Giving a 1 Man Firm Credibility from Day 1
Brian Hamilton, CA, CFA
CEO, Corplan Advisors Inc.
““The name has positioned us as a credible, professional organization from the day we commenced operations.”
”When I compare Corplan with the name that we had earlier developed on our own, the benefit of professional service
is obvious.”
”For any company planning to be in business for five years or more, there is
a lot of value in
getting professional naming help.”
”Our investment in Identicor’s naming services continues
to give us a
valuable return.””
Launching a New Venture
A seasoned corporate executive was launching a new solo venture in 2006. Brian Hamilton was setting up a management consulting firm to serve small and mid size businesses throughout western Canada.
Big Name Competitors
As the former CFO of a high tech success story, Brian had both the knowledge and experience to counsel clients on succession planning, financing, mergers and acquisitions. But his new firm would be an unknown entity competing against the big name accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.
Rethinking a DIY Name
Brian had just registered the new firm under the name HMP Advisors when he called on a graphic designer to create a logo and business cards. The designer had some reservations about the name. He suggested that before moving ahead Brian would benefit from having a conversation with Roger Grant of Identicor.
When Brian and Roger met, they discussed the vision for the new firm and the impact that name selection would have on its success.
The Problem with Alphabet Soup
Roger explained that the HMP name would strike Brian’s potential clients as just a random collection of letters and wouldn’t carry any pertinent meaning. The name would not be particularly memorable or distinct. It would just get lumped in with all the other alphabet soup names that pervade the marketplace. Many years and a huge budget would be needed to make HMP memorable and famous.
The Decision to Create a New Name
The name wouldn’t provide any marketing lift in Brian’s battle with the big accounting firms. So Roger concluded that Brian would be best served by replacing HMP with a new name that would stand out, convey a relevant message and stir feelings of confidence. Brian agreed and contracted Identicor to conduct a name development engagement.
In the ensuing project, Roger delved further into the services that Brian would be providing, the personality that he wanted the firm to project and what he wanted the firm to become known for.
Top level services involved advising on corporate structure, strategic direction and business planning. Brian wanted the firm to be seen as highly capable and professional.
Roger took all the layers of information and began composing dozens of potential names. The final name, Corplan, came from compressing corporate planning into a concise two syllable package.
