How to name a startup location recording company....

[John Suitcase]

Be careful, you'd be surprised how often I hear the comment, "Wow, you have way more than a suitcase of recording gear!" I figured it was a clever name, suggesting travel, etc., but I think some clients who don't bother to visit my website assume I have a little Fostex and a handful of mics.

I still think obtuse works well, something that suggests location is good, but not too narrowly. Maybe JetSet Recorders? Traveler Audio? Don't want to sound like a car audio place, though...

[initialsBB]

Here's an interesting little article about the 6 approaches toward naming your business. The 6 Naming Styles — Neutron LLC

[bishopthomas]

I like the Suitcase idea. I am Nomadic Productions. I do live sound/lighting and recording so I felt anything else would have implied that I do not do the others.

[Peter Oxford]

Quote: " I am focusing on starting up my own location recording business - and wouldn't mind some ideas for a name - I specialize in classical/acoustic music."-

- Snipped for Shortness -

Quote: "I was thinking something along the lines of "Silver Spring Records", or "Silver Spring Location Recording", "Silver Spring Productions"."








Silver Sound Recording









P

[Peter Oxford]

Present it like this...

Silver Sound Recording
SilverSoundRecording@SilverSprings.com

P

[John Suitcase]

Originally Posted by initialsBB

Here's an interesting little article about the 6 approaches toward naming your business. The 6 Naming Styles — Neutron LLC

That is a neat little article, though I think their analysis is a bit shallow. I don't find BMW 325i to be 'descriptive' in any sense. Maybe if you already know and understand BMW (meaningless unless you already know the company) and their way of naming models.

A great book on this subject and related marketing issues is The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Reis. Read it, it's maybe the most the important business book I've ever read.

Amazon.com: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding (9780060007737): Al Ries, Laura Ries: Books

[Peter Oxford]

Quote: “I don't find BMW 325i to be 'descriptive' in any sense.”




Ah!

Perhaps.

You have never driven one.

What we are considering is a 'Class Defining Product'.

However, the article, actually refers to a BMW 328i, rather than a 325i.




Here.

Is the current 3 Series.

BMW 3 Series Sedan : Multimedia highlights

BMW 3 Series Coupé : Multimedia highlights




And.

Perhaps I can help.

As the Designer was a colleague of mine.

For I've known a lot of Designers over a great many years.




The number ‘3’.

Refers to the Family or Series of Model.

So we understand you are talking about a Model in the 3 Series Family or Range.

BMW North America




The number ‘25’.

Refers to the engine displacement, 2.5 litres.

This means the size or cubic capacity inside the actual engine.

This has a bearing on vehicle performance, dynamics, fuel efficiency, etc.

Now you will find, on certain older BMW Models, that these numbers are not always accurate.

This is worth thinking about if you are one of those types that like to directly compare specifications between Manufacturers.

The thing is, it is sometimes the case, that certain engines are in fact superior to the rated engine capacity and the advertised specification.

In other words the actual size of the engine, may be, and in some cases has been, quite considerably better. Thus in a direct comparison with a similarly rated car, it would out-perform the similarly specified competition. There are a number of technical reasons for this, beyond the scope of the current discussion. But although its occaisionally the case, I think it’s worth knowing....

The vehicle, will be at the very least, as good as the specification. BMW 3 Series Coupé : Six-cylinder petrol engine (335i)

Google Image Result for http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/articles/images01/bmw_engine_award.jpg






The letter ‘i’.

Originally referred to a 'fuel injection system' for all Manufacturers.

But today it represents, BMW Performance.

Which combines Superlative Power.

and Dynamic Vehicle Handing.

with Fully Optimised.

Fuel Efficiency.




I believe.

They call it, ‘EfficientDynamics’.

It's been tremendously successful throughout America.

Behind BMW EfficientDynamics lies a package of intelligent features.

Which reduce emissions and improve fuel consumption while also boosting performance.

They ensure that the BMW 3 Series sets new standards in terms of the efficiency and economy of its engine.

