revolution

Many business owners perceive rebranding as a dramatic change, particularly when they’ve had something in place for decades. They worry about losing equity they’ve built. Tim’s perspective challenges this assumption: brand evolution doesn’t mean starting from scratch.

He likens it to renovating a house. You’re not necessarily burning the building down; you’re evolving it, updating the kitchen or bathroom whilst preserving what works. Some elements might need complete replacement, whilst others simply need refinement. The key is understanding what to keep, what to modify, and what to discard entirely.

This perspective helps nervous clients understand that evolution is natural and necessary. Markets change, customer expectations shift, competitors emerge, and staying relevant requires adaptation. The alternative—clinging to outdated brand elements because they’re familiar—often proves more damaging than thoughtful evolution.

The strategic power of naming

Brand naming has become increasingly challenging, particularly with domain availability constraints. If you’re operating beyond a.co.nz domain and venturing into .au or .com territory, availability becomes minuscule. Re:brand charges more for naming projects targeting international domains simply because the work requires significantly more time.

Tim distinguishes between “what” names and “why” names. “What” names describe what you do—like Re:brand itself, which clearly indicates the company rebrands businesses. “Why” names are more emotive, selling the dream or the motivation behind the business. Both approaches have merit depending on the business, market position, and strategic objectives.

The naming process at Re:brand involves three team members with different approaches and mindsets. Their creative director brings one thinking style, Sarah contributes 15 years of marketing experience with major international and local companies, and Tim adds his strategic perspective. This diversity allows them to produce broad, strong long lists that yield excellent short lists.

Where you plan to operate makes an enormous difference in naming availability. New Zealand now offers various domain extensions beyond.co.nz—.kiwi and others—providing more options for businesses operating primarily domestically. But international expansion demands careful navigation of much more limited naming options.

Case study: from Absolute Wilderness to Real Meals

One of Re:brand’s success stories demonstrates the power of evidence-led naming combined with strategic positioning. A meal delivery service called Absolute Wilderness approached them for help. The existing name created several problems: it was long, difficult to remember, and didn’t effectively communicate what the business offered.

Through research, Re:brand discovered two insights. First, the meal delivery market had become crowded with competitors offering “assembled food”—meals put together from components rather than cooked from scratch. Second, taste was the biggest consumer driver in purchase preference. Taste encompasses multiple dimensions: homemade quality, nutritional value, actual flavour, and the sense of “real food.”

After strategic analysis, they renamed the business Real Meals. Whilst not rocket science on the surface, the name represented the fulcrum of consumer demand for real, nutritious, tasty food. If food isn’t real—if it’s assembled rather than cooked—it lacks the complexity of a proper meal and tastes slightly off. Real Meals, prepared by a real chef, provided perfect synergy between positioning and delivery.

The results were remarkable. Post-rebrand, post-repackaging, and after implementing a comprehensive brand rollout, including website redesign, Real Meals tripled their sales. They’ve since been looking at potentially quintupling that figure again. The rebrand and particularly the name resonated powerfully in the market, standing out from competitors and clearly communicating value.

This case study exemplifies how a relatively simple name, grounded in research and strategic insight, can dramatically impact business performance. The name wasn’t clever for cleverness’s sake—it directly addressed consumer needs and market gaps identified through evidence.

The process versus the wine-fuelled brainstorm

When advising entrepreneurs starting businesses, Tim’s guidance challenges common approaches. Many founders have that glass of wine and throw names at the wall to see what sticks. Tim’s advice? Put the wine down and follow a process.

Whilst acknowledging there’s some horses-for-courses variation—major companies like Barfoot & Thompson use founders’ surnames successfully—Tim personally doesn’t favour using personal names for businesses. None of the new names Re:brand has created for clients has followed the founder’s surname approach. The reasoning is that personal names make selling the business more complicated and might limit how the brand can tell its story.

The exception might be solo entrepreneurs building personal brands where the business links directly to their personality. In such cases, using your own name can work. But for businesses intended to grow beyond the founder or eventually be sold, different naming strategies typically prove more effective.

