One of the most important first steps in the branding process is brand naming. It can be a tricky equation. You have to balance your desire with practicality, availability, meaning, the catchy factor, and other considerations. Spelling is kind of important too.

Several years back, a long-time client of mine with a penchant for brainstorming at 1:00 a.m. decided he wanted to create a nebulous product called either Blue Buddha or Red Buddha. He couldn’t decide which he liked better, so he registered the dot coms for both. He renewed them for a couple of years, adding his investment in the names up to about $60. He did this all on his own.

He asked me to handle the domain renewals in the fourth year, whereupon I noticed that he had misspelled Buddha as Buddah. It’s a common misspelling, but it has the undesirable association as a slang term for marijuana, not ideal for a consumer product unless it got people high I suppose. I suspect the FDA would frown upon this.

I checked the proper spelling dot com availability. They were both taken, and the client lost all interest in his prize names on the spot.

The moral: Always check your spelling when naming your brand!