It is one of the first BMWs to offer innovative technologies such as the new Auto Start Stop function, Brake Energy Regeneration.

And a host of drive train modifications. Together, they solve the “power vs. fuel consumption” dilemma, in a way that’s never been seen before.




A ‘d’ would refer to a Diesel Model and so on...




Therefore the ‘BMW 325i’ would be a 3 Series 2.5 Litre Petrol Engine Fuel Injection Model.

This form of Vehicle Model Identification was almost universal across a great swathe of the Automotive Industry.

And it is inconceivable, that anyone familiar with purchasing Vehicles would have had any difficulty at all in following the logic.




The.

Al and Laura Reis book you are advising others to read, is excellent for what it is, but do remember it was was written, a very long time ago indeed.

At the time it was written, BMW had already enjoyed the same 'Brand Identity' for over 25 consecutive years.

Their vehicles were known as ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’.




That!

Level of Brand Consistency.

Is a benchmark for any Industry you could possibly think of.

Indeed, if you read the book, you will notice the Reis’s specifically commend BMW strongly for that fact.

Furthermore, a short time ago, in a meeting of Global Industrial Leaders, the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates was personally commending the BMW Company in face to face meetings for their success in ‘Brand Identity’ and ‘Brand Separation’ across the Portfolio of Premium Products they Manufacture.




It’s not easy.

To impress the richest men in the entire World.

But I can tell you that Mr Gates was, and views that Company, as one he can learn a great deal about ‘Brand Identity’ from.

Whilst the book is a nice read for a complete novice to the subject of ‘Brand Identity’, you should appreciate that since that was written, the world has changed quite dramatically.

But it will give one a degree of insight, into some broad overall concepts, that might be of assistance in the way to begin to think about these things. However, its important to appreciate that Branding Methods, Consumer Targeting, Public Relations and Advertising which have many areas of crossover today, have come a very long way indeed, since then.




So let's now.

Bring all this into sharp focus.

In 2009 BMW was measured by value as the 18th most successful 'Brand Identity' in the entire World.

Toyota, in a different Marker Sector altogether, and by far the largest Manufacturer, is at the moment 14th by comparison. Apart from them.

BMW completely outranks by a head and shoulders, every other Manufacturer in the Automotive Industry, Porsche is at 35th, Mercedes is at 40th, Honda 50th, Nissan at 67th.

The rest of the Automotive Industry, don’t even make it into the top 100 Brands, at all!




That level of success.

In 'Brand Identity' didn’t just happen.

It’s the result of an incredible amount of extremely hard work, backed up by solid consistency, in every area of their Business.

Some very clever people have been carving out that reputation, in every place they interface with a potential Customer for very many years indeed.




The really salient point is though.

To look at the overall Portfolio of 'Brand Marques' they own.

Rolls Royce, BMW and MINI, are all in the Premium Sector of the Market for the Automotive Industry, this is the most desirable, and most Profitable Sector there is.

Furthermore, when you compare these three 'Brand Marques', and who they appeal to, you see established, a clear ‘Brand Separation’ which is what Mr Gates would like to see developed in his own Company.

By comparison, in America, the Big Three of GM, Chrysler and Ford, each have had well over twenty different 'Brand Marque's in their Portfolio’s for a very long time indeed. It is not my intention to disparage those Manufacturers, indeed, I wish them every possible success.

However, it is worth considering what all these seventy or so Brands in their Portfolios, mean in the mind of the Consumer. There is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding, caused by this lack of clarity and focus. At the end of the day, who knows what all these different ‘Brands’ really stand for? They reflect an extremely complex, bewilderingly confused situation, to the mind of the Consumer.

A clear ‘Brand Strategy’ involving not only the Products themselves, but every area of interface in the Business with the Consumer, leads to a Powerfully Consistent Message about 'Brand Values'.

Any Business built on a Powerfully Consistent Message, will form a Clear Strong Identity in the mind of the Consumer.

For Clarity and Consistency is what directly communicates to people.

