The branding tactic, or branding propaganda, is important. It is going to be the brand name that people will know it by for the life of the product’s existence. Of course, this goes for services, too – think upon branding and its effectiveness with names such as “Geek Squad,” – this was a rather successful branding – so much so, that, it has become a name that people use to describe almost any technical support team.

That’s the goal of branding, though – to turn a brand name into a household name (tissues, or “Kleenex?”). Additionally, another goal of branding is to make people think of it first – whether they’ve ever used it or not. With these goals in mind, there are four attributes that work differently when it comes to branding a product, and all four of them work well.

#1 – Branding Descriptively

This typically works best for those who want their function remembered – something like “Mott’s Apple Sauce,” or “Florida Natural Orange Juice.” This is good for small businesses who want to market locally – especially if they place a geographic location on their brand.

#2 – Branding Suggestively

This makes an impact with consumers without being descriptive outright. Using a suggestive branding tactic to hint at what the product does or is, or, hinting at its positive qualities can go a long way with effective branding to customers – such as “Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain.”

#3 – Branding Arbitrarily

This isn’t just picking a name out of a hat for a brand, although one could do it that way. This is kind of touchy for new products in some ways, and can strengthen a brand (think “Apple” computers, named after the favorite fruit of the late Steve Jobs), or weaken a brand (none can be cited for example because their products are unheard of due to branding issues). Brand arbitrarily only if the product is extremely strong or in high demand – such as a tablet or smartphone.

#4 – Branding Imaginatively

This goes beyond arbitrary branding and into using neologism (completely made up words) – “Kleenex,” and “Crayola” are examples of this type of branding. This type of branding needs to be used carefully with small businesses, and, if the capital isn’t there to do marketing research on the brand’s effectiveness, then it should be avoided entirely.

There is more to branding than just slapping a label and design on a product. Careful research to examine how said name and logo will go over with consumers is necessary, but even more so for arbitrary or imaginative names. The small businesses may find themselves better off choosing a descriptive or suggestive brand name in order to grab attention and self-advertise.