brand-scout

name	brand-scout
description	Scouts and secures your brand's digital presence — domain names, social media handles, and branding direction. Use when the user wants to find a name for a project, startup, product, or brand. Triggers on requests like "help me find a domain name", "brainstorm names for my project", "check if this domain is available", "I need a brand name", "scout social media handles", or any naming, domain, or brand research task. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"agentcto"}

Brand Scout

A structured, human-in-the-loop workflow for finding the perfect brand name, securing domains, and claiming social media handles.

Before starting, load references/brand-guide.xml — a comprehensive naming playbook covering 16 naming patterns, sound symbolism research, morpheme toolkits, domain strategy, case studies, and a 100-point scoring rubric. Reference it throughout the workflow.

Workflow Overview

Discovery → Brainstorm + Score → Selection → Domain Check → Social Media → Report
    ↑                                |                            |
    └──────── Refine ────────────────┘                            |
                                     └──── Confirm domain ────────┘

Follow steps 1-7 in order. Steps 3-5 may loop until the user is satisfied.

Step 1: Discovery

Ask the user about their project. Gather these essentials:

• What — Project description (1-2 sentences)
• Who — Target audience
• Keywords — 3-5 words that capture the essence
• Vibe — Professional, playful, technical, minimal, bold?
• Industry — Sector (tech, fintech, health, consumer, etc.)
• Constraints — Must-have TLD? Max length? Specific letters to avoid?

Keep discovery concise: 3-5 questions max in one message.

After discovery, identify the target brand attributes (speed, trust, innovation, simplicity, power, friendliness) — these drive sound recipe selection in Step 2.

Step 2: Brainstorm

Generate 15-20 brand name candidates. Apply the naming patterns and linguistic techniques from the brand guide systematically.

Use these naming patterns (see <naming_patterns> in brand-guide.xml for full details):

Pattern	Example	Trademark Strength
Invented/Coined	Xerox, Hulu	Strongest (fanciful)
Real-word repurposed	Stripe, Slack, Notion	Strong (arbitrary)
Metaphorical	Amazon, Apple	Strong (suggestive)
Compound	Snapchat, Airtable	Moderate-strong
Portmanteau	Pinterest, Netflix	Strong
Suffix-modified	Spotify, Shopify	Strong
Misspelled/altered	Lyft, Tumblr	Moderate-strong
Foreign word	Uber, Lego	Strong
Personification	Alexa, Siri	Moderate

Apply sound symbolism (see <sound_recipes> in brand-guide.xml):

• Map the user's desired brand attributes (speed, trust, innovation, etc.) to specific phoneme families
• Use front vowels (/i/, /e/) for lightness/speed; back vowels (/u/, /o/) for power/warmth
• Use plosives (p, t, k, b, d, g) for strength; fricatives (f, s, sh) for smoothness
• Target CVCV or CVC syllable patterns (the most universally pronounceable)
• Check phonaesthemes: gl- (light/vision), sw- (smooth movement), cr- (power)

Use the morpheme toolkit (see <morpheme_toolkit> in brand-guide.xml):

• Tech prefixes: Neo-, Hyper-, Omni-, Pro-, Re-, Inter-
• Popular suffixes: -er (89 startups), -ly (37), -ify, -io, -base, -hub, -flow
• Latin/Greek roots: nov- (new), lux- (light), ver- (truth), opt- (best), flex- (bend)

Apply blending rules for portmanteaus:

• Preserve each word's stressed syllable
• Target 2-3 syllable results
• Ensure both source words remain recognizable

Present names grouped by pattern with brief rationale for each. Note the trademark strength category (fanciful > arbitrary > suggestive > descriptive) for every candidate.

Step 3: Score Names

Automated Scoring

Run the name scorer on brainstormed candidates:

scripts/score_names.py name1 name2 name3 ...

To check for phonetic conflicts with competitors:

scripts/score_names.py name1 name2 --compare competitor1 competitor2

The scorer evaluates: length, syllable count, pronounceability, and phonetic fingerprint (Metaphone/Soundex). Scores range 0-1 with higher being better.

Qualitative Evaluation

Supplement the automated scores with the 100-point rubric from <scoring_rubric> in brand-guide.xml. Evaluate each top candidate on these weighted criteria:

Criterion	Points	What to assess
Memorability	12	Plosives, alliteration, rhythm, concrete imagery
Trademark strength	12	Fanciful (12), Arbitrary (9), Suggestive (6), Descriptive (3)
Pronounceability	10	Unambiguous globally (10), clear in English (7), needs explanation (4)
Cultural safety	10	Check across major languages for negative meanings
Spellability	8	Passes the radio test — hear once, spell correctly
Semantic resonance	8	Positive associations aligned to brand
Emotional impact	8	Sound symbolism matches brand personality
Competitive differentiation	8	Unique in category
Visual aesthetics	5	Balanced letterforms, works as wordmark
Length/brevity	5	4-8 chars ideal (5pts), 9-11 (4pts), 12-15 (2pts)
Domain availability	5	Assessed in Step 5
Social handles	3	Assessed in Step 6
Scalability	3	Works for unlimited expansion
SEO viability	3	Unique in search results

Scoring tiers: 85-100 exceptional → 70-84 strong → 55-69 viable → below 55 reject.

