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first two letters of my name and my siblings’
names: Maria + Vincent + Chris = Mavich.
Our unique name with the addition of
‘Branding Group’ immediately grabs atten-
tion while informing people of what products
and services we provide.”
2. DO choose a company name with
an available .com domain.
If the .com domain isn’t available for your
company name, that means there is probably
already a company with that name. If some-
one else has the .com domain, they have a
huge advantage over you and will be given
preference in search engines.
3. DO think long term.
A name like “Max’s Branded Shirts” may
seem like a great way to let people know
what you sell, but what happens if you
expand to offering more than just shirts? It’s
better to name your company for what you
aspire it to be in the future, rather than what
it is right now.
An example of a distributor that adapted
when it outgrew its name is Groggy Dog
(UPIC: GROGDOG4), formerly known as
Groggy Dog Sportswear. “As we have diversi-
fied our offerings from only screen printing
and embroidery and added promotional
products, we have dropped ‘sportswear’ from
our name,” says owner Craig Jones of the
Denton, Texas company. “While the name
Groggy Dog does not immediately tell the
customer what we do, it’s a name they all
remember.”
4. DO strike a balance between per-
sonal and professional.
It’s great to add personality to your
brand, but make sure it’s something you’re
comfortable explaining. It’s okay to have a
name that is near and dear to you, just know
people will likely ask for the story behind it.
An example of a company name with a
story behind it is that of Dallas, Texas-based
Fluff, Inc. Owner Phyllis Catton says the
story is near and dear to her heart because of
her late husband, who helped name the com-
pany. “When we met, he nicknamed me
Fluffy because of my hair and my positive
attitude,” says Catton. “So when starting my
own business, he said we had to name it after
me. Advertising and marketing is fluff and
stuff, and so it became Fluff, Inc.,” says
Catton. “After I work with my customers for
awhile, they start calling me Fluffy instead of
Phyllis.”
5. DO think outside the box.
A unique name may be hard to come up
with, but it will also be hard to forget. When
you meet prospects, a unique name will be
much easier to remember and your company
will be top of mind over “The Promotional
Products Company” when they’re trying to
remember who to order from.
“I’ve been in the industry a long time, on
both the supplier and distributor sides, and
wanted a company name that was unique but
also significant. When thinking about how
promotional products tie marketing cam-
paigns together by connecting several differ-
ent marketing channels, Connect The Dots
just made sense,” says Karie Cowden, MAS,
president of Phoenix, Arizona-based distribu-
tor Connect The Dots Promotions, LLC.
“I’m a very outgoing person and I wanted my
company name to reflect that. I also wanted
something that was quirky enough to make
people remember it.”
6. DON’T choose a name that is diffi-
cult to spell or pronounce.
When searching for an available name,
many companies make the mistake of replac-
ing a ‘k’ with a ‘q’ or a ‘ph’ with an ‘f ’. But this
runs the risk of typos and increases the
24 •
PPB
• OCTOBER 2015
INNOVATE
DAWNNA ST LOUIS GREW UP in a
dangerous neighborhood and, by her
teens, she learned that if she didn’t make
some changes, she was destined for a life
of early motherhood, poverty and even
crime. Speaking at the closing general session at PPAI’s
Women’s Leadership Conference in July, St Louis recalled how
she took stock of her situation, overcame her limitations and
went on to create her own successful IT company.
In the largely male-dominated IT world, she was a rarity.
But it was a good place to learn the do’s and don’ts that ulti-
mately proved her success. In her no-nonsense style, St Louis
encouraged the women in her audience to embrace their self
worth and rise to the top with these tips:
1. Give yourself credit for department or company victories, no
matter how big or small. Here are some ways to do that:
• Identify a challenge you had a role in solving
• Write down three ways you were involved in solving the
challenge
• Determine the benefits of your contribution to the
organization
2. If you have a seat at the table during meetings with higher-ups,
don’t take notes. Don’t be the scribe. You don’t want to put
yourself in the position of being the secretary and not the
leader. Your position at the table is important too. Sit at the
head of the table or in the center on one of the sides.
Alternatively, sit next to those seats. Always face the door.
Never take a seat in a corner, especially in a corner by the door.
3. Walk in the shoes of the person you want to be. Know the
value of what you bring to the table and don’t let anyone
else tell you any different. Look at your failures as things you
had to learn to get to where you are now.
4. If you have an upcoming meeting where you anticipate you
may not be listened to, enlist the help of a supporter in
advance. Ask that person to assist if you get interrupted. For
example, if someone tries to cut you off, the other person
will step in and say, “So-and-so was starting to say some-
thing and I want to hear what it is…”
—Tina Berres Filipski
Shameless Self-Promotion Tips