Naming a brand isn’t typically part of a content strategist’s job description. But if you’ve worked in a small team or with a solo business owner, you’ll know that boundaries blur pretty fast.

In my Master’s thesis project for BounceBake – an upcoming online chiffon cake business in Singapore – I started off focusing on shaping the content strategy, but ended up coming up with a brand name too.

Because naming isn’t just a brand exercise. It’s a strategic communication decision. And when you’ve already done the work of audience research, competitor analysis and defining a brand message architecture and brand voice, you have the right context to help name something well.

Why I got involved in naming

The founder, Jennifer, is a solopreneur with limited resources. She had been using a working name, JenBakes. It was simple and familiar, but didn’t reflect the unique qualities of her chiffon cakes or what made her brand stand out.

As we shaped her brand messages, voice and value proposition, we realised that the name needed to do more. It had to be:

• Evocative of her product’s qualities (soft, springy, comforting)

• Flexible enough for business growth

• Distinct from competitors

So I offered to help her come up with a shortlist.

How I got started: Brainstorming with purpose

Before starting, I first turned to Alexandra Watkins’ book Hello, My Name is Awesome. She recommends defining the brand’s positioning, personality, goals, target audience and competitors as the first step before even brainstorming.

Fortunately, I had already gathered this information through earlier audience and competitor research, as well as co-creating a message architecture and value proposition with Jennifer.

Using these foundations, I followed Watkins’ guidance to brainstorm solo, through what she calls the "one person, many sources" method. This meant gathering inspiration from a range of resources: words, phrases, visuals, music, glossaries and other references related to chiffon cakes. I wanted names that felt soft, springy, warm and joyful – just like Jennifer’s cakes. I wrote down names as they came to mind, without any judgement, and soon I had a list.

Good names should make you SMILE, not SCRATCH your head

To determine if a name works, Watkins uses what she calls the “SMILE” and “SCRATCH” tests. These are based on her philosophy that “a name should make you smile instead of scratch your head.”

“SMILE” assesses positive traits of a name:

• Suggestive: Brings to mind something about your product or brand.

• Meaningful: Resonates with your audience.

• Imagery: Conjures a visual image in the customer’s mind.

• (has) Legs: Allows for wordplay or extension of its theme.

• Emotional: Triggers an emotional connection.

“SCRATCH” flags common naming pitfalls to avoid:

• Spelling-challenged: People can’t easily spell it or it looks like a spelling mistake.

• Copycat: Looks or sounds like a competitor’s name.

• Restrictive: Limits future growth.

• Annoying: Frustrates people or sounds unpleasant.

• Tame: Too safe or boring to stand out.

• Curse of knowledge: Makes sense only to insiders.

• Hard to pronounce: Causes confusion or hesitation.

I evaluated the top 5 names that Jennifer chose using this scoring system:

• ✅ Performs well according to the criteria: 1 point

• ⚠️ Somewhat address the criteria: 0.5 points

• ❌ Does not meet the criteria: 0 points

“SMILE” analysis

“SCRATCH” analysis

BounceBake came out on top on almost all the criteria. It was quirky, easy to say, evocative of the product (bouncy chiffon cakes) and the feeling she wanted her brand to give. Whisking Moments and Cloudy Chiffon came in second and third respectively.

Putting the names to the test: guerrilla testing

To make sure BounceBake didn’t raise any red flags, I ran a quick guerrilla test. I showed mockups of the shortlisted names on cake boxes to a group of potential customers and asked which appealed to them and why.

Here’s what I learnt:

• Context matters. The people surveyed generally liked BounceBake. They said that they found it quirky and catchy, and that it gave them a sense of bounciness and lightness. Many people also liked “Cloudy Chiffon”, as, without more context, they assumed that having “chiffon” in the brand name signified a speciality in chiffon cakes. They added that if the words “chiffon cake” were included on the product packaging together with the other names, that might change their perception.

• Brand names are super subjective. One person’s favourite is another’s turn-off. For example, although someone said “Cloudy Chiffon” gives them a soft and fluffy feeling they associate with a chiffon cake, another person said it seemed “muddy” to them, rather than light.

• Therefore, guerrilla testing isn’t about picking the "most popular" name. It’s about checking for confusion, awkward associations or anything that might hold the brand back.

As the decision for the brand name ultimately lies with Jennifer, she used the results of the guerrilla test as a guide. She said that she didn’t want a name that boxed her into making only chiffon cakes forever, or one that sounded too similar to existing competitors, so she chose BounceBake. The feedback gathered helped her feel more confident in her decision and reassured her that BounceBake does not raise any significant issues for her audience.

What I learnt

Here are the key lessons that stuck with me from the process:

1. Naming sits at the intersection of brand, strategy and communication. You don’t have to be a naming consultant to support it – just bring your messaging skills and user focus to the table.

2. Structure helps creativity. The SMILE and SCRATCH analyses provided a way to discuss name ideas objectively, rather than just "this sounds nice" versus "this doesn’t".

3. Tests validate, not decide. Guerrilla testing is a great way to spot problems or patterns, but naming is ultimately a strategic decision by the business.

4. Content strategy work often overlaps with branding. And that’s a good thing. It demonstrates the versatility and collaborative nature of the role.

Final reflections

I used to think naming was a mysterious branding black box. But helping Jennifer name BounceBake showed me how much content strategists can contribute when we bring user insight, brand thinking and clarity to the table.

Sometimes the best work happens in the blurry bits, the places that don’t fall neatly into a job title or framework – and that’s how we grow.