What's in a Name: Branding

I have been in the marketing communication (branding) business for over three decades. As I jump into the art world I am learning that there are many practices that are common for all businesses - even the free wheeling world of art. One of those is earning name recognition through brand identity practices. Without name recognition an artist’s career is dead in the water. All successful businesses have developed distinctive names and most have logos. That process usually requires a lot of research, testing and money. In the end, through a disciplined program of application and protection of the brand name and logo, the return on the investment is usually great. The use of a distinctive and memorable name and logo (visual cue to the memory) is the primary visual tool of any branding effort.

For artists, thank God, the process is simpler than for large corporations. An artist's professional name is usually an easy choice - "just use your real name, duh." Not so for all of us. My name, for example, is one of the most common names around - Michael Adams. A Google search for "Michael Adams" returns 393,000 links and I haven't found the real me in the list yet. Fortunately for me, my middle name is unusual - Lynn. So professionally I am Michael Lynn Adams. A Google search for "Michael Lynn Adams" returns 138 links, the first three link to my blog and the sixth to my Web site. Score!

An artist's signature is equivalent to a logo. It needs to be distinctive and memorable. It should have the same general appearance every time a work is signed. The signature is the guarantee of authenticity and high quality. Just like the name, the signature should be on every type of communication - ads, business cards, Web sites, etc.

Obviously having a distinctive name and signature does not guarantee fame and fortune, or even name recognition. But without them the chances that a collector will remember an artist's name is significantly reduced.