Just ran a side-by-side test of two brand naming approaches

I was helping a buddy name his new coffee blend business last month. He wanted something clever like "Bean Voyage" but I pushed him to try a simple descriptive name first like "Colombian Morning Roast". We put both on mock packaging and showed 50 people in a park near downtown Portland. The plain name got 3 times more positive responses and everyone actually remembered it the next day. Has anyone else found that clever names hurt more than they help?

2 comments

2 Comments

jones.blake5d ago

My own "Crisp Cat Coffee" was my attempt at being clever and yeah it bombed hard. People just stared at the bag like I was selling them catnip instead of a light roast from Ethiopia. The name "Kenyan Sunrise" I switched to later did way better, which I guess means my creativity is best left in the trash where it belongs. Have you tested the names on actual coffee drinkers, like people who buy beans weekly?

the_sandra5d ago

@jones.blake having dog names fail is funny but that descriptive naming trick works because people buy coffee they can pronounce.