Thoughts on Naming: From List to Finalist

(My previous article discussed the process we use at Libretto to generate a list of potential names; I recommend reading that first.)

Once you’ve generated a list of potential names or themes for a product, fundraising campaign, or organization, the review process begins. How you structure that process can have almost as much influence on the ultimate success of the project as the list of candidates itself.

I often describe the process of presenting theme candidates as “a nonprofit Mad Men moment”—exciting, consequential, and slightly fraught. It’s extremely gratifying when it goes well; in the moment, it also requires a considerable amount of diplomacy, candor, and instinctual thinking, particularly when managing feedback that may be partially (or even primarily) negative.

Orchestrating the players
At Libretto, the review process generally begins with a presentation to the Client. In this instance, “Client” refers to our primary contact, who is typically one of the ultimate decision-makers for the project. While I’m using the example of a fundraising campaign in this scenario, a number of the observations discussed here may be applicable to other kinds of naming projects. They may also be of use to anyone involved in a high-stakes creative presentation on either the client or creative side.

In devising a review strategy with our Client, we address two fundamental questions:

• Who are the ultimate decision-makers? (With a campaign theme, that group might include the CEO, the chief development officer, and the campaign co-chairs. Let’s call them Deciders.)
• Who else needs to weigh in? (In that same example, the second list could include the chief communications officer, members of the campaign steering committee, and key staff members from the development team. These are Reviewers.)

A winn(ow)ing process
Our first presentation typically focuses on Reviewers, rather than Deciders. This creates an opportunity to field-test and winnow the initial list in the hope that a short list of top-level candidates will emerge. For example, we may present a list of 8-12 candidates to a group of key staff members who weigh in prior to the Deciders.

Our presentation deck includes:

• Overarching naming criteria
• Highlights from the creative brief
• The candidates, which are often preceded by a 1–2 sentence preamble that sets the tone for each individual candidate
• A consolidated list of the names that’s referenced during the discussion

There are a few ground rules we follow:

• The deck is never sent ahead as a pre-read. The reveal is important; you don’t want people reacting to candidates (or rejecting them out of hand) without having the benefit of the context and “surround” they hear during our presentation.
• The Librettists are the only ones who speak as we take participants through the list. Because those initial responses are pivotal, you don’t want participants to be influenced by others’ (positive or negative) reactions. For that reason, we ask that no one talks (or texts) while we present candidates.

A guided, yet free-ranging conversation
After the individual candidates have been presented and the complete list has been shared, the feedback begins. Factors to consider at this point include the following:

• Everyone in the meeting needs to have an opportunity to weigh in. If the group includes a Decider, we generally recommend having that individual be the last participant to share their feedback.
• It’s partially a subtractive process. Early on in the discussion, I often say, “While you don’t have to love everything we show you, it’s important to understand the rationale behind each candidate.” This creates an expectation that empathy is going to be central to the process. Having said that, we emphasize that it’s OK not to like certain things. In fact, when people are in agreement that something doesn’t resonate with them, it can help make a stronger case for the candidates they do like. One way to narrow the list is by paying attention to which candidates generate the most discussion, and which fall by the wayside.
• Conversations take unexpected twists and turns. People who may not initially feel they see a winner on the list often end up lending their support to one or several candidates. While those conversations can be intense, they’re always fascinating, and often really fun.

Where to from here?
While it’s impossible to predict exactly where you’ll be at the conclusion of the initial presentation, we often find that our list of 8-12 candidates has been winnowed down to a range of two to four finalists. If you can get most of the participants in that session to agree that the winner may be on that short list, the odds are pretty good that one of the candidates will eventually make it over the finish line.

From here on, much of the process focuses on managing the Deciders. Do you show the short list to all the Deciders at once, or individually? Will one Decider be disproportionally influenced by the opinion of another? There are several recommendations we make at this stage:

• Even when it’s an abbreviated list, the candidates should be formally presented; the list should never—ever—be talked through casually in a conversation. We’ve been in situations where someone has said, “I showed the finalists to the head of school during another meeting, and she didn’t like them,” which constituted a major derailment for the project.
• The list needs to stay under wraps. As soon as a Decider says, “I showed the list to my spouse, who thought the candidates were weak,” you can find yourself at Square One.
• If possible, the formal unveiling of the name or theme should take place at a precipitating event, such as a board meeting—and if properly choreographed, that reveal can be a great morale booster.
• You’ll also want to engage a designer who can create an identity for the name, product, or theme that coexists successfully with the overall organizational brand.

We hope this look inside our approach to naming has been helpful; if you’d like to learn more about any aspect of the process, just drop us a line.