How to choose the best name for your brand: part 2 – SCRATCH

Remember how recently I explained you how you can choose your brand's name using the SMILE method? If you're like "What is that even?", then check the part 1 to refresh your memory.

As I’m writing this, I’m still inspired by a book called "Hello, My Name is Awesome" by Alexandra Watkins. And it's a time to introduce you to the SCRATCH method.

Again, long story short: your brand name should make people smile, not scratch their heads – hence the contrast between SMILE and SCRATCH. In this post I am explaining the SCRATCH method.

So, what is it this time - “SCRATCH”? It’s an acronym of seven principles you can use to test your brand name. If you can answer positively at least one question below – don't use the name you're testing. It's a bad one.

S – Spelling-challenged. Is it hard to pronounce? Does it look like a typo?

C – Copycat. Does it resemble competitors’ names?

R – Restrictive. Does it limit future growth?

A – Annoying. Does it seem forced? Can it frustrate customers?

T – Tame. Does it feel flat? Descriptive? Uninspired? C – Curse of Knowledge. Does it speak only to insiders? H – Hard-to-Pronounce. Does it confuse people?

Here're some examples of the brand names that make me (maybe you too) scratch a head. I don't smile when I hear them, but I do feel confused.

1. If we take a name like “cool-er,” I’d say it doesn’t really work. It's actually a Kindle. But nobody would ever know that. First, it’s just weird to write and pronounce - the hyphen makes it look like a typo, which already breaks the Spelling rule. Then, in terms of Connotations, it sounds more like a fridge brand than something actually “cool.” It’s also not very memorable - you don’t instantly get what it stands for. The Tone feels a bit forced, like it’s trying too hard to sound trendy, and overall it just doesn’t feel natural or human. So yes, it actually fails on several levels.

2. One more brand. I really like Alexandra’s example from the book - she mentions an organic baby clothing company called Speesees (spelled S-p-e-e-s-e-e-s), which is honestly just a terrible name. It’s confusing to read, hard to pronounce, and breaks several SCRATCH principles. Fun fact: their business doesnt operate anymore.

So now you know both methods: SMILE and SCRATCH. The best results usually come when you first apply SMILE and then check your idea against SCRATCH.

It’s my go-to playbook for naming - wake me up in the middle of the night, and I could still tell you what every letter stands for. You don’t have to memorize it like I did, but just remember one thing: a great name should make people smile, not scratch their heads.