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Adobe Systems acquired a dramatic new application for creating web-based 3D worlds accessible in real time using any browser. They needed a brand name that fit in the Adobe family and performed globally while differentiating the product from the competition.

Catchword embarked on an extensive creative exploration and conducted trademark research and linguistic checks to verify that our recommended candidates would be appropriate in all key markets.

The final selection, Atmosphere, communicates the ethereal sensation experienced when using the software. The familiar English word fits perfectly in the Adobe naming system, in the tradition of names such as Illustrator and Acrobat, and pairs well with the corporate brand with its alliterative A.

How do you improve on a world-famous brand of photo-editing software? Adobe gave us the challenge of naming their smaller-lighter-friendlier version of Photoshop. It had to sound just as good as the classic app, while conveying that it was a product for non-professionals. The Elements name has since been extended to several other Adobe products, including Acrobat and Premiere.

International food retailer Ahold (parent of Giant Food and Stop & Shop) wanted names for all of their U.S. supermarkets’ private-label sodas that cheekily recalled (and thus challenged) the brand establishment. We peppered Dr. Bob with a pinch of you-know-who, and made Quist sound as crisp as the lemon-lime behemoth. To date, we’ve created over 20 feisty challenger-brand names for Ahold.

Nothing creates atmosphere in a room so immediately and powerfully as a fragrance, and this product line from Enviroscent allows consumers to create personal scents for every room by combining ScentSticks™ of different fragrances. But what to call this scent-sational technology? The brand name AirCraft takes a familiar phrase and imbues it with new meaning. Because “the air is yours to craft.”

This industry trade association for companies that develop and supply life science, analytical, and diagnostic products and services was using the rather awkward initialism ALSSA (Analytical & Life Science Systems Association) and asked us to help them find a more memorable (and easier to say) name. The acronym ALDA (Analytical, Life Science & Diagnostics Association) was just what the diagnostician ordered.

Allstate is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the nation, and we’ve named many of their products, including auto and home, and life insurance, and now MarketSmart, a fixed annuity.

Allstate is the second-largest personal insurer in the nation, and we’ve named many of their products, including auto and home, and life insurance, and Whole Life Advantage, which offers lifetime guaranteed death benefit, cash accumulation and potential for excess credits as well as asset protection.

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How prepared are you for a real emergency? We thought so. The American Red Cross wanted a campaign that would get folks off their collective tush, without scolding or shaming them (rarely successful tactics). Like an emergency response team, we sprang into action, helping with communication architectures and creating hundreds of taglines for their campaign. This one became their rallying cry.

Ancestry.com (then MyFamily.com) asked us to review their portfolio of brand names, to see if any changes were in order. You might think that we’d just recommend renaming everything. But that’s not our style. Often we’ll recommend that a client adopt a naming strategy involving fewer brand names. Or, as in this case, we’ll recommend a stronger parent brand, which can do a lot of the heavy lifting.

By combining vast experience in the online educational space, unparalleled marketing intelligence, and a proprietary technology platform, Campus Explorer was able to attract and deliver to its clients the highest quality student leads, helping to optimize its clients’ recruitment efforts and marketing spend, and increase enrollment. However, its name was a poor platform for delivering those messages. Catchword developed the new company name, Archer, to suggest precise student lead generation, a focused technology solution, and speed of results.

A software company formed by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and programming whiz Justin Rosenstein is clearly not ordinary. So, the company’s name also needed to stand out from the IT herd.

Asana, a Sanskrit word conveying “yoga pose,” reflects the founders’ love of yoga and their quest for focus, flow, and clarity. It’s also an apt name for the company’s productivity platform, which enables team members to manage complex projects smoothly.

In 2015, Asana announced 100% year-on-year growth, with 140,000 companies using its platform to generate annual recurring revenue in the tens of millions. Namaste.

The Asian American Civic Association (AACA) went way beyond standard ESL services for immigrants. They offered job training, social services, even childcare. Their tagline needed to communicate all that, both internally and externally, and be understood by people with limited English. We consider taglines the haikus of marketing copy: short, sweet, and so satisfying when you get them right. This one was no exception.

French software company Quadratec needed a new name as it built its presence in North America. Despite consumer awareness of their flagship product, Time Navigator, they had little equity in their corporate name. Furthermore, they didn’t own the domain, so customers had difficulty finding the company online. The new name had to perform well in North America and Europe and incorporate the central message of Time Navigator (traveling back in time).

Borrowed from the musical lexicon, Atempo means “at normal speed” or “resuming normal speed.” The name offers a sophisticated execution of the product’s central message, and its Latinate origin makes the name meaningful in most European markets (particularly France). The company now owns the .com domain, as well as trademark rights in the U.S. and abroad.

