Is it PayPal, Paypal, or Pay Pal? Inconsistent name presentation across channels reduces brand recall by 40%. Your style guide should define exactly how your name appears in every context.
Capitalization Rules
Title case, lowercase, UPPERCASE, or CamelCase. Pick one. FedEx uses specific styling. Never "Fedex" or "Fed Ex."
Spacing Decisions
One word, two words, hyphenated. YouTube (not You Tube). Co-op (not Coop). Define officially.
Special Characters
Symbols, numbers, punctuation. Yahoo!, Toys"R"Us (no longer exists - cautionary tale), e*trade. Harder to trademark, harder to type.
Where Consistency Breaks
Social media handles (@), domain names (.co.uk), legal docs (Ltd). Document acceptable variations.
Employee Training
Sales team, support, finance - everyone types your name differently without guidance. Brand guidelines prevent drift.
Warning: Search engines treat "FedEx" and "Fedex" as different queries. Inconsistency splits your SEO authority.
Generic Names Can't Be Trademarked
If you want legal protection and a name competitors can't copy, make it distinctive from day one. Visual consistency reinforces distinctiveness.