It let's them know what you stand for.




Send.

A Simple.

Clear Message.

Very Consistently.

Silver Sound Recording
SilverSoundRecording@SilverSprings.com

P

[Peter Oxford]

This Forum is strongly focussed upon Sound.

This has very much been in my mind, as I have replied to the post above, that specifically brought up the subject of Cars.






So here is an article.

About the work that is done by Sound Designers at BMW.

I trust that you find it interesting, and remember that the superlative sound of Rolls Royce is within the BMW Portfolio.




A Joy to Hear

BMW sound designers are using the latest findings from psychoacoustics in order to make even the slightest noises as pleasant and ideal as possible

Next to sight, hearing is our most important sense: every sound, no matter how slight, evokes a certain feeling. It should therefore come as no surprise that sound design has grown into an independent discipline in automotive manufacturing over the last ten years.

Minimizing the general noise level inside the car has long since become just one of many objectives of this field. The priority aims are now to optimize the inner and outer 'acoustic scenery' and to find the best 'background music' for each model's characteristics and message.

From the sounds made by closing doors and the horn to the whirring of the power windows, nothing is left to chance. What the driver finally hears is often the outcome of months of work by engineers, physicists and psychologists.




At present, there is hardly a single product on the market which has not been acoustically optimized by a so-called 'sound designer'.

Ideally, washing machines should sound like mountain brooks; biting into a cookie should produce either a 'soft' or 'clearly crispy' sound, depending on the type; opening a bottle of water should make a fresh, appetizing gushing sound.

There are several reasons why sound design has become established as an independent, sales-enhancing branch of the industry. It can be scientifically proven that every sound perceived by clients immediately gives them an impression of the quality of the product on the subconscious level.

Surveys and research have shown that customers even expect the product they have bought to produce a certain unmistakable sound. And in today's world, where a great many of the products launched often share a nearly uniform high level of quality, it is becoming more and more important to develop a 'corporate sound'. Early on, the automotive industry noticed this fact and began to take action.




The BMW Acoustics Department.

Now has around a hundred employees devoted to every aspect of sound and noise. They give every model its own, unmistakable sound.

Here is how BMW public relations representative Friedbert Holz defines the sound designer's job: "In general, the role of a sound designer is to locate noises, find out why they sound the way they do, improve them if necessary, and give them the right design. Sound designers, who usually come from an engineering background, deal with two different types of noise.

The first type involves sounds that customers hear consciously and are supposed to hear: e.g., the sound of the engine, closing doors, windshield wipers, direction signals, or the voice of the navigation system. The other type involves locating and eliminating noise that the customer is not supposed to hear, such as unexpected rattling or clatter".




Such noises were the main focus of attention in the initial phases of sound design, since the primary objective was to reduce the sound level and eliminate disturbing noises.

Not until later did this equally valuable goal take shape: to design and optimize every noise perceived by the client in such a way as to produce a favorable impression identifiable as a 'typical BMW' sound.

"We weave together a harmonious BMW sound tapestry from all the different noises in the car, which in a certain way represents the soul of the car", says Holz. "It is not for nothing that sound designers are called the Vivaldis of the automotive industry".





Music from the Engine

Driver surveys show that the 'running culture' - i.e., the way in which the car engine runs - is considered to be a basic factor of quality and comfort.

The acoustic basis for designing the sound of a new model depends on selecting an appropriate design for the engine and engineering its intake/exhaust systems.

You can see how many possibilities our sound designers have in designing the motor sound by the fact that the M5 limousine and the Z8 sports roadster each have their own unmistakable, highly distinct sound, even though both of them are powered by the same engine", explains Holz.

"While the emphasis in the limousine is on the typical 'rich' sound, the sports car naturally sounds a bit more 'powerful' and when the engine is revved up at high rpm it sounds 'brassier', as the sound engineers say". But it takes a lot of work to get the engine's trumpets blowing in the way they are supposed to.

