Catchword Branding

Catchword Branding
Type Private
Industry Branding, Naming, Corporate Identity
Founded 1998
Headquarters Oakland, California; USA
Key people Maria Cypher, Laurel Sutton, Mark Skoultchi
Website http://catchwordbranding.com/

Catchword Branding is a naming firm that develops product and company names. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Catchword creates brand names, corporate names, and slogans for industries including technology, consumer products, financial services, and healthcare.[1]

Catchword's process for creating new brand names typically involves generating thousands of name candidates. From that list, several hundred names are selected for evaluation for trademark and domain name availability.[2] It conducts linguistic and market research to make sure that the names it creates are easy to say and don't have negative connotations in worldwide markets.[3]

Corporate history

Maria Cypher, Laurel Sutton, and Burt Alper founded Catchword Branding in 1998.[4] In 2000, the company moved its headquarters into Tribune Tower in downtown Oakland.[5] In 2001, Mark Skoultchi opened the New York office, and he became a partner of the firm in 2005.[6] Alper left Catchword in 2009.

Notable brand names include the media technology company Vudu[7], the McBistro Chicken sandwich for McDonald's, and the soft drink Pepsi Blue created for PepsiCo[8]. The firm also worked with the American Red Cross to develop the "Do More Than Cross Your Fingers" campaign to encourage disaster preparedness.[9] Other clients include Cisco Systems[10], Palm[11], Adobe Systems[12], Gap, eBay, and Wells Fargo.

Notes

  1. ^ Schellhorn, Eric (26 July 2004). "Firms play tough game to defend a good name". Christian Science Monitor. 
  2. ^ Elliott, Stuart (13 November 2007). "Next Project for eProject: A New Name". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DC143CF930A25752C1A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print. 
  3. ^ Denham, Kristin; Anne Lobeck (2009). Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction. Cengage Learning. p. 94. ISBN 1-4130-1589-1. 
  4. ^ http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/novdec/dept/onthejob.html
  5. ^ Mitchell, Eve (4 July 2004). "Catchword strives to be a brand apart". Oakland Tribune. 
  6. ^ http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/novdec/dept/onthejob.html
  7. ^ Quinn, Michelle (29 August 2007). "Dot-com names get dottier". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/29/business/fi-names29. 
  8. ^ De Marco, Donna (13 November 2003). "United Airlines Creates 'Ted' as Low-Cost Carrier". Washington Times. 
  9. ^ http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2009/09/02/the-making-of-do-more-than-cross-your-fingers/
  10. ^ http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=24776
  11. ^ http://www.mobilemag.com/2009/04/06/whats-in-a-name-understanding-the-origins-of-palm-pre/
  12. ^ http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/08.09.01/cover/spirit-0132.html

External links