“Do not start with a list of names,” Tim advises. “Put your wine down, go through the process, do some work first. Then you’ll find names come much, much easier.”

The process Tim advocates involves first understanding and articulating your own business clearly. Then examine the marketplace to see how you can differentiate. Only after completing this strategic work should you move to labelling—choosing the name.

A case study demonstrates the power of this approach. A client in the financial advice and mortgage advisory space came to Re:brand about a year ago, just two weeks before Christmas. For six months, they’d tried to name their business without success. Re:brand conducted a workshop and discovered the client had no approach to market differentiation.

Re:brand distilled everything the client shared, and ten days later—on the last working day of the year—presented their recommendations. They outlined a differentiation strategy and provided names symbolising that positioning. The client was blown away that in ten days, Re:brand solved what they couldn’t crack in six months. The difference? Following a systematic process rather than randomly brainstorming names.

The professional perspective on brand everywhere

Working in brand strategy means constantly evaluating the branding landscape. Tim admits he’d be lying if he claimed not to judge names and brand appearances when out and about. In his world, you’re always thinking, processing the estimated 10,000 messages encountered daily. Every name, every brand appearance, every positioning decision gets evaluated.

However, this professional lens brings respect as well as criticism. Tim acknowledges there are excellent examples of branding working effectively in the market. The judgmental aspect comes with an appreciation for work that’s strategically sound and well-executed.

This constant evaluation isn’t just a professional habit—it’s ongoing education. Observing what works, what doesn’t, and why provides insights that inform Re:brand’s approach with clients. The market itself becomes a laboratory, offering lessons about effective positioning, naming, and brand strategy.

Why small businesses struggle with brand

New Zealand’s business landscape consists predominantly of small to medium enterprises—entrepreneurs starting out and building from the ground up. These businesses often struggle most with brand strategy, partly because they lack resources for professional help and partly because they don’t understand how strategic their brand decisions need to be.

The temptation for small businesses is to treat brand as an afterthought or a purely aesthetic decision. They choose names based on what sounds nice, create logos based on personal preference, and position themselves broadly to avoid excluding potential customers. These approaches rarely work effectively.

Without a clear brand strategy, businesses struggle to differentiate from competitors, attract ideal customers, and command appropriate pricing. They become one of many rather than one of the few, competing primarily on price rather than value. This commoditisation makes business building significantly harder.

Tim’s advice for these businesses emphasises process over inspiration. Before making any brand decisions—especially naming—understand your business deeply. What makes you different? Who are you serving? What do they care about? How does the competitive landscape look? Only after answering these questions can you make informed brand decisions.

This approach requires patience and discipline, particularly for eager entrepreneurs wanting to launch quickly. But investing time in strategic thinking before execution prevents costly mistakes and repositioning later. Getting it right initially saves both time and money long-term.

The intersection of creativity and evidence

Some might perceive tension between creativity and evidence-led decision-making. Doesn’t relying on research and data stifle creative innovation? Tim’s work demonstrates that this represents a false dichotomy. Evidence doesn’t limit creativity—it focuses it.

Understanding customer preferences, market gaps, and competitive positioning through research provides creative teams with clear parameters and objectives. Rather than creating in a vacuum based on personal aesthetic preferences, they’re solving specific problems for specific audiences. This focused creativity often produces more innovative, effective results than unfettered brainstorming.

The Real Meals case study illustrates this perfectly. The creative solution—the name itself—was relatively straightforward. The innovation lay in recognising through research what customers valued (real, tasty food) and what the market lacked (cooked meals from scratch rather than assembled components). The name emerged from strategic insight, not random creative inspiration.

This approach also makes selling creative work to clients easier. When recommendations stem from research and evidence, clients understand the rationale. They’re not being asked to trust the agency’s taste or aesthetic judgement—they’re seeing solutions to identified problems. This evidence-based approach builds confidence and reduces the subjective debates that often derail creative projects.