The main difficulty is that sound design, as a creative field of designing, automatically involves questions of taste and unconscious processes of perception, which means that the search for the 'right sound' is always highly subjective.

Sound designers try to solve that problem by combining objective tests and computer analyses with subjective assessment criteria in laboratory tests, noise simulations and test drives. Friedbert Holz explains the procedure: "First of all, we sit down at the table with our in-house experts and discuss ideas about what the 'ideal sound' for each model should be.




After defining the so-called 'target sound', we create it step by step in collaboration with the engineers and technicians".

By using computer-assisted frequency analyses and reference charts, we tune the sound not only in relation to a certain family of BMW cars, but also in reference to comparable models of other manufacturers which are drawn into our study.

Once a target sound has been agreed upon, various measurement devices are used to investigate it. Clay heads are used to place 'electronic ears' at the height and position of a human head capturing all the sounds perceived by passengers during a wide variety of maneuvers.

With meticulous attention to detail, all the sounds are analyzed and optimized in a noise-proof sound chamber like those found in recording studios. In one of the simulators, the sound designers can drive up and down the full length of Leopold Street in Munich, listening to a simulation of all the sounds that occur during that drive, based on either an 'open-window' or 'closed-window' option, and with one or more cars beside the test car at the virtual stoplight that interfere with the virtual driver's hearing.

The resulting sounds are repeatedly presented to a test panel made up of experts and laymen. In this way, all the subjective impressions are gradually combined with the objective measurements to create the typical BMW sound.




Love of Detail.

Using that basic design as a model, all the other sound-generating components in the car are processed.

For sound designers, the car door is a 'classic' case, since it gives drivers their first impression of the car's value, before the engine is even started.

If it were not for the work of sound designers, every closing car door would sound like a rattling box full of screws. The driver does not get a sense of security or a subconscious awareness of the value of the car unless the door closes with a rich, full sound.

Meticulous work on details is often required to produce the desired sound: a plastic-coated door-lock, a fine-tuned muffler on the exhaust system, an adjustment of a few centimeters in the arrangement of two components, the use of a different material in the right place.

Sound design is primarily a question of experience and sensitivity, as well as concentration, and it involves a sense organ that is often neglected in comparison to the eye.




The Power of Sound.

"African cultures used to practice a gruesome method of torture", explains Holz.

"They subjected their victims to notes of extremely high or low pitch, which brought their bodies into a deadly oscillation: horrible proof of the power of sound".

Psychoacoustics is a relatively new scientific discipline that has developed very quickly, establishing relationships between the physical characteristics of a sound signal and the resulting perception of the sound.

In the final analysis, hearing occurs in the brain: the psychological, physiological and therapeutic aspects of noises and sounds are also the key points in the application of psychoacoustics to automobile manufacturing.

One of the issues investigated is which sounds outside and inside the car make a good impression on the driver and which ones make a bad impression. For instance, which sounds make drivers fall asleep and which sequences of notes increase their sense of well-being?

Research has shown, for example, that a low, uniform sound level does not necessarily have a positive effect on the driver. On the contrary, drivers tend to prefer harmonious sequences of notes, like a symphony.

The BMW Group is closely collaborating with various institutions and medical researchers in order to design and optimize sound in keeping with the latest findings of psychoacoustics.

The difference between the physical stimulus and the resulting sensation, however, creates the same type of difficulty as before: just as visual experiences are not objective, neither are auditory experiences.

What is perceived to be pleasant by one listener is found disturbing by another. This is particularly obvious in the case of noise control and avoidance, which are also important functions of psychoacoustics.




Music of the Future.

A solution might be provided in the future by the Active Noise Control system developed by Siemens VDO Automotive.

That control device features a push-button that can be used to generate 'extra sound' at will: by mechanical means, a valve is opened in the exhaust pipe, making the car sound more powerful once it reaches a certain speed.

"This device lets customers drive around their neighborhood on workdays with a muffled, inconspicuous sound that doesn't disturb the neighbors, even at 11 o'clock at night. But when they get out onto an appropriate stretch of road they will be able to appreciate the powerful, sports car sound", explains Friedbert Holz.

