Botown – The Story behind the Name
In the series The Story behind the Name, we ask three questions to Vinne Schifferstein. She’s founder and CEO of Botown, global marketing agency that works with the bes...
Names that inspire.
Names that engage.
Names that tell your story.
Names that help your company grow.
What we do
Brand Foundation
Where the story begins.
It all starts with your story. Your beliefs, personality, voice and positioning form the strategic and creative foundation for the name. This foundation is close to your heart, gives you a competitive edge, resonates with your audiences and drives future growth.
Naming
The smallest story of all.
A strong name touches the soul, it represents the essence of who you are. Naming is the ultimate mix of strategic thinking, creativity and due diligence to claim a unique spot in a crowded market place and to work across international markets.
Design
Visualize your story.
Bring your story to life by creating an inspiring visual identity that is unique, sparks the imagination and delivers a consistent customer experience. Design brings the best out of you and is about finding the right balance between your brand foundation and name.
What we’ve done
Showing off our work
We’ve worked with all sorts of clients; from ambitious start-ups to big companies and governments, for brands with national and international ambitions, from company level to products and services. From banking to yoghurt. From the Netherlands to Ghana.
How we work
Define
We deep dive to get to know every little detail about you and the world around you. Our fun, creative strategic sessions create a strong brand foundation for the future.
Brief
This holy document establishes a framework of criteria for naming. The brief not only serves as the starting point for the team but remains pivotal to the entire creative process.
Create
The fun part! We run creative brainstorms with the team to explore directions, play with words and symbols, and create names. We review options and select the fittest.
Check & Kill
We conduct first online, trademark, domain and linguistic checks to avoid unnecessary conflicts. The not so fun part: losing names that we’ve created with love.
Register
Our trademark lawyer undertakes detailed trademark research of the shortlist of names. We give final recommendations and prepare the visual expression of the brand.
Our blog
Sharing our stories
September 3, 2019
August 6, 201910 Frequently asked naming questions
Before working together, clients ask lots of questions about the way we work. So, we’ve written down the 10 questions people ask us most frequently. And the answers you...
July 3, 2019Four common misconceptions about naming
We receive a lot of questions about naming. Fun, interesting, logical questions. Some based on reality, some based on misconceptions. And misconceptions need to be cleare...
June 5, 20195 Reasons To Hire A Naming Pro
Have you ever named or tried to name your new company, product or service before? Maybe you were successful and your name is living a happy and fulfilling life. Or you mi...
May 7, 2019Naming The Team To Belong
It’s in our nature to belong. It’s a human emotional need to be an accepted part of a group, to be part of something bigger than ourselves. When we connect with other...
April 2, 2019Part III – 3 Tips After Naming To Ease The Process
In this final part of the trilogy, we’ll give you our last tips for a smooth naming process. Once you’ve decided on the name, there are three more things to keep in m...
Let’s have coffee
And meet the Sogo-ers
We’re a seasoned team of strategic and creative thinkers, loving what we do best: building brands by creating strong names. For more than fifteen years, we’ve worked for agencies and directly for clients, together and independently, in Amsterdam and London or wherever our clients want us to be.
We believe that a strong name – the smallest but closest story to the brand – is essential for business success. Your name represents who you are and makes you connect with the people that matter to you.
Always curious and driven, we’ll make sure you’re ready to start off on a successful journey.
We would love to get to know you and support you with the challenges you’re facing. So let’s have coffee and you can tell us your story.
We’re personal
We’re in this together. We are personally committed to making sure your story ends well.
We’re strategic and creative
We always unite left and right brains; it challenges the project and it’s fun.
We’re international
Different perspectives add value to what we do. Brands travel and we set them up for success.
We’re experienced
We’ve been around for quite a while, working on all sorts of projects, industries, clients and ego’s.