Name: Catchword
Address: 409 13th Street, Oakland, California, 94612, United States
Telephone: 510.628.0080
Price range: Inquire

Catchword Overview

Number of Employees

Under 49

Minimal Budget

Inquire

Average Hourly Rate

$250/hr

Year Founded

1998

Catchword is a dedicated brand name development firm that has been creating industry-leading product, service and company names since 1998. Clients like Intel, VW, Starbucks, PwC, and The Home Depot hire and rehire us because we view naming not just as a creative exercise but as a critical component of brand value. Sure, we come up with cool names (some would say super cool), but not before we have a profound understanding of each client’s business and branding objectives.

Whether you’re just getting off the ground or going through a full relaunch, our goal is always the same: to develop timeless brand names that resonate fully and authentically with target audiences. We believe names should be distinctive and memorable, but not different just for the sake of being different. The huge creative diversity of our naming portfolio reflects the many different cultures and business objectives of our clientele, versus a need to impose one creative style or philosophy on all.

As pioneers in our field, we leverage and treasure the union of creativity and science—by which we mean expertise in linguistics, trademark and domain screening, and naming strategy—to develop lasting creative solutions for clients, even in the most competitive markets.

Headquarter

409 13th Street, Oakland, California 94612, United States

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Other Locations

33 West 19th Street, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10011, United States

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Catchword Services

Naming
Branding Agencies
Creative Agency Services

Catchword Portfolio

Branding & Logo Design
Car naming for Volkswagen
Branding & Logo Design
Naming Intel’s revolutionary technology
Branding & Logo Design
Company & product platform naming
Branding & Logo Design
Naming wearable fitness trackers for Fitbit
Branding & Logo Design
Company naming for Elance & oDesk
Branding & Logo Design
Beverage platform naming for Starbucks
Branding & Logo Design
Technology naming for Corning
Branding & Logo Design
Retail naming for Gymboree
Branding & Logo Design
Naming a premium confectionary product
Branding & Logo Design
Leading cyber-security company renaming
Branding & Logo Design
Naming a blended beverage line for Peet’s Coffee
Branding & Logo Design
Naming a self-powered blockchain company
Branding & Logo Design
Software naming for Adobe
Branding & Logo Design
Naming innovative retail technology for HP
Branding & Logo Design
Financial naming for Wells Fargo
Branding & Logo Design
Naming a new health insurance company
Branding & Logo Design
Naming personal insurance products
Branding & Logo Design
Educational game naming for LeapFrog
Branding & Logo Design
Product line naming for Dreyer’s
Branding & Logo Design
Private-label beverage naming for Ahold
Branding & Logo Design
Pharmaceutical glass naming for Corning
Branding & Logo Design
Ongoing naming strategy and architecture
Branding & Logo Design
Naming a new company for Hitachi
Branding & Logo Design
Global health nonprofit naming and strategy
Branding & Logo Design
Naming an innovative healthcare app
Branding & Logo Design
Naming a home-grown American beer
Branding & Logo Design
Lifestyle product naming and strategy
Branding & Logo Design
Consumer tech company and product naming

Catchword Team Bios

Maria Cypher
Partner & Executive Creative Director
Founder and Executive Creative Director of Catchword, Maria oversees all creative work at Catchword. She has created names for Starbucks, Fitbit, Wells Fargo, Unilever, Intel, and hundreds of other clients.
Mark Skoultchi
Partner & Senior Account Director
Head of Catchword's East Coast operations, Mark leads all projects on the right coast, including projects for Volkswagen, McDonald's, PwC, BIC, Unilever, and countless others.
Laurel Sutton
Senior Strategist & Linguist
Linguist, strategist, and co-founder of Catchword, Laurel oversees the agency's naming strategy and architecture work and global linguistic screening practice. She has managed projects for Cisco, Plantronics, Corning, and many others.
Erin Milnes
Creative Director
Erin has overseen creative development and contributed to strategy on countless projects for Catchword, including work for Walgreens, HP, Michelin, BIC, Intel, and The Home Depot.
Leena Mehta
Account Director
Leena spent many years in brand management at Estee Lauder and Bare Escentuals before joining Catchword almost a decade ago. Whether it's naming initiatives or strategy and architecture projects, she brings her CPG marketing experience to clients like Corning, Chobani, and Johnson & Johnson.
Stevie Belchak
Senior Naming Manager
A brand strategist for the last 10 years, Stevie has laid the steady foundation and necessary groundwork for companies large and small, working with the likes of Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, AT&T, and more.
Helen Gould
Senior Strategist
There are few, if any, naming professionals with as much naming strategy experience as Helen. With a linguistics degree from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford, she has led verbal branding departments for two global branding agencies and in-house at eBay and PayPal.
Chuck Guest
Copy Boss
Chuck started at Hal Riney & Partners on the account side, if only to justify his marketing degree from Santa Clara University. Creative was a better fit, and he went on to develop award-winning work at Chiat\Day and Young & Rubicam for well-known brands such as Gallo, Clorox, and Chevron.