Grant Polachek10.01.20
The current wave of anti-racial movements in the country has only shown that the world has now recognized and taken an active step in fighting all forms of racial injustice. It’s something every aspect of American brands, and the economy at large, really supports, including the Beauty/Cosmetic industry.
To rephrase the words of Kristen Henderson, the founder of BLK+GRN, “Spending money on a brand, is like voting on the brand”. This is so true, and thankfully customers are becoming more aware and taking an active role in controlling their purchasing choices.
Now, with black spending power standing at $1.3 trillion dollars, it's safe to say that minorities already contribute massively to the U.S. economy.
It’s a contribution that’s expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2021, while not also neglecting the research conducted by The University of Georgia, which showed that the combined purchasing power of the U.S. minority market stands at $2.4 trillion, a value higher than the GDP of Australia, a G20 nation.
The Beauty Industry and Anti-Racist Movements
Although the Beauty and Cosmetic industry is yet to fully recover from the discontinuation of skin lightening products, for obvious health reasons, a product that’s worth over $19.8 billion and has a global appeal, the industry now has to deal with a new challenge, anti-racial movements.Popular Beauty Brands like Dove, L’Oreal, Wycon, Tarte, MAC Cosmetics, Kat Von D, and many more have all had some of their activities and products called into question in relation to racial injustice.
Most brands have tried several methods when it comes to making up for their wrong-doing. But these methods of appeasements aren’t the only ways brands can remedy these issues.
Several brands caught practicing unjust racial acts can take several steps to redeem their brand, but trust us, the primary solution lies in creating a strong brand or product name that best reflects your ideas and services. You’ll not only win more sales but avoid damaging stereotypical errors that’ll haunt your brand in the future.
Now, to create a brand name that works for you, you need to follow the following four steps.
4 Steps To Create a Strong Brand or Product Name
1. Brainstorm
Brainstorming your beauty brand’s name can be tricky. For one, the industry is unique and requires an individual touch to get it right. Your best pick of names has to reflect specific keywords, trends, and soft delicate words that relate to your customers.Consider Jeffree Star’s ‘Cremated Collection,’ (shown above, photo via Instagram/jeffreestar) released in May. The product received lots of backlash for its cringeworthy name. Choosing ‘cremated’ didn’t go well with a lot of consumers who related the term to the mass deaths due to the Covid-19 virus. The only reason the product remained successful was the YouTuber’s star-power. But not everyone can leverage on that.
For you, such a mistake would not be easily forgiven, so it’s best to reflect on the name of your cosmetic brand.
An excellent starting point in brainstorming would be to follow these steps:
- Use synonyms of ‘Beauty’ or similar words. Think ‘Nature’s Own Cosmetic,’ ‘Clinique,’ and ‘Dove’.
- Choose graceful names like ‘SheWill,’ and ‘PrettyWoman’.
- Choose short meaningful names like ‘L’Oreal,’ and ‘NARS’.
- Use words that aren’t difficult to spell because it will affect your online presence.
- Ensure your product names can’t be used against you. E.g. ‘Fair and Lovely,’ facing challenges over their product’s name.
- Ensure your product’s name doesn’t have any negative connotations like Jeffree Star’s ‘Orgy Palette’ or NARS’s ‘Orgasm collection’.
2. Get Feedback
Once you’re done brainstorming, the only way to know how viable your potential brand name is, is by getting feedback. Your goal here is to ensure that any name you choose accurately communicates your brand’s values, products, and services to your intended audience.The best feedback is provided by your potential customers or practitioners in your industry. Avoid feedback from family and friends because most times, they’re just cheap praise.
From feedback, you’ll get a reaction of how your brand’s name comes across to your audience. It’s here you’ll get to see if it has any racial undertones or stereotypes and flush them out.
Trust us, you don't want your products to carry a name like Cheeky Monkey’s ‘Hot Slut’ if you want everyone to get it.
3. Check Availability
It’s vital that you check for the online availability of your brand before going ahead. This step is critical for your beauty brand to avoid scandals and legal issues, as we’ve seen with anti-racial cases.You can quickly check for your cosmetic brand’s name availability and confirm its availability on social media. Endeavor to:
- Register your name to an online domain.
- Gain trademark and patent rights.
- Address every legal issue.
4. Contact Professionals
Although you may achieve some results on your own, the inputs branding experts would make to your beauty brand would be a game-changer for you. Plus, the added advantage of skipping the processes of brainstorming, research, checking for availability, and other critical steps.A brand naming agency would provide you the opportunity to acquire secured cosmetic brand names that fit your industry perfectly. They create names that are catchy, easy to spell, and evoke pleasant emotions in your customers.
