Hi, I’m Rob. I’m a brand consultant and professional namer.
My past clients range from startups to the Fortune 500. I’ve done naming work at global branding firms and smaller agencies, as head of naming at HP, and as an independent consultant, for projects in the U.S., Asia, and Europe. I run Heirloom, an independent brand strategy and identity consultancy, and host the podcast How Brands Are Built.
Along with Alina Wheeler, I co-authored the sixth edition of Designing Brand Identity, which is available on Amazon. My first book, Brand Naming, is also available on Amazon and elsewhere. I’ve written about branding and naming for Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, The Guardian, TechCrunch, and other leading publications.
Rob’s work
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Heirloom
Heirloom is an independent brand strategy and identity agency. Through Heirloom, I provide services such as brand strategy, brand naming, and brand architecture. Past clients include Alongside, Corelight, EMyth, Flex, GE, John Deere, Lineate, Marketo, Pinterest, Vyond, and Walmart.
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Designing Brand Identity
I had the honor of co-authoring the sixth edition of Designing Brand Identity, Alina Wheeler's iconic, comprehensive guide to the world of brands and branding. This edition features 50+ all-new case studies; 100+ branding subjects; 400+ quotes from experts and executives; 800+ images, diagrams, and examples; and a bold cover design by Eddie Opara of Pentagram.
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Brand Naming
Brand Naming: The Complete Guide to Creating a Name for Your Company, Product, or Service is the most complete and detailed book about brand naming. In the words of Marty Neumeier, “A brand name is the number-one touchpoint a product or company will ever own. And now, thanks to the generous clarity of Rob Meyerson, there’s a book about it. Get this onto your shelf.”
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How Brands Are Built
How Brands Are Built is a blog and podcast where branding professionals get into the details of what they do—and more importantly, how they do it. I host the podcast, on which I’ve interviewed industry leaders like David Aaker, Marty Neumeier, Laura Ries, and Denise Lee Yohn.
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Online brand naming course
In my course, “Fundamentals of Memorable Brand Naming,” I teach the process behind generating memorable brand names. You’ll discover the fundamental elements to consider as part of your creative process and learn to help brands stand out through innovative naming.
“This course completely exceeded my expectations. The resources Rob has provided here are worth their weight in gold.” —Ben Stanbury, Domestika student
Select branding articles by Rob Meyerson
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Don't Change Your Brand Name — Unless You Really Have To
Considering changing a company or product name? Stop. Before you jump to conclusions, use this framework to conduct a name assessment and think through your options carefully.
Read more in Entrepreneur
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How to Pick the Best Name for Your Company
If you’re about to start a company or launch a product, you might be feeling pretty intimidated by the prospect of having to name it. Here are some guidelines to consider when creating or evaluating potential names for your brand or business.
Read more in Harvard Business Review.
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How to Evaluate Brand Names – A Simple Name Evaluation Tool
A free, downloadable tool for evaluating brand names. How does your company or product name do?
Read more on the JUST Creative blog.
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What's in a Brand Name?
For the American Marketing Association, an analysis of what makes some brand names more effective than others, why brand names are important, and a brief overview of how to create or find a great brand name
Read more on the American Marketing Association website.
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What’s a Company Name Really Worth?
Top brand consultancies and naming agencies charge five- or even six-digit fees to develop company names. What’s behind those price tags, and what’s a less expensive approach to finding the perfect name for your company?
Read more in StartupNation.
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Should You Name Your Business After Yourself?
Should you create a new name for your business or brand or use your personal name? Here are five scenarios in which it makes sense to go with your personal name.
Read more in Entrepreneur.
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The Optimal Brand Naming Process
How do some naming experts and agencies consistently produce strategically sound, legally available, and eminently memorable names? Based on these interviews with nine recognized naming experts, I’ve compiled the following list of tips and tools.
Read more in Branding Strategy Insider.
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The Worst Possible Name For Your Brand...
In August 2015, three high-profile events touched on the challenge of legal availability in brand naming. Each case is unique, but together, these stories demonstrate the fact that brand naming is not only a creative exercise, but one also circumscribed by strategic and legal objectives.
Read more in TechCrunch.
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I name brands and companies for a living...
I conducted 10 in-depth interviews with some of the world's top brand-naming experts. This article lists five things anyone can learn from them about how to become a stronger creative professional.
Read more in Insider.
Select media appearances
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WSJ Explains: Campbell's Soup Rebrand
Campbell’s redesigned its iconic soup can for the first time in 50 years. The refresh was part of the company’s strategy to revitalize its namesake product after years of declining sales. That strategy has paid off: soup sales have increased and Campbell’s stock rose 31% in 2022.
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Future Trends in Branding
In this live “Fireside Chat” hosted by Steven Picanza of Branders Magazine, Rob talks about the trends we can anticipate seeing in 2024 when it comes to branding, advertising, marketing, and design.
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A Change of Brand
This podcast, produced by Matchstic, an Atlanta-based brand identity firm, is about the world’s most loved consumer companies and their rebrand glory, drama, or disaster. In this bonus episode, Matchstic Creative Director and Cofounder Blake Howard talks to Rob about naming wins and fails.
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On Brand podcast
As host Nick Westergaard said many times during the episode, “we don’t talk about brand naming enough!” Luckily Rob does and did so for us this week. If you’ve had anything to do with naming, you need to listen to this episode (and check out Rob’s book).
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IG Live with Jacob Cass
Learn what makes a good brand name, common pitfalls, and the naming process in this Instagram Live chat between Rob Meyerson and Jacob Cass of JUST Creative
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Brand Master podcast
Learn an effective brand naming process from a leading pro brand naming specialist to create a great brand name. On this episode, we’ll dive into Rob Meyerson’s seven-step brand naming process that he uses in his agency to create memorable brand names.
