A British branding agency invents a revolutionary naming strategy that could change brand names forever

Thursday 16 November, 2023Brand naming for growth

Fruiting League founders Paul Vinogradoff and Kershen Teo have worked with some of the largest companies on several continents, such as Telenor, GE and NTT DATA, and have also helped small startups and SMEs to thrive as brands built on clear strategic principles. Recently they developed a new naming approach to secure or rebuild brand success and market strength.

Paul says: "Language is like the sea. We all float on the surface, but the depths are very strange and powerful. That's because we don't even know exactly how old human languages are or how interconnected."

They explain, the breakthrough is to see the active principle in all languages is actually the deep meanings of basic sounds. A lot of yoga teachers, for example, ask students to say 'om' during the session: in Hindi this means universal healing power. In Latin omni means everything. The word womb contains om, the source, all-encompassing and sustaining. In Greek omphalos is the navel, marking the origin of life. This is one example of how a sound – om – can carry a huge heritage of meaning. All elementary language sounds do this. And when they come together as the name of a place, a person, a company or a brand, the deep resonances of their meaning will influence what they name.

"So a name is far more than a convenient 'handle', says Kershen. "Your company's name defines and shapes its culture and its future, for good or ill. It works all the time, outside and inside the organisation. Success may come because of it or in spite of it. It is a mistake to imagine that 'by any other name' your rose would smell as good. It might 'smell' better or worse: the name counts."

Case study

Fruiting League just rebranded a Norwegian hospital and emergency software maker previously called CSAM to Omda. In Norwegian this means if-then. "This foundational logic is a key aspect of computer programming, the basis of their offering", says Kershen Teo, Fruiting League’s creative director. 

Developing and launching Omda was stimulating and motivating for the entire company. Customer and investor reactions were highly positive when the name went public. And something unprecedented happened: potential acquiree firms began to call, expressing interest in being brought into the Omda fold. In many years of strategic growth by acquisition, this was an uplifting experience.

Spotting winners, saving under-performers

Fruiting League can evaluate and predict with high accuracy the potential and limitations of any brand name. This insight means they can score any company against their competitors and advise on remedial action if needed. 

Together Paul Vinogradoff and Kershen Teo have over 50 years experience in branding and have created many successful brands. Paul has studied eleven languages apart from his native English and Kershen Teo, from Singapore, speaks several Chinese and other Asian languages. This unusual profile is the basis of their naming insight, a revolutionary way to tap deep meanings in sounds to drive business to new heights.

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