A few weeks into the year of 2019, the owner and operator of LA-based vintage shop, formally known as "Max's NFL Vintage," contacted Matchstick Marketing. The mission? Create a logo and identify a name that fits the style, personality and buyers of vintage sportswear on the sunny coast of California and beyond. This blog post focuses on the methodology used to surface Rad Max Vintage as the starlette of the naming varietals.
Meet Laura Max McDonald, owner and operator of California-darling, Rad Max Vintage. An entrepreneur through and through, Laura created the world of Rad Max through something of an accident. A lover of sportswear and vintage apparel, Laura began selling vintage finds during the football season at local bars and restaurants that attracted the cheering crowd of the NFL and other professional sports teams.
To Laura's chagrin, her humble side-business started taking on a life of itself. Becoming a word of mouth sensation in the Los Angeles area, she began getting calls from people asking what 'wear she had in stock and what bar they could find her at for the next game. From there, the small business took off - landing spots in some of the most swoon-worthy markets all over the coast and into the surrounding states. Faced with a decision of a lifetime, Laura decided it was time to go all-in and make this little venture of hers the business it deserved to be.
Naming Rad Max Vintage.
As all naming projects begin, conversations were kicked off with audience definition workshops. Having a firm grasp of her buyers, Laura was able to provide Matchstick with a thorough briefing about the wants, needs and expectations of her audience. With a solid understanding of who we were going after, the next step of naming could convene.
Naming Rad Max included a few starter rules:
1. The name had to reflect what the store sold - vintage sportswear.
2. The name could not favor one particular sport or team.
3. It must be gender neutral.
4. Not required - find a way to include owner's middle name, Max.
On top of these starters, we felt the importance of establishing a brand name that didn't just indicate what was sold, it also had to create a feeling of what was sold - fan nostalgia.
Here are a few snapshots of what was captured in the first draft:
Max Vintage Sidelines Vintage
Yestergear
Totally Max
Hella High Sportswear
GoGo Max Vintage
GoGo Vintage
Cowabunga Swag
Hella Fresh Vintage
After a conversation working through the above names and how the reflected to the audience, Matchstick delivered a final round and Rad Max Vintage was born.