Two directions of naming shoe brands

Experts of the e-generator.ru portal, developing a name for a retail chain of shoe stores, found out that all names gravitate towards two semantic centers: "language game" and "walking".

Text: Konstantin Belousov, Natalia Zelyanskaya, E-generator.ru Analytical Department

Background for title development

Description of product/service: a chain of mid-range shoe stores located in regional and large district centers of central Russia (Golden Ring).

Target audience : a buyer with an average regional income who purchases shoes for at least one season (two seasons). They are willing to pay a reasonable, not too high price and receive a practical and attractive product. They are not willing to overpay for brand name or prestige, and they don't require a boutique atmosphere.

Communication content : a network of shoe stores capable of satisfying the needs of all family members in footwear and accessories (men's, women's and children's shoes).

Additional information : The name should evoke associations with fashion, style, and anything related to shoe shopping, such as seasonal updates, rather than just shoe-related names. It should sound appealing and figurative, and ideally, it should be complemented by an engaging visual.

Additional requirements for the name : Russian, consisting of no more than two words, easy to read, pronounced without errors, neologisms are possible.

The results

200 name options were recognized as adequate. In the course of the analysis of names, 19 semantic fields were revealed (see the table), reflecting the main directions of meaning formation used by the authors of the presented names.

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Having made a selection, we noticed that all the names in one way or another are concentrated around two semantic cores - the fields "walking" and "language game". If “walking” is a field associated with the name of a shoe store functionally through the purpose of the shoe, then “language game” is a universal mechanism that generates new meanings, linking fields of different meaning into a single meaningful whole. In other words, the "walking" field is directed to the real world, and the "language game" - to the world of language - the virtual world, easily playing with various concepts.

The fact that these two fields are connected by one of the two strongest links suggests an active conceptualization of the process of walking (and everything associated with it) at the level of linguistic word creation. For example, in the title " Khodiki" (Walking) , two meanings coexist: watch and shoes.

The meaning "shoes" appears only in connection with the "footwear" theme; it would not appear in other contexts. The connection between the fields "walking" and "language game," which represents one of the most likely naming directions, is not the only one. It can be noted that fields such as "space," "European," "fashion," and "aesthetic" are more closely associated with "language game" than with "walking." And the fields "pairing," "gender," and "footwear" are associated only with "language game." Moreover, some fields are associated only with virtual reality. For example, "space" is primarily the space of display reality: " Fashion Course," "Nozhkin Dom," "Noah's Ark," "Obukin Dvor," "Sezonia" (the land of all seasons), " Stilburg," and others.

What's characteristic is that the real world does without gender themes, while the virtual world actively uses names in which masculine and feminine principles are closely linked: " The Ideal Couple," "The Brilliant Couple," "The Fashionista and the Fashionista."

The "quality" field is of particular interest. It has no particular significance for the sample and is peripheral, with weak links to the "walking," "space," and "European" fields, and an insignificant link to "language game." The "quality"-"walking" connection reflects the shoe qualities sought by the buyer (lightness, comfort), as seen in the names " Light Walking," "Dobrokhod," and "Top-town" (top is the pinnacle of footwear, but is also associated with "stomping"). The "quality"-"space" connection in this sample is present in those names that either emphasize the importance of high-quality footwear for real-life use (e.g., " Easy Road," "Lord of the Road," "Off-Road" ) or, more commonly, emphasize the quality of brands existing in a virtual "showcase" space (e.g., " Comfort City," "Top-town") . In this case, the interaction between "quality" and "space" is reinforced by the "European" field, which reflects traditional notions of high-quality European products (e.g., Comforttown, Footmaster, Foot Control ). The lack of significance of the "quality" field for the analyzed brands is likely due to market perceptions of this type of product. The issue of shoe quality, once important, has become insignificant, leading to the shift to issues of fashion, style, and aesthetic evaluation. However, the aesthetics of shoes are currently significant not for the reality in which the product is used, but for the reality of the "shop window."

By the way, this is precisely why the field of “positive emotions” is weakly connected with the “language game” - the core of the virtual world. A person experiences emotions in reality as a result of his personal interested participation (see the significant connection with the “walking” field). It is very difficult to provoke an emotional response (all the more positive) to simulacra like posters, slogans, brands, etc., that exist separately from the living space of a particular person.

Thus, the semantic space of the names of a shoe store includes two main and opposite directions of naming: the first is related to the functional purpose of shoes in the real world; the second correlates with the virtual world represented by high fashion and well-known brands. And if the first direction is supported by a positive emotional response, then a positive attitude towards the second (at the level of associative components of the names) is only emerging and, obviously, will appear when the fashion is perceived as a necessary part of real life.