I'm curious as many companies (Slack, Spotify, Evernote etc.) have the same company name as their app name. We're a single product company right now, however that might change in the medium-long term. Is it 'standard practice' for the company and app name to be the same?
It's certainly not standard practice for large companies. General Motors manufactures cars with the Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick marques. Procter & Gamble's brand family includes Tide detergent, Oral-B dental-hygiene products, and Luvs diapers. Google uses its company name as a modifier for its products: Google Maps, Google Plus, Google Books, and so on.
The Joie de Vivre hotel group gives each property a distinctive name linked to its location and personality -- Rex, Epiphany, Waterfront, et al.
Tech examples? When it was founded in 1982, AutoDesk made a single product, which it could have named AutoDesk--but didn't. Instead, it named it AutoCAD (for computer-aided design). Freed from the corporate name, the growing family of products was able to assume distinct brand identities: Revit for the construction industry, Moldflow for manufacturing, Maya and Mudbox for media and entertainment.
On the other hand, as Steven Mason points out, the combined corporate-product name Facebook seems to be working just fine.
Short answer: there is no "standard practice" but rather multiple naming strategies. To determine which one is best for your company, you'll need to consider your long-range goals and your commitment to branding and marketing.
Answered 8 years ago
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