Yes these are all true: Some people are changing the names of their Podcasts to Audio-casts, and there are multiple Brand Names adjusting to a singular Brand Name, there's even Shopping Centre name changes, and Car Brands changing from words... to initials, not to mention the FAIL that Facebook appears to have on it's hands with META!
AND there is even radio station name changes happening too (Don't worry, it's not us - we still are West Coast Radio Pty Ltd!), some radio stations around the world have even taken to removing the word RADIO in their name to either add in AUDIO, MEDIA, or COMMUNICATIONS, or just not mentioning it at all. Weird right?
The most important thing to remember is that changing your name does not change what you 'do' in your community. You are either 'the' car showroom, 'the' shopping place, 'the' product or service. It's what people know that you do that makes a difference, not your name.
Now... to the crux of this post... and name changes and mentioning them in your radio commercials:
Remember, radio is an auditory medium and listeners can't see how that name is spelt - so spelling it with a 'z' instead of an 's' may look cool - but we have to spell it out in your radio commercial, especially when we talk about your website.
Some business owners have been known to forget to re-direct traffic from their old website to the newly named one (I have seen this so many times I have lost count), or... we have to spell it out for people phonetically to go to your website.
This costs in your word count, and honestly, detracts from your message.
Looking for a real world example? There is a local company who decided to bring out an app for their business. Their mother company said yes - but wanted the app in their name - which was NOTHING at all to do with the local company name. So when the radio commercial came up, people were asking the question of us... is that a mistake? All because the name had NOTHING to do with the company. And trying to find it was almost impossible when they searched on the app stores too due to the spelling of it.
So while you are trying to reinvent your brand, remember your heritage, who you are and what you do - and - more importantly - what people call your business, it helps then to (maybe) name your website after that?
While every business should diversify, and have as many feathers in their cap as they can so they can turn their hand to 'A' or 'B' when they need to - your core business is what people know you for.
Carefully select your new name, and yes, see if the website is available - but most importantly - see if you can say the website name out loud to people and they get what it is. Or at the very least, if they can search for it without coming up with a travel agency in a former Soviet state.
Until next time - stay safe!