Volkswagen has some of the auto industry’s most iconic (and distinctive) cars and car names, from the Beetle to the Touareg. So we were excited when they called on us to name their sturdy 7-seat SUV, codenamed “CrossBlue.” Working with VW’s US, German and Chinese marketing teams, Catchword explored a broad range of messaging themes, and developed over 2500 name candidates. The global nature of the project meant we also carried out linguistic and cultural screening in 19 different languages, including Min Nan and Kejia Chinese. Atlas, the name VW decided to adopt, reinforces the vehicle’s size and strength and implies a titan among SUVs.

The Attain by Aetna app is a first-of-its-kind health experience designed in collaboration with Apple. It combines a member’s health history with their Apple Watch® activity to provide personalized goals, achievable actions and big rewards—like an Apple Watch or gift cards from popular retailers. The name, Attain, which is conveniently alliterative with “Aetna” and possess a just slightly tech-y tonality, speaks to reaching, realizing, and accomplishing your health goals.

Hong Kong-based Nexstgo needed to name a new product line of consumer electronics designed to fit the modern lifestyle. Because these products help you explore and express your vibrant life, AVITA was a natural (vita means “life” in Latin).

Nexstgo originally planned to apply the new name to its American product line only, but they liked AVITA so well, they decided to use it for the entire lifestyle electronics sub-company, which currently produces laptops and smart devices for an international market. The company pursued the metaphor we created with its tagline, “Live it up.” And they also continued with the Latinate construction for their product names (Clarus, Liber, Imago, Modus). AVITA launched in Asia in 2017 and in the Americas in June 2018, with a Walmart distribution deal.

These days, companies can’t afford to be anti-social about social media. This new company’s software allowed marketers to connect and interact with their customers across all social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Skittlidaddliodoo, whatever). And to leverage those platforms to raise brand awareness. So when tasked with naming the company, we created a name that spoke directly to the software’s core benefit.

When a company’s main product has global star status, changing the company name to the product name can be a smart move. Research In Motion (RIM) was in just this position when we urged them to embrace BlackBerry as the mother brand. To leverage the BlackBerry brand even further and illuminate model distinctions, we also suggested that phones be labeled with a simple alphanumeric system. Ultimately we favored Q for smartphones with a QWERTY keyboard, and Z for the touch-display line. Taking BlackBerry through options for this complex architectural renovation was a satisfying challenge.

Synaxia was a great company name if you wanted to appeal to engineers. But the company was now ready to talk to the rest of the world. We focused on new names that highlighted the leap in performance their unified network storage systems enabled. Blue implies speed (think blue streak), and arc refers to the bridge between users, data, and computers in the network.

Mobillcash wanted to rename their company and their new product, which enabled consumers to make online payments with their cell phones. Most competitors’ names were boringly descriptive. We went looser, to stand out. Boku, coined from the French beaucoup (meaning “a lot”), got right to an emotional payoff: the feeling of abundance. The extreme shortness and easy spelling of Boku also paid dividends.

The strategy consultants who started The Bridgespan Group took a cut in pay to do so; they truly wanted to make the world a better place. Bridge spoke to their desire to serve as a bridge connecting nonprofits to the private sector, while span referred to their flexibility and breadth of services. This simple naming solution also lent itself to a powerful logo and identity.

Radisphere is a pioneer in leveraging technology to provide around-the-clock radiology coverage to hospitals and independent medical practices. When it decided to form a new company to serve other medical specialties, it called on Catchword to develop a naming strategy and name for the new company and its core software product. <i>Candescent Health</i> suggests the illumination of radiology as well as the insights necessary to effect real healthcare change.

Canon was developing a ground-breaking line of high-speed, Wi-Fi–enabled inkjet business printers for small offices that could handle printing from PCs, smartphones, tablets and cloud services. Maxify says it all: Maximum access, maximum convenience, maximum Wi-Fi.

Most folks may be unaware that Clorox has sold healthcare products directly to hospitals for years. When this expertise inspired a top quality line of caregiving products available directly to consumers for use at home, the company wanted a name that spoke to nurturing and healing but also carried the gravitas of serious, hospital-grade service. That’s when Clorox CareConcepts was born—a gentle yet trustworthy name conveying the quality care of hospitals, now available at home.

Johnson & Johnson was developing a sub-brand for Carefree Pantiliners, designed for overnight protection (basically, peace of mind). The product name had to leverage the well-established Carefree brand name, clarify usage, and be distinctive. Borrowing from fashion to evoke the comfort and softness of a nighttime negligee, Sleepwear was just the name this brand needed to slip into.

