Naming
Stand Out with Effective Naming & Taglines
Our strategic names and taglines take shape through collaborative workshops and are tested with the real people you want to reach.
Asking a few words to carry complex goals is a tall order, and getting every stakeholder to agree on them can be harder still. Murmur’s process is built for that challenge. We host collaborative workshops to align your team on goals and criteria before any option is judged, and leverage consumer testing to show how your finalists perform with the audience you need to reach. You leave with a tagline or name your team can champion and evidence that it will work.
Architecture Naming Example
Jute
Urban Development Partners builds community-oriented apartment complexes across the Portland Metro area. Their newest building in the industrial Central Eastside needed a name upon launch. Together, we landed on a modern makerspace concept, inspired by the DIY lab on the first floor for residents.
After research and workshops, the final name was chosen: “Jute.” Jute is a natural fiber used to make twine and fabric and, as a building name, relates directly to the complex’s unique makerspace. The name also subtly references the ties that bind us, both through craft and community.
Brand Renaming Example
Portal Tea
Portal Tea (formerly Tea Chai Té) was ready to evolve into more than a tea shop chain. They wanted to grow their tea sales nationally and shift their brand focus to highlight the unique virtues of their custom teas.
When Portal Tea described their tea to us, they said each unique flavor had the ability to “transport you.” We explored a number of different directions and executions but ultimately landed on the name, “Portal Tea.” This simple but unique name captured the essence of what they were looking to achieve. It evokes the experience of entering another world.
Consumer Testing
Consumer testing turns a strong internal choice into a proven one. We test your top four taglines or names with your target audience, measuring appeal and strategic fit at the research level your decision calls for. Then we walk your team through the results and our recommendation.
Consumer testing turns a strong internal choice into a proven one. We test your top four taglines or names with your target audience, measuring appeal and strategic fit at the research level your decision calls for. Then we walk your team through the results and our recommendation.
Tagline Example
Heaps
Heaps set out to deliver plant-based joy through their line of spreads, so our task was to build a brand that radiated positivity. We also felt they needed a tagline that activated their unique name. “Heaps of Happiness” became both their tagline and brand platform, resulting in a craveable brand world with broad appeal and standout shelf presence. From strategic positioning to playful packaging, every element was designed to disrupt the category with delight.
Tagline Example
Pecking Order
Pecking Order, a national brand of backyard chicken treats and tools, came to us for a ground-up rebrand. Their ambition was to be the most consumer-obsessed brand in the category, and they needed a tagline that could serve as the emotional anchor for the whole platform. We ran deep qualitative research with flockkeepers and the insight surfaced quickly: the real moment of joy was the flock running across the yard. “Flock-full of Joy,” a play on “chock-full of joy,” named that moment and now carries across voice, packaging, and launch.
Our Process
Since 2007, Murmur has written taglines and named businesses, sub-brands, products, services, and software. Along the way, we’ve learned that strong brand language depends on two things: a clear framework for evaluation and real consensus among the people who will carry it forward. Our process gives your team a shared path from goals to selection, then confirms the choice with the audience it’s meant for.