"It’s an emergency! We need a name, and we need it now!" Has your business ever encountered this situation? The next time you find yourself in a naming pickle, take a deep breath, exhale and take a minute to understand your options. Luckily you have a few to consider.

DIY

You know, do it yourself? More often than not, clients who try to name their own names find themselves dialing me up in a hurry. They cause their own naming emergency because they realize naming is harder than it looks. Before you venture into this territory, keep in mind the following.

Pros

• Price – You’ll avoid paying an outside vendor. Zero is a nice number

• Speed – You’re handling it all internally. No vendor communication.

• Volume – Depending on the company size, you can create a lot of ideas quickly.

Cons

• Chaos – DIY naming projects run afoul because they don’t have clear objectives or a process.

• Quality – Even though your employees can speak, read and write, it doesn’t mean they’re going to create that killer name. Professionals are there for a reason

• Hidden Costs – When projects drag on, costs go up. Your launch is delayed. Your trademark screening fees skyrocket. Or in the worst case, you find yourself having to change the name after you launch because you being sued for trademark infringement.

Online Naming Tools & Naming Services

This one is similar to DIY, only it’s a different strategy. There are a number of free online naming tools that will help you generate ideas. There are also online shops that claim to offer specialized naming services for next to nothing.

With this option, you’re basically looking at the same pros and cons as doing it yourself. You’re getting ready to roll the dice because with this route, it’s a real crapshoot with upfront price as the only real benefit.

Your Ad Agency

Heck, your agency is creative. They came up with that great campaign last month. So naturally they can name your new widget, right? Here are some of the pros and cons of leaning on an agency.

Pros

• Price – Traditional agencies want you to buy media. Rarely will they charge you for this kind of creative they can create with their spare cycles.

• Creativity – Almost any agency has a copywriter who can cook up crazy ideas.

• Integration – If your agency is in charge of the campaign, they’ll offer perspective on integrating with an advertising strategy.

Cons

• Experience – Most ad agencies just don’t specialize in naming. They don’t know the intricacies of how to generate smart ideas, and lots of them. Nor do they understand the legal and linguistic jujitsu required.

• Carelessness – They may rush you through the naming exercise, making mistakes along the way.

• Quality – The worst naming presentation I’ve ever seen came out of an ad agency – one founded by an advertising giant in the 1940s. Zero strategy. Zero creativity. Zero quality. Quite a few other agency naming presentations I’ve seen weren’t far off that low mark.

Naming & Branding Consultants

Picture an army of consultants marching through your door. Sometimes it’s like that – big branding firms often bring impressive teams to the table. Smaller naming companies or independent consultants usually come in ones and twos. If you go down the naming and branding consultant route, here’s what to expect:

Pros

• Experience – I can’t vouch for everyone, but I’d be willing to bet that most naming and brand consultants have enough experience to steer you away from common naming pitfalls.

• Quality & Quantity – Consultants understand it takes more than just a single name. They know you’ll need quality and quantity to get to the finish line with a solid name.

• Price – Many smaller firms offer tremendous value and insight for relatively reasonable fees.

• Scale – Many bigger consultancies have vast resources to help you build your brand outside of just the name.

Cons

• Price – Yep, you’ll pay to work with the big boys. I’ve seen naming projects – just the naming portion – run more than $200,000. Is it worth it? Perhaps. Is it financially feasible? Not necessarily.

• Scale – Smaller shops that specialize only in naming often lack the resources to help you with every aspect of brand building.

• Speed – Most consultancies take anywhere from a few weeks to a several months to develop a batch of viable names. But the flip side is that it takes time to get things right.

So there they are, your naming options in all of their glory. Whether you have a naming emergency or not, please remember: always be informed and prepared before jumping into naming your next brand.