Sometimes the best name is the more conventional name. Sure, we could’ve bucked the trend with a sexy, flashy name. But why? CareOne is an established-sounding name that aptly speaks to a leading and expansive family of healthcare products. Also, it sounds like a brand you can trust. Not a bad thing in healthcare.

When Malt-O-Meal asked us to name their new cinnamon-sugar whole grain cereal, we were tempted to accept payment in product (we love cereal!). The food name needed to suggest an economical alternative to their key competitor, General Mills’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch. With Cinnamon Toasters, we leveraged the Malt-O-Meal brand’s lovability, and communicated a warmer, friendlier, more accessible (read “affordable”) product.

Cisco is the global leader in networking. We worked with them for more than a decade on everything from naming architecture to company-wide standards for name development, and from trademark use to linguistic checks on product names. Catchword also consulted on naming and renaming with large acquisitions like Scientific Atlanta, Linksys, and WebEx. We named dozens of products, services, programs, events, and — believe it or not — even a bus.

This health insurance start-up told us that they knew what was wrong with healthcare and how to fix it. By using data models, applications, and operations software, Clover seeks to realign the insurers, patients, and providers into a more efficient system that leads to better health outcomes for the most vulnerable individuals, specifically elderly and lower-income populations. The name Clover conveys the harmony and simplicity of a fully aligned healthcare system. We feel lucky to have found it for them.

Cybersecurity company PhishMe decided to rebrand as part of its acquisition by a private equity consortium and to make clear that the company’s expertise ranges far beyond phishing. Its collective defense suite combines attack intelligence sourced from employees with automated response tech to stop attacks faster and stay ahead of breaches–a truly collaborative approach.

There are few brands more iconic than Converse’s Chuck Taylor All Star. So, Catchword was of course honored to be engaged to help develop a strategy for naming the company’s historic update of the sneaker line. From Chuck– and All Star­–specific naming strategies to feature and end-benefit based, we explored every possible creative solution. The approach that made the most sense? The one as classic as the shoe itself: a simple, numeric modifier that kept the focus on the epic Chuck name and still strongly suggested an evolution of the brand.

CORA serves both as an acronym (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse) and an innocuous-sounding personal name that can be used for discreet client communications.

Corning is known for the quality and performance of its innovative specialty glass and ceramics products. But with five business divisions and hundreds of products (including acquisitions), its product naming system had become fragmented. We analyzed Corning’s portfolio and recommended an architecture that was strong enough to unify all of Corning’s current product names, yet flexible enough to accommodate future growth. We also helped develop a naming protocol, as well as the forms now used by company divisions to conceptualize and initiate naming projects.

Corning developed a revolutionary fiber-optic technology that maximizes flexibility, and they wanted a name that sounded friendly, without using literal words like fiber and flex. We explored hundreds of evocative and metaphoric names, as well as more descriptive names. Not only does this fairly intuitive name clearly evoke bending, it also calls to mind the clarity of glass and light.

Corning has engaged Catchword to name numerous technologies and businesses, including Fibrance, an innovative light-diffusing fiber that you can bend, curve, and wrap around almost anything, while maintaining bright, beautiful, and uniform light. It enables decorative lighting to be designed or embedded into tight or small places where other bulky lighting elements cannot fit. Fibrance, a coining of fiber and vibrance, quickly telegraphs the product’s key attributes and benefits.

For the covers of camera phones, video phones, and other handheld devices, you want a display glass as stable, clear, and pure as possible. Corning had perfected a glass that was extraordinary in these respects, and they wanted a name that showcased this triumph. The lotus flower, which roots itself in the muddy bottom of a river or pond while floating above in pristine beauty has long been used in Asian religions as a symbol of unchanging purity in a changing world. And its Asian provenance made it an especially appropriate name for a global product destined for Asian markets (among others).

When Corning developed a revolutionary container for the storage and delivery of drugs, they tapped Catchword to name it. Valor reduces contamination, enables faster filling operations, and resists damage and breakage – with 30 times more protection against cracks than conventional glass vials. This super glass container means more reliable access to essential medicines, with potentially life-saving results. Valor nobly expresses these heroic qualities.

Gymboree needed a naming company to help them launch their sweet new line of kids’ clothes and retail stores. Finally, an assignment that matched our maturity level. After going through umpteen domain name searches (actually, the number was a lot higher than umpteen) and domain name brokering, we landed on a brand name and URL that worked on every level. The company now has more than 300 stores nationwide.

eProject was expanding beyond project management software to tools that helped companies grow and run more efficiently. The name Daptiv spoke directly to the way users could adapt the software to customize functionality, and stay agile in the marketplace. The name was also flexible enough to allow for the company’s continued evolution. The company needed the exact dot-com domain., so the truncated construction was both cool and practical.

