Business Naming and Brand Strategy | North Star
HomeBrandingNaming & Tagline

Names that
clear the bar.

A name that's already trademarked or whose .ca is taken is a problem that surfaces at the worst moment. We develop name candidates with trademark screening, domain checks, and brand fit assessment built in from the start.

What's included

Everything you need, none of the upsell.

Real deliverables, with the boundaries written down. So you know what you're paying for and what counts as extra.

Name Development

Structured, not a brainstorm dump.

We develop name candidates against a written brief: category, tone, length, and differentiation. You receive a shortlist with rationale, not a raw list.

Trademark Screening

CIPO and USPTO checked.

Each name candidate screened against the Canadian Intellectual Property Office database and USPTO for conflicts in your class. Not a guarantee, but not guessing either.

Domain Check

.ca, .com, and key socials.

Domain availability checked for .ca, .com, and relevant country-code variants. Social handle availability on key platforms checked in parallel.

Tagline

One line that sticks.

Optional tagline development for the chosen name. Tested for length, pronounceability, and clarity before delivery.

How it works

The order we work in.

A clear sequence so you can budget time, money, and risk against the work.

Step 01

Brief.

Category, audience, tone, competitors, and hard constraints. Written before a single name is generated.

Step 02

Candidates.

Shortlist of eight to twelve names with domain status and trademark screen results for each.

Step 03

Selection.

You choose a direction. We run a deeper trademark review on the finalist before you commit.

Step 04

Tagline.

Optional: tagline development for the chosen name, with two to three options and rationale.

FAQ

Common questions.

How do you approach naming?

Brief first: what the name has to do, who it is for, and what it must not sound like. Then generation across several territories, screening for availability, and a shortlist with rationale. The screening is what separates a naming exercise from a brainstorm.

Do you check trademark availability?

We conduct preliminary screening against the Canadian trademarks database and domain availability to eliminate obvious conflicts. That is not a legal clearance search. Before you commit to a name, a trademark agent should perform a full search, and we will say so.

What if we already have a name we like?

We will screen it and tell you what we find, including if the answer is that it is unavailable or too close to something established. Finding that out before the signage is printed is considerably cheaper than after.

Does the name need to match the domain exactly?

It helps, but it is not essential. What matters more is that the domain is unambiguous when said aloud. A name that requires spelling out over the phone every time is a cost you pay daily for years.

Get a quote on naming & tagline.

Tell us a bit about your environment and we'll come back with a scoped proposal in two business days. No obligation, no pressure.

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