Domain name owners know about some of the pitfalls of naming. Renaming a sports franchise can be even harder.
FiveThirtyEight published an interesting article today that answers a question I’ve had: why hasn’t Washington’s NFL team announced a new name yet?
It turns out that naming a sports franchise is like selecting a company name but can be more complicated. And renaming one? That adds to the complexity.
John Rizzardini, who helped name the Seattle Kraken NHL team, paints a familiar picture:
…You corral a bunch of creative folks in a room with a big whiteboard, sip a few cocktails and brainstorm. Everyone’s brimming with ideas and positive energy, ready to collaborate on this epic creative process. Someone will come up with the right name, a moment of epiphany when everyone shouts, “That’s it!”
If only it were that simple. And ask anyone who has tried to just select a company name and domain name, and they’ll tell you the process is fraught with pitfalls.
It’s an interesting article, and I think any company that has gone through the naming process can relate to some of the challenges.
For more on company naming, listen to my podcasts with naming consultants Eli Altman and Anthony Shore.