Personalization, which has been a noticeable trend in visual designing for years now, is becoming a magic word in sound design, too. Naturally, it is necessary to comply with the limits imposed by law, such as the maximum sound level of a passing car.

Such laws vary widely from country to country. In Germany, the Federal Motor Transport Authority has set the limit at 74 decibels. The number of direction signal flashes per minute is prescribed by law, as well, but such restrictions do not apply to the synthesized sounds that the direction signal makes.

With the possibilities offered by modern-day electronics, a wide range of options can be imagined: in the future, drivers might be able to customize the sound of their direction signals, just like the ringing tone of their cell phones. Or different types of voices may be available for navigation system instructions.

"Up to now, extensive testing has been performed to find the right voice for the majority of drivers. As a result, the 'pleasant secretary' voice was selected", explains Friedbert Holz. "Depending on personal preferences, other types of voice might be possible, however: from a domineering mother's voice to a more light-hearted girlfriend's or boyfriend's voice, or a fatherly variation". Such options may soon become part of the 'BMW sound'.








P

[Peter Oxford]

Quote: " I am focusing on starting up my own location recording business - and wouldn't mind some ideas for a name - I specialize in classical/acoustic music."

- Snipped for Shortness -

Quote: "I was thinking something along the lines of "Silver Spring Records", or "Silver Spring Location Recording", "Silver Spring Productions"."




Let’s.

Think about this.

A little more together.

There is a problem with the title of ‘Silver Springs’ etc.

That was repeatedly proposed and propounded, in the original posters question.




For example...

Silver Springs Recording

Mainly.

Tells people where you are.

But only secondarily, tells them, what you are about.

Your location clearly has pre-eminence over what you actually do.

This is the fundamental, underlying problem, with all the alternatives, that were originally considered.




To my way of thinking.

This is the wrong way about.




But there is another issue.

The words ‘Silver Spring’s have a lovely ring to them.

They conjure thoughts of flowing streams, and lush meadows of pasture in an idealistically rural setting.

But that, isn’t at all the truth of the matter is it? In reality, its all about a bit of mica, the area is a heavily built up and urbanised, the third most populous place in Maryland.

Silver Sound Recording

Directly.

And clearly communicates.

The actual pre-eminence of what you do.

Whilst also still implicitly suggesting where you are.

Which all would be in the neat E-Mail & Contact details, lying directly underneath the Main title.




The salient point is...




The first thing.

People need to know.

Is what you are all about?

What is it that you actually do?

Once they know that, if they are interested.

They will take the trouble to find out, where you are.




If you.

Tell them.

Where you are.

It does not follow.

That they will take trouble.

To find out what you are about.




Can you see?

This is the clear problem.

With the title of ‘Silver Springs’ discussed in the original post.




Furthermore.

The word ‘Silver’ has a double edge of Impact. That relates to different people and their various perceptions.

Different interest groups think in different ways, perceive the same thing differently, and approach things from an entirely different viewpoint.




Undoubtedly.

In the local area of ‘Silver Springs’.

Those familiar with the region will see this aspect in the title.

However, I have gained the impression that the original poster Play’s and Record’s Stringed Instruments.

He has a String Family Instrument in his avatar, and he plays the Cello, according to his Gearslutz membership profile.

The words ‘Silver’ and ‘Strings’ are inextricably bound together in the minds of a great deal of the population at large. The Silver Strings..

‘Silver’ and ‘Strings’ are suggestive of one another, at a deeper level of thought and consciousness altogether, especially with the older population.

Demographically, this is the population group most likely to be supportive of your area of expertise, with the implication that you are involved with Orchestral Forces.




You have to consider.

The subconscious implications.

As well as the completely obvious ones.




This.

Is how I arrived at.

Silver Sound Recording
SilverSoundRecording@SilverSprings.com

P

[Remoteness]

Peter, you are the man, mon!

It's a pleasure each and every time you drop by.