I need help creating a name, brand and image for a business I am
starting a company that does real estate development and investing.  The first
phase is doing modernization and rehabilitation of prime property in
central London: Belgravia, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Mayfair. Really
much of this business is short time horizon banking on capital
appreciation.  The second phase extends to property development on a
larger scale in terms of both property/project size and geography. 
There is a small advisory business attached with it as well but it is
relatively small
 
So currently it is me (Marvin) and a guy named Michael.  I?m trying to
think of a name for our firm.  We want to make sure our name is
consistent with being professional and not too ?trendy?. Some things
to consider are:
? Product - Premium residential property at the 1200-2000 pounds per
square foot range
? Location - Premium locations such as Central London?s, Manhattan,
Tokyo?s most prestigious addresses
? Investors - Predominantly US and Asia
? Partners - We have already signed partnership deals with an elite
real estate firm and one global boutique ibank/private bank.
? Clients - International with massive disposable income: Russia,
Middle East, US, British, Chinese.  They already own 2-4 houses and
consider address, exclusivity, design, and cutting edge specifications
and amenities the most important variables.
 
The only idea I am working with is M Properties - since my name is
Marvin and partner?s is Michael.  This also would allow for some
future flexibility as we could create M Funds or M New York, etc.
 
To give you a better idea about the type of work we do, take a look at
some of our competitor?s websites:
www.candyandcandy.com/AboutUs.asp?Pnav=1 
www.tylerlondon.com 
www.spaceplaces.co.uk  
www.willowacre.com/development/dev_home.htm 

My time frame is for this Friday 27th of March.  I am willing to pay
$50 for 3 ideas of name, brand, and image.  This could also result in
more projects and cash should we like one of the ideas or need to
expand on it.

Michvin?

Marvich Properties?

Well, i also looked at exploring the concept of merging the names and
actually liked MarMi better than anything else.  Doing some basic
market testing I found Marvich and some of the other combinations to
be bit odd for international buyers- they mentioned it was rough
sounding rather than elegant or inspiring. Good thought though.

Definitely true... other (off the cuff) ideas:

Pivotal Properties, Ltd.

Nivram & Laechim International
(your names backwards)

Eschelon Properties, Inc.

Property One, LLC

Any reasoning behind the Pivotal, Eschelon, and Property One ideas.

Pivotal => important => premium (along that family of words)
Eschelon => "upper eschelon" => premium
One => one as in #1, first place => prime

Congratulations on your new venture!  As someone who has been
naming/branding companies and products for decades, I feel compelled
to note that there is a science to strategizing an identity, and
simply merging pieces of names and using common terms only touches the
very surface.  There are additional things to consider.

Here is a bullet list from my project plan for a recent engagement.
Please feel free to use this as a guide in qualifying the response you
get from your Google researcher or for use in selecting a qualified
identity/branding company.  I'll spare you the shameless self
promotion (which is against Google policy.)

Here's the action list:
-----------------------
Competitive product name analysis
Determine message/feeling to convey
Determine areas of differentiation versus names already in the market
Idea generation, creative process, brainstorming?
Purge and modify
Analyze for phonetics, linguistics and sound symbolism (don't miss
this step for international markets!!!)
Checkpoint with marketing peers
Laymen?s preliminary USPTO and registrar search
Checkpoint with owners/management
Collaborative objective rating, refinement and finalization of name
recommendations amongst marketing staff of short list
Second check with USPTO and registrars based on refined list
Shortlist provided to IP team for preliminary searches
Further refinement
Focus group study and analysis of results
Thompson and Thompson International search for remaining 2-3 final names
Logo development
 - 3-10 concept designs packaged with identity strategy
 - Focus group study and analysis of results
 - Owner/Management feedback (iterative)
Refine logo graphics for final 2
 - Owner/Management selection and approval (iterative)
Final logo/and optional slogan development including branding guidelines
Label logo with TM symbol
Note first commercial use in market
File for TM with USPTO
When the TM is granted, change the mark to an (R) on all of your communications.

Don't use common words, i.e. Property One (no offense of jbf intended)
 The USPTO is not likely to grant a trademark for common words,
especially when they are descriptive.

You company brand and identity are very important.  Please don't be
too frugal or in the end, you will wind up with something that you
will not be happy with for the long term. You don't want to change
your company name or logo if there is any way not to.  Consistency and
branding are key to recognizability and brand awareness, not to
mention referrals and such.

There are great Google Researchers here that may be able to get you a
good way into the process. (They've done it before, but my
understanding is that they often offer great value in terms of
business names, etc. for significantly below market price. Sometimes
folks ask this question and try to pay $2, LOL, so the $50 is in the
right direction) After the researchers respond with name ideas, you
can work with an identity company to turn it into reality, get you the
artwork, etc.

There are some companies that specialize in small businesses and can
do a scaled back version of this methodology for the small business
budget. I'm sure they can take care of the graphic element part, but I
don't know if they help with the naming or not. The first one is a
little more pricey.
http://www.ejwassoc.com/corporateid_intro.php
http://www.LogoWorks.com
http://www.ezylogo.com/

Depending on where you live, you may have qualified creative folks
just around the corner that you can sit with and discuss
interactively.

In the end, no matter how you decide to go about this, may all of your
dreams and wishes for your new venture come true.

I wish you much luck and success!

