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[SillyShilly]

Evening one and all!
I wont go into too much detail but I will be launching my own brand. I spent quite a while on some designs, sent them off to Adcal.....then happened to go on twitter to find that a certain forum member mr.beach cricket had already launched his own little brand in the last month or so.....so therefore had to scrap those ideas entirely and head back to the drawing board once more. (by the way mr beach cricket, damn good name for the company and I wish you all the best!!)
The question is this, as it tends to keep my awake at night -
What do you look for in the name of a brand? Does the fact that you might name it after yourself detract from the product or increase your interest? Do you like the idea of a bold name? A play on words perhaps? Does it have to be linked to cricket necessarily?
Do you like modern sticker designs - thinking along the lines of instinct, h4l to name a few? Or do you prefer the more classical look (newbery, salix, m & h etc)?

Essentially - what is it that you look for when you pick up two identical bats and the only difference is the sticker???

I am really intrigued to find out what the consensus is from the forum.
Any thoughts would be trully apprecciated.
Thanks
A brandless batmaker

[procricket]

Not to lively colours yet embossed stickers are nice and a classy name usually one word name

Why not shillibeer it has a equalatral touch to it

Name going across then bats going down maybe in the shape of a cross

[Karan62]

classical for me , there is something so beautiful about a bat with stickers that ooze class,

[The_Bird]

Depends on what your brand name is. Hell 4 Leather suit the striking adventurous labels and wouldn't look right with a classical Newbery/Salix look and vice Versa. What is your brand name called? I think Pastel subtle colours look classy and understated but probably won't get you noticed as much as the garish loud colours that stand out. Simplicity is the key with the name I think, also I doubt Adi Dassler thought his name would catch on but it wouldn't sound right with anything else now. If the name is good enough it will fit with the product perfectly.

[SillyShilly]

It was going to be white willow - but beach cricket has launched/ is launching this brand. I really liked the name - it appealed to me, but then again it might not have appealed to others.
Growing up with the classic bat company has always made me want to go down the classic look route......just keen to see what people generally like.

[DiscoStu]

It depends on what you are going for in terms of customers. If you want the older players (who tend to have more cash) then something more classical would work best. If you want the younger crowd, then be a bit more brash (e.g Boom Boom). All brands can 'initialise' to make themselves sound a bit classier (e.g. H4L) but I tend to think that if you are willing to put your name on the bats then it shows you have faith in them.

[mad_abt_cricket]

My two cents even though I am a novice in this trade:

My personal view is that a brand name should be simple and easy to recognise and remember by the masses. I like branding along the lines of Salix , M&H...
Ex: A simple 'M' logo of Macdonalds is recognised world wide.

At the end of the day, quality of the product matters.

[hell4leather cricket]

  Ss cricket ? Silly shilly cricket?

[SillyShilly]

Super silly shilly six smasher - it's got a certain va va voom

[mattw]

You've got to think carefully about your brand, how you want it to come across and your products also have to match that. Say for the likes of M+H, they have a very classical feel - not just about their stickers, but their website, softs etc... however, when you look at puma for example, very bright stickers, having the 'T20' style players sponsored along with their shape of bats.

So you do not want to have a brand with very classical stickers, and then target the T20 generation for example.

[DiscoStu]

Also think about where you want your brand to be in 10 years time. Do you want to be catering to a select few or be in every club cricketer's bag? Do you want to be seen as particularly local or as international as possible? Do you want to be a batmaker or a brand?

Also, remember your brand may well be on gloves, pads, clothing etc. so needs to look good there too.

Good luck.

[i12breakfree]

What is the name of mr.beach cricket company ?

[Beachcricket]

Sorry SS for scuppering your designs. It would be interesting to see what you'd designed for it.

[Ayrtek Cricket]

Dombo are u looking to do it all DIY or do u have a budget in mind to sort it out with!?

Sometime worth looking to a specialist for help on these areas as we did with our branding etc

[SillyShilly]

Well I have a meager budget - I have enlisted a clubmate to help with  designs, he's been a graphic designer for 15 years and happy to do it at a very good rate so I am very lucky in that sense.
Having listened to advice and opinions I think I will use my ridiculous surname as the brand name - it's now deciding how to use that in the branding. I have been speaking to master fattus, the deity of doughnuts, and both of us like the idea of classical stickers and is something I think would tie in nicely with my name.
Long term plans - in terms of where I want the brand to be in 10 years - I want to be making really top bats at good prices, for people to come and watch the bats being made in front of them and to be making no more than 100 a year. I want it to stay small as i have seen the potential downfalls of getting too large and it's not something I really want. Local bats for local people.....