Looking forward: The evolving brand landscape

As Re:brand continues working with clients across Auckland and Wellington, the branding landscape keeps evolving. Domain availability grows increasingly constrained. Customer expectations shift. New platforms and channels emerge. Businesses need brand strategies flexible enough to adapt whilst maintaining core identity.

Tim remains active on LinkedIn, engaging with the brand strategy community and sharing insights. The accessibility of brand expertise—through agencies like Re:brand but also through online resources and professional networks—means businesses have fewer excuses for poor brand decisions.

Yet many businesses still struggle, still make decisions based on what sounds nice rather than what works strategically, still try to be everything to everyone. The opportunity exists for businesses willing to invest in a proper brand strategy to differentiate significantly from competitors who take shortcuts.

Key lessons for business owners

Tim’s experience offers several crucial lessons for entrepreneurs and business owners navigating brand strategy:

First, brand decisions should be based on evidence, not opinions or personal preferences. Research customer needs, analyse competitive positioning, and understand market gaps. Use this evidence to inform naming, positioning, and creative decisions. Treating brand as strategic rather than aesthetic dramatically improves outcomes.

Second, being one of the few, beats being one of the many. Trying to serve everyone typically means serving no one particularly well. Niche down, own a specific territory, and become known for something. This positioning attracts better clients, supports premium pricing, and makes marketing more effective.

Third, follow a process for naming rather than random brainstorming. Understand your business and market position before generating name options. This strategic foundation makes relevant, effective names easier to develop and evaluate. The wine-fuelled brainstorm approach rarely produces optimal results.

Fourth, consider carefully whether to use personal names for businesses. Whilst some successful companies bear founders’ names, this approach creates limitations for businesses intended to grow beyond the founder or eventually be sold. Alternative naming strategies often provide more flexibility.

Fifth, brand evolution doesn’t require revolution. Rebranding isn’t about discarding everything and starting fresh. It’s about thoughtfully updating elements whilst preserving what works. Like renovating a house, you can modernise without demolishing.

Finally, creativity and evidence work together, not in opposition. Research and strategic insight focus creative work, making it more effective rather than limiting it. Evidence-led creativity solves specific problems for specific audiences, typically producing better outcomes than unfocused brainstorming.

The strategic imperative of brand

In an increasingly crowded marketplace where domain names grow scarcer and differentiation becomes harder, strategic brand development represents a competitive advantage. Businesses that invest in understanding their market, positioning themselves distinctly, and communicating clearly through names and identity stand out from competitors who take shortcuts.

Tim Dove’s work at Re:brand demonstrates that brand strategy isn’t mysterious art requiring only creative genius. It’s a disciplined process combining research, strategic thinking, and focused creativity. This evidence-led approach produces names, positioning, and identities that work—not because they please designers or follow trends, but because they solve real business problems and resonate with target audiences.

For entrepreneurs starting businesses or established companies considering a rebrand, the lesson is clear: brand decisions matter enormously and deserve strategic rigour. Put down the wine, resist the temptation to brainstorm names randomly, and invest in understanding your business and market first. The name, positioning, and identity will follow naturally from that foundation.

Success in business requires many elements—great products, excellent service, effective operations, sound finances. But without a strong brand strategy, even businesses excelling in these areas struggle to communicate value, attract ideal customers, and stand out from competitors. Brand isn’t everything, but everything flows from it.

Tim’s 20 years of experience, Re:brand’s 25-year history, and case studies like Real Meals demonstrate the power of evidence-led brand strategy. It’s not about following formulas or copying competitors. It’s about understanding your unique position in the market and communicating it clearly, consistently, and compellingly.

As the branding landscape continues evolving, businesses taking strategic approaches to brand will increasingly separate from those treating it as an afterthought. The opportunity exists for entrepreneurs and business owners willing to invest in a proper brand strategy to create a significant competitive advantage—not through bigger budgets or louder marketing, but through clearer positioning and more effective communication of genuine value.

To learn more about Re:brand’s evidence-led approach to brand strategy and naming, visit https://rebrand.co.nz or connect with Tim Dove on LinkedIn, where he actively shares insights and engages with the brand strategy community.

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