- The name of a new car must match the brand values, product characteristics and be easy to pronounce in most languages
- Alborán, Aranda, Ávila and Tarraco are the finalist names for SEAT’s new SUV, after meeting all the defined criteria and receiving a positive response from the focus groups in most of the countries
- The final decision is in the hands of the public, who can vote for their favourite contender until next 25 September
Martorell, 13/09/2017. – How do parents choose the name of their newborn? Most begin by considering several options. They want it to reflect the qualities they would like their child to have and be easy to pronounce. Some even check that it is not repeated too often in their closest circles and they almost all end up listening to the opinions of their family members. Although many do not know this, behind each step there is a technical explanation and several similarities when, instead of naming a baby, the name of a new vehicle is chosen. But how do you come up with the most suitable name? This is how the finalists were chosen to name SEAT’s third SUV among the more than 10,000 proposals submitted.
-Reflect its DNA: “The hallmark of the brand and the character of the model are the first things to take into account”, explains SEAT Product Marketing director Lucas Casasnovas. “SEAT is young spirited and its values include dynamism and passion for design. In this case it also has to match the DNA of the new large SUV and convey a feeling of spaciousness and robustness”, he elaborates.
-Be easy to pronounce: “A name must not be too long to be easy to remember. For this model we want a name with five or six letters”, says Casasnovas as the second prerequisite for naming a vehicle. The chosen name will be pronounced in more than 80 countries where SEAT exports its cars, so we “have to check that its phonetic features work and that it has no strange or rude meaning in another language”, explains Núria Vila, an expert in naming from the Nombra agency, which is also collaborating on this project.
-Be unique: At this point, it is necessary to verify that the name can legally be used. The contenders are checked on an international level and that, for example, they have not already been registered by other brands in any of the countries where SEAT operates.
-Opinions matter: “What does this name evoke?”, “What does it make you think about?” or “Do you think it is strong?” are some of the questions answered by the participants of a focus group, a technique that relies on a dozen people from within the company’s target market. The research was carried out in several countries such as Spain, Germany and France, among others, and the insights gained were essential to determine whether the shortlisted names would be successful among future consumers.
-The last word, in the hands of the public: After announcing the finalist place names at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the company is leaving the final decision in the hands of the public. Everyone who wants to cast their vote can visit seat.es/buscanombre and seat.com/seekingname. The name that gets the most votes will be the winner and will be announced before 15 October.
