I’ll need to rebrand the book, toy and gift company in the new year for two reasons. I’m not talking about WealthEsteem.org or Wealth Esteem brands here.

Firstly I cannot get a good trademark on our current brand names. That means that any brand equity I build is at risk to similar named companies or to new entrants with more money to spend.

Secondly the warehouse sale has shaken me and my staff up. We have renewed passion for our business. Staying enthusiastic in the face of bad market conditions has been tough. We’re celebrating our wins at the moment. So our current name does not go with warehouse sales, retailing or the growth strategies we are developing.

Branding theory or fashion falls in two camps at the moment. One camp says to choose a descriptive name that tells customers exactly what they’re getting. We Buy Houses is a good example. Any doubts about what they do? This allows a company to rapidy capture immense mind-share in a crowded market space.

The alternate view is to create a name that is evocative but made up. That lets you build real brand equity. Looking at the world’s most valuable brands shows Coca-cola at number one, the rest of the top 10 being similarly fictional or family names (like Disney and Ford. Possibly IBM as the only descriptive brand brand in the top 10 but how many people know what it stands for?

So while the biggest play is to invent an evocative name, it takes money, time and luck to build it to the top. But once that brand grows beyond it’s home town its value rises exponentially.

What do you all think?