Taxonomy of Juice Names

If you're looking for a juicy name taxonomy, you've come to the right page. Here is our competitive analysis name taxonomy of juice brand names. Fresh squeezed, and all the usual metaphors.

For more juicy branding material, see our article about Juice Branding.

  FUNCTIONAL INVENTED EXPERIENTIAL EVOCATIVE  
5  
  • Snapple
    5
4  
  • Odwalla
  • POM
  • Tropicana
  • V8
  • Sunkist
  • Naked
4
3
  • Simply Orange
   
  • Ocean Spray
3
2
  • Dole
  • Mott's
  • Welch's
  • Clamato
  • SoBe
  • MinuteMaid
  • After the Fall
  • Crystal Geyser
  • Nantucket Nectars
2
1
  • Apple Time
  • Florida's Natural
  • Hawaii's Own
  • Santa Cruz
  • Texsun
  • Qoo
  • Vruit
  • Sunsweet
  • Capri Sun
  • Northland
  • Tree Top
1
0
  • Hansen's
  • Kerns
  • Langers
  • Martinelli's
  • RW Knudsen
 
  • Freshers
  • Kedem*
  • Treesweet
  0
-1    
  • Good Day
  -1
-2         -2
  FUNCTIONAL INVENTED EXPERIENTIAL EVOCATIVE  

* Kedem is a transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning: old, ancient, traditional. Kedem is a company that sells kosher wine and grape juice primarily to the American Jewish market.

Levels of Engagement: These eight levels (y-axis levels from minus 2 to plus 5) represent the amount of material (meaning, stories, associations, imagery, multiple layers) in a name the audience has to play with and personalize – and how "engaged" they are by a name. Names in the minus 2 level are the least engaging, and likely to be quickly forgotten; the higher the number the better, with level 5 being the best.

Functional Names: The lowest common denominator of names, usually either named after a person, purely descriptive of what the company or product does, or a pre- or suffixed reference to functionality. (Infoseek, LookSmart)

Invented Names: "Invented" as in a made-up name (Acquient, Agilent, Alliant, Google) or a non-English name that is not widely known.

Experiential Names: A direct connection to something real, a part of direct human experience. Usually literal in nature, but presented with a touch of imagination. (Netscape, Palm Pilot)

Evocative Names: These names are designed to evoke the positioning of a company or product rather than the goods and services or the experience of those goods and services. Removed from direct experience, but relevant – evoking memories, stories, and many levels of association. (Virgin, Apple, Cracker Jack)

We encourage you to print this out and move names around, and see if you think they should be classified differently. It's an exercise that will get you thinking about the names in your own industry. (Here is a blank taxonomy chart you can print out.)

The first thing we do at the beginning of any naming or branding project is to thoroughly analyze the names and messaging of the competition in your business sector, and plot those names on a taxonomy chart like this one. This document is very helpful for everyone involved in the naming project to see the competitive reality and understand what types of names are overused and where we have to go to separate from the pack.

Margarine Name Taxonomy