Margi,
thanks so much for that comprehensive list and great ideas.  After
reading your comments i'd have to agree that a cohesive identity is
very important and not something to skate by on.  I appreciate your
comments very much
-marvin

Margi has said some great things.  However, I must say one thing
regarding the Property One comment.  There is at least one very large
company with a name containing the word "one": "Global One" (Sprint). 
With "Global" it's even more generic to boot.

Incidentally, the names I have presented were off-the-cuff starter
ideas that "weren't too hot" ... just something to get the ball
rolling conceptually.
"Geovest" (Geo -> world, vest -> investment) is another idea...

There is a program (which I have never used) called NameRazor which
may help more along those lines:

http://www.namerazor.com/

As I said, I meant no disrespect whatsoever to JBG777 :-)  I'm sorry
if you took it that way.  Lord knows I've done many such excercises
and I'm sure I would come up with similar names and approaches to what
you provided here.

In fact, I did start another small company a few years ago, and I did
choose to use common words in the name, even knowing what I know. I
did it because I wanted it to be memorable and easy, and because the
company name says exactly what the company does.  Given, not all great
tradenames can be trademarked.  It is a nice addition to your
company's IP portfolio, however.

I did try to use the namerazor.  Actually, I was one of the
unfortunate people that actually paid money for it! LOL! I found the
words to be too generic. I ran Marvin, Michael, Residential, Property
through it... here's what it generated:

   Baby property (baby property.com)   
   Nest michael (nest michael.com)   
   Magnum michael (magnum michael.com)   
   UpperMarvin (uppermarvin.com)   
    propertyWork ( propertywork.com)   
   YellowMarvin (yellowmarvin.com)   
    michaelSpace ( michaelspace.com)   
    Sound ( sound.com)   
   MarkMarvin (markmarvin.com)   
   VantageMarvin (vantagemarvin.com)   
    propertyPort ( propertyport.com)   
   MarvinElephant (marvinelephant.com)   
    michaelDog ( michaeldog.com)   
   Mondo michael (mondo michael.com)   
    michaelOcean ( michaelocean.com)   
   Lord  (lord .com)   
   Popular property (popular property.com)   
    propertyCraft ( propertycraft.com)   
   MarvinPerformance (marvinperformance.com)   
   Tribal property (tribal property.com)   
   MarvinBuyer (marvinbuyer.com)   
    michaelActi ( michaelacti.com)   
    michaelAuto ( michaelauto.com)   
   ClubMarvin (clubmarvin.com)   
    michaelMidwest ( michaelmidwest.com)   
   MarvinChannel (marvinchannel.com)   
    michaelTurbo ( michaelturbo.com)   
    michaelBoy ( michaelboy.com)   
   AtlanticMarvin (atlanticmarvin.com)   
   Focal michael (focal michael.com)   
   Worldwide property (worldwide property.com)   
   BargainsMarvin (bargainsmarvin.com)   
    Air ( air.com)   
    michaelBackground ( michaelbackground.com)   
   World property (world property.com)   
   MarvinFocus (marvinfocus.com)   

You get the picture.  I bought the program last October, tried to use
it once, hated it, and haven't used it again until today.  There may
be others out there. I was looking for something quick and inexpensive
at the time. It was both of those things, but I wound up selecting
something I made up (for which we now have a TM filed and await final
registration.)  Depending on your product or service, the program may
work, but it may not be a match for you.

I still think your best bet is to use an identification company. 
Again, I'll resist the temptation to provide my contact info.. LOL! I
don't want to get booted off GA... this is simply too much fun!

Take care everyone. 

P.S. to jbf777 and Marvin ... I really like Geovest... maybe GeoVest
Properties?  :-)

A preliminary search of the trademark office shows the following:
Serial    Number Reg. Number Word Mark Check Status Live/Dead 
1 78069716 2603004      GEOVE$T           TARR        LIVE 
2 73725200 1538431      GEOVEST           TARR        DEAD 

The Live one uses a dollar sign for the S... depending on their
classification of business, if you don't represent "market confusion"
you may be able to proceed with something along those lines.


Again, good luck :-)

Thanks jbf777 and margi.
i have to say those namerazor names are awful.

Margi -

No worries... I didn't think you meant any disrespect.

Marvin -

Forgive me for suggesting NameRazor!  Had no idea it was that bad. :)

Proper Properties Ltd. Co. Inc.
MM WorldWide... Land,... Investments,... Developments etc.(MMWW) MM
Euro Elite                                                       WW
Geographic Developments Inc....
Home in an Instant
Come Home Developments... Ventures, Enterprises...
Elite Homes..Properties, Investments,
Quality Quest Properties Inc.   
Quest Properties
M^M..."A House-SOLD-Name..... 
Properties R us HA ha
Mavlar, Mavmic, Micram, Nivlea, Richmich, Varmiael, Ramcim, Aelvin,
Valmar, etc made from the letters in your names
Or mix and match
I would not use your first names, its small time business, if anything
use your Last names if they sound good together or of quality (think
of lawyers Co. names)
Good luck Its not easy naming a company, just a word of advice... Find
a nich, Do ONE thing better than everyone else, have what you do IN
your name some how (as Its of no use to advertize a Name if your not
telling people what you do as its not remembered well.)
I have been in business 20 years and have learned the hard way many
times, not so much lately.

another idea: PropertyWise

Property Prestige