Mandatory filters (instant fail if not passed):

• Radio test: Can someone hear it once and type it into a browser?
• Coffee shop test: If you have to spell it out, the name fails.

Present a combined table: automated scores + qualitative rubric score + trademark category.

Step 4: Selection

Present scored results and ask the user to:

1. Pick their top 5-8 favorites
2. Flag any names they want variations of
3. Indicate preferred TLDs (suggest .com + 1-2 relevant alternatives)

If the user wants more options, loop back to Step 2 with refined direction.

Step 5: Domain Availability Check

Run the domain checker on selections:

scripts/check_domains.py name1 name2 ... --tlds com,io,dev,ai

For definitive results (slower, uses WHOIS):

scripts/check_domains.py name1 name2 ... --whois

Status key:

• taken — Registered (DNS or WHOIS confirmed)
• AVAILABLE — Unregistered (WHOIS confirmed)
• possibly available — DNS negative, not WHOIS-verified (use --whois to confirm)

TLD selection — Apply the decision tree from <domain_strategy> in brand-guide.xml:

1. Is exact brand.com available? → Take it immediately
2. AI startup? → .ai preferred, then .com
3. Dev tools/SaaS? → .io or .dev preferred, then .com
4. Consumer/mass market? → .com strongly preferred
5. None available? → Try verb prefixes (get/try/use) or modify the name itself

For additional TLD guidance, see references/tld-guide.xml.

If top choices are taken, suggest domain workarounds from the brand guide:

• Verb prefixes: get-, try-, use-, hey-, meet-, join-
• Suffixes: -hq, -app, -labs
• Domain hacks: notion.so, linear.app, bit.ly
• Note: Facebook launched as thefacebook.com, Dropbox as getdropbox.com — startups upgrade later

Defensive registration: Recommend securing the brand name across 3-5 key TLDs (.com, .io, .co, .ai, .net) to prevent squatters.

Step 6: Social Media Handle Check

Once the user confirms a domain name, run the handle checker:

scripts/check_handles.py myhandle

Check all supported platforms:

scripts/check_handles.py myhandle --all

Supported platforms: github, twitter, instagram, linkedin, reddit_user, reddit_sub, youtube, tiktok, npm, pypi

If the exact handle is taken, suggest variations and re-check:

• Add "hq", "app", "official", "get", "use" as prefix/suffix
• Use underscores or periods where platforms allow

scripts/check_handles.py myhandlehq myhandle_app --platforms github,twitter,instagram

Step 7: Final Report

Generate a comprehensive brand research report. Draw on the case studies and trends from brand-guide.xml to provide informed branding context.

# Brand Scout Report: [chosen name]

## Name Analysis

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Pattern | [naming pattern used, e.g., "real-word repurposed"] |
| Trademark category | [fanciful/arbitrary/suggestive/descriptive] |
| Syllables | [count] |
| Pronounceability | [score] |
| Phonetic code | [metaphone] |
| Rubric score | [X/100] |

## Sound Profile

- **Phoneme analysis**: [e.g., "voiceless fricatives + front vowels convey speed"]
- **Syllable pattern**: [e.g., CVC — punchy monosyllable]
- **Sound associations**: [what the name's sounds convey per sound symbolism]

## Domain Availability

| Domain | Status | Action |
|--------|--------|--------|
| name.com | Available | Register immediately |
| name.io | Taken | — |

**Recommended TLD**: [primary recommendation with reasoning]
**Defensive registrations**: [3-5 TLDs to secure]

## Social Media Handles

| Platform | Handle | Status | Alternative |
|----------|--------|--------|-------------|
| GitHub | @name | Available | — |
| Twitter/X | @name | Taken | @namehq |

## Branding Direction

- **Pronunciation guide**: [phonetic spelling if non-obvious]
- **Tagline ideas**: [2-3 suggestions]
- **Visual direction**: [brief color/style notes informed by sound profile]
- **Tone**: [professional, playful, technical]
- **Comparable brands**: [1-2 similar successful names from case studies]

## Next Steps

1. Register domain at [registrar suggestion]
2. Secure social media handles (prioritized by platform importance)
3. Consider professional trademark search ($120K-$750K avg dispute cost)
4. Register defensive domains (.com variant if using alternative TLD)
5. Budget: $50-200 for defensive domain registration

Save the report to a markdown file in the user's working directory.

---

Converted and distributed by TomeVault — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.