Type of name: Portmanteau (often used by namers and broadly defined as a blend or contraction of two or more words, such as brunch, blog, Chunnel, advertorial, etc.)
I’d heard through the naming grapevine that Zillow was for “zillions of pillows.” The Zillow website elaborates on the name choice:
"Zillow" evolved from the desire to make zillions of data points for homes accessible to everyone. But a home is about more than data - it is where you lay your head to rest at night, like a pillow. Thus, "Zillow" was born.”
Whether or not you think this brand story makes sense, the Zillow brand name is unique, easy to remember and fun to say. More importantly, the Z sound is so strong as an umbrella name that it allowed the brand to naturally expand with their sub-brands, Zestimate and Zindex. Names which, out of context, sound rather juvenile make perfect sense as part of the Zillow real estate services brand.
Even if you have no immediate needs to expand or grow your business, when evaluating a new name, always take a moment to consider how your new name works as an umbrella name or how may influence other names in your brand stable when you do grow. I can’t stress this enough. Brand names do not exist in vacuum. A strong umbrella name should be the keystone in your brand architecture.
I’d heard through the naming grapevine that Zillow was for “zillions of pillows.” The Zillow website elaborates on the name choice:
"Zillow" evolved from the desire to make zillions of data points for homes accessible to everyone. But a home is about more than data - it is where you lay your head to rest at night, like a pillow. Thus, "Zillow" was born.”
Whether or not you think this brand story makes sense, the Zillow brand name is unique, easy to remember and fun to say. More importantly, the Z sound is so strong as an umbrella name that it allowed the brand to naturally expand with their sub-brands, Zestimate and Zindex. Names which, out of context, sound rather juvenile make perfect sense as part of the Zillow real estate services brand.
Even if you have no immediate needs to expand or grow your business, when evaluating a new name, always take a moment to consider how your new name works as an umbrella name or how may influence other names in your brand stable when you do grow. I can’t stress this enough. Brand names do not exist in vacuum. A strong umbrella name should be the keystone in your brand architecture.
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