This company’s GPS device for autos was truly different: it gave you real-time traffic data, a big deal at the time. But their brand name, CircumNav, was a snooze, and didn’t reflect how exciting their navigational product really was. Our new name, Dash, heralded a device that got you there (wherever “there” was) in a hurry. It also recalled the device’s dashboard location.

Rearden Commerce came to us with a big idea: a relevancy engine that could generate a personalized web experience based on user preferences and behavior. Like the original technology itself, the name Deem is smart and incisive and cuts through the clutter. The company later renamed itself Deem and focused on the business travel industry. With multiple software solutions, it has become a leading Commerce-as-a-Service provider in its sector. Because the name speaks to fundamental company attributes rather than services offered, it was able to evolve with the company.

For the makers of one of America’s most beloved casual wear brands, we’ve developed names for new lines of pants as well as various features. For instance, we named a line of Dockers trousers that’s comfortable yet slick enough for urban nightlife (Metro Pant); a men’s line designed for easy wear (GoKhaki); a line giving women’s basic black pants an aura of style (Mystique); a fabric that resists stains using nanotechnology (Stain Defender), and waistbands that acknowledge the fact that one size never fits all (Individual Fit and Innerflex).

What do you call a super-creamy, super-premium ice cream with unique flavor combinations and a yum factor almost beyond description? That was the question put to us by Dreyer’s when we were tasked with naming their decadent new line of ice creams. Many names later, Dreyer’s had their answer. And ice cream lovers had their dream come true. We just wish the project had lasted long enough for some extended, um, field research.

Plantronics needed a name for its new mobile phone station designed for the mobile-first professional, with support for Microsoft Teams, chat, and online meetings. Elara, a moon of Jupiter, suggests exploration as well as connection. This on-desk solution helps you launch your day’s activities and keeps your contacts in orbit with enhanced smartphone capabilities.

This innovative saddle company needed a name that would express its mission to use innovative engineering and testing to create harmony between horse and rider. Like the company’s approach, “EQ” is a powerful combination, suggesting empathy (emotional quotient) and balance (equalization) as well as horse (equine).

A secret: private label products are generally just as good as the name brands. In fact, you could say they’re equal. The supermarket chain Lucky/Albertsons needed to brand their line of over-the-counter health and beauty products, from shampoo to eye drops to vitamins. Our solution was Equaline: equal parts savvy shopper and high-quality product line.

Eaux Vives wanted a name for their bottled water that suggested purity and stood out from their French and Italian competitors. We went straight to the water’s source for inspiration: a stream filtered by a glacial esker in the northern reaches of Quebec. The coined Eska sounds crisp and refreshing, and also vaguely Scandinavian (with all the cool associations that implies).

Group One Thousand One (formerly Delaware Life) needed help naming its innovative life insurance spinoff, which offers ordinary folks an online, streamlined path to financial security through annuities. The process, terms, and entire experience are designed to be straightforward and empowering for customers, a bridge to abundance and a bright future.

Unlike competitors’ products, Netforts’ technology could target unsuspected flaws in network security before they caused problems. And Netforts wanted a new company name (and exact dot-com domain) that played to this prescient proactivity. The Eye of Fire is an ancient Germanic rune that gave its goddess omniscience: nothing was ever hidden from her. An apt metaphor for this technology. FireEye has grown ever since, acquiring three companies in the past four years alone.

Longtime client HP asked us to help them name their innovative system for the ultimate athletic shoe shopping experience. State-of-the-art 3D scanning and printing at their local store enables shoppers to buy individualized shoes that fit their gait, personality, and fitness goals perfectly. Now that’s putting the custom in customer.

Here’s a mod idea: match consumers with seasoned stylists who visit consumers in their home, organize their closet, provide personalized styling counsel, and make getting dressed easier everyday. Fitz, the name that Catchword developed for this service and company, speaks to styling that fits you and your lifestyle, and clothing that fits well. And, the personification reinforces the uniquely human nature of the service and its styling counsel.

Boston-based VC firm IDG Ventures wanted a more casual and compelling name that reflected their core competency: partnering with entrepreneurs to build exceptional companies. After generating 3,000+ names, we landed on Flybridge. The name refers to the area above a ship’s pilothouse with a duplicate set of steering controls. It spoke to the company’s commitment to helping to guide their portfolio firms in a complementary way.

