About Rob Meyerson

Rob Meyerson is the principal and founder of Heirloom. He works with business leaders to build identities for their organizations, products, and services. More than a name or logo, Rob believes an identity is defined by clear, focused beliefs, expressed through compelling words, and substantiated by consistent actions. His specialties include strategic positioning, naming and messaging, brand architecture, qualitative research, and organizational change. Prior to launching Heirloom, he was global head of brand architecture and naming at HP, and previously held strategy director roles at several leading, international brand consulting firms.

Rob is the co-author of Designing Brand Identity, sixth edition, and author of Brand Naming. He has also written about brand strategy and naming for leading publications such as Harvard Business Review, AMA.org, Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, Business Insider, The Guardian, and VentureBeat. Rob also hosts How Brands Are Built, a popular branding podcast, newsletter, and blog.

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Rob Meyerson’s books and other projects

Designing Brand Identity

Rob was honored to co-author the sixth edition of Designing Brand Identity, Alina Wheeler's iconic, comprehensive guide to the world of brands and branding. This edition features 50+ all-new case studies; 100+ branding subjects; 400+ quotes from experts and executives; 800+ images, diagrams, and examples; and a bold cover design by Eddie Opara of Pentagram.

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Brand Naming

Brand Naming: The Complete Guide to Creating a Name for Your Company, Product, or Service is the most complete and detailed book about brand naming. In the words of Marty Neumeier, “A brand name is the number-one touchpoint a product or company will ever own. And now, thanks to the generous clarity of Rob Meyerson, there’s a book about it. Get this onto your shelf.”

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How Brands Are Built

How Brands Are Built is a blog and podcast where branding professionals get into the details of what they do—and more importantly, how they do it. Rob hosts the podcast, on which he’s interviewed industry leaders like David Aaker, Marty Neumeier, Laura Ries, and Denise Lee Yohn. Rob also sends out a monthly How Brands Are Built newsletter featuring branding news and insights.

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Online brand naming course

In his course, “Fundamentals of Memorable Brand Naming,” Rob teaches the process behind generating memorable brand names. You’ll discover the fundamental elements to consider as part of your creative process and learn to help brands stand out through innovative naming.

“This course completely exceeded my expectations. The resources Rob has provided here are worth their weight in gold.” —Ben Stanbury, Domestika student

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Rob Meyerson’s writing (select list)

Designing Brand Identity: A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Brands and Branding (6th Edition), co-author with Alina Wheeler
Brand Naming: The Complete Guide to Creating a Name for Your Company, Product, or Service
“5 Brand Fundamentals Startups Must Get Right From Day One,” The CMO Club
“Don’t Change Your Brand Name — Unless You Really Have To,” Entrepreneur
“How to Pick the Best Name for Your Company,” Harvard Business Review
“How to Evaluate Brand Names – A Simple Name Evaluation Tool,” JUST Creative Blog
“What’s in a Brand Name?” AMA.org
“Why Are Brand Names Important?” Branding Strategy Insider
“What’s a Company Name Really Worth?” StartupNation
“What does Byron Sharp’s research really tell us about differentiation?” WARC
“Should You Name Your Business After Yourself?” Entrepreneur
“Should You Use Your Own Name or Create a Brand Name for Your Business?” Entrepreneur
“Brand Naming – How to Present Names & Win Every Time,” JUST Creative Blog
“The Optimal Brand Naming Process,” Branding Strategy Insider
“I name brands and companies for a living — here’s what it takes to succeed as a ‘professional namer,’” Business Insider
“The Worst Possible Name For Your Brand And Three Things You Can Learn From It,” TechCrunch
“Mind, body and sold: bridging the divide between business and brand,” The Guardian
“Startup names don’t have to be terrible. Here’s the proof.” VentureBeat
“What makes a great brand name in Singapore?” Singapore Business Review
“Two Identities, One Logo: How International Brands Integrate Chinese and Non-Chinese Names and Taglines in Logo Design,” BusinessForumChina
“2010’s Top Five Brand Stories in China,” Labbrand LABReport Vol. 3 Iss. 3
“Businesspeople Are People Too: The Case for Emotion in B2B Branding,” BtoB Magazine

Rob also regularly writes posts on his own blog, How Brands Are Built.

Rob Meyerson’s podcast/media appearances (select list)

Rob also hosts his own podcast, How Brands Are Built.

Rob Meyerson’s teaching/presentations (select list)

“Fundamentals of Memorable Brand Naming” for Domestika (online course)
“Creating an Effective Brand Process,” BrandersFest 2024
“Making Names Memorable,” Brand Builders Summit 2024
Brand Strategy Workshop at General Assembly (a regular, three-hour, in-person class prior to the pandemic)
Tom Elmer’s marketing course at West Chester University
Information Design Lecture Series, PolyU Design (live presentation to attendees in Hong Kong)
Brand Naming “Artisan Workshop” for Level C
Guest lecturer, Lehigh Master’s in Technical Entrepreneurship Program (2022 and 2023)
Office Hours, The Futur Pro Group
Presentation on podcast naming for Espree Devora‘s “Launch 30 Podcast Episodes in 30 Days” cohort
Guest speaker, Master in Marketing and Communication program, Bocconi University
“Intro to Branding – From Definitions to Design,” Designhill (online presentation)
Guest speaker, USC Marshall School of Business (New Product Development course)