Video game developer THQ often consults with us when they need brand extension names for their awesome action games: always a thrill for us game geeks. We’ve named first-person shooter, racing, and strategy games—as well as THQ’s first ever single-player fantasy RPG title. One of the many sequel titles we’ve developed for them over the years is Frontlines: Fuel of War, a first-person shooter set in a futuristic global energy crisis and world war.

Strategic investment firms Water Street Healthcare Partners and JLL Partners recognized that integrating six premier life science service providers would increase innovation, streamline services, and maximize the impact of new therapies. A blend of ever and sana (Latin for “healthy”), the name expresses the company’s long-term commitment to advance life sciences for a healthier world.

When Intel approached Catchword to name its revolutionary development platform for automated driving we shifted into ecstatic. There are few technological advancements more exciting than automated driving, and even fewer with the potential to change lives and societies in such positive ways. Fewer accidents, greater mobility, and infinitely more efficient traffic flow are just the most obvious and touted benefits of self-driving cars. The name GO suggests forward movement, both literally and figuratively, and speaks to an easily adopted, scalable and flexible platform for building automated driving solutions. A perfect, succinct way of reinforcing the platform’s key end benefit: movement forward, both on the road and in the lab.

A tagline gives you an opportunity to fill in messaging gaps a brand name might miss. HireRight’s old tagline, “Hire Safe. Hire Smart. HireRight.” basically echoed the message already inherent in their brand name. Our new tagline went further, conveying the company’s dynamism and thoughtfulness, as well as their key differentiator: superior background checks yielding accurate, actionable data.

Catchword was tasked with developing a private label name for Lucky/Albertsons. The name needed to encompass a broad range of household products (everything from batteries to coffee filters). Homelife did just that. It also dovetailed with the company’s tagline at the time, “Helping make your life easier.”

The very first instant-messaging company, ICQ had morphed into a one-stop shop for connecting people. Text messaging, video, voice, mobile phone: you name it, they did it. Their tagline needed to appeal to their youthful base, yet be simple enough for a global audience. This tagline had a powerful message that got right to the heart of the brand: limitless personal connections. “Everybody, everywhere.” Couldn’t get simpler.

Fox’s sci-fi comedy written and directed by Mike Judge about a dystopian future filled with happily moronic sheep has become a cult classic. The name? A no-brainer. (Ba dum-ching)

ZS Associates wanted to showcase their suite of software tools for salespeople. These were formidable products for streamlining, coordinating, and optimizing sales efforts. We wanted to create a product family name that was just as powerful and direct. Something that communicated cutting through confusion and red tape to help a sales force compete more effectively—and go the distance. And so, Javelin.

Unlike most of the leading blended iced coffee drinks, Peet’s Coffee’s new line would be hand-made with freshly brewed East African roasts. The company had spent a year conducting research and optimizing recipes, and Catchword set out to develop a name with equal rigor (though quite a bit faster). Peet’s and Catchword agreed the name should convey the premium quality, flavor, and exhilaration of these icy refreshments, as well as Peet’s unique personality and unwavering commitment to freshness. The name Javiva was made to order. Long live freshly brewed java!

The Javiva line launched in March 2015 to rave reviews. And by June of 2015, the beverage had outperformed Peet’s previous blended drink by 67 percent in sales.

Sometimes a company’s location comes in handy. Aegon, the international insurance giant, wanted a name for their Scottish fund management arm that would distinguish it from the parent company. We suggested Kames Capital. The tower of Scotland’s Kames Castle dates back to the 14th century, and the main structure was built in the 18th century and has been inhabited ever since. As a symbol of stability and continuity, Kames Castle was a fitting image for a fund management company wishing to inspire confidence. Using a Scottish name also leveraged Scotland’s stellar reputation in financial services.

When Agilent spun off its electronic test and measurement division into an independent company, they needed a name that would showcase the new company’s solution-driven approach. Keysight spoke to a key benefit: solutions that unlock the critical insights needed to understand the changing technology landscape and solve thorny engineering problems when designing and manufacturing electronic products and systems. And the name’s authoritative, no-nonsense tone suggests a company that helps you cut to the heart of the matter and get the job done. Fast.

It’s not unusual for a name we create to have to be easy to pronounce and on-message in several languages. But 16 languages across 3 continents, with availability as a domain? eBay CEO Meg Whitman initially didn’t think it could be done. Good thing international naming is our superpower.

We created nearly 4,000 names in 12 languages, subjected hundreds to linguistic and cultural assessment, and screened for trademark and domain availability. Kijiji’s repetitive, consonant-vowel structure is easy to pronounce around the globe, it’s fun to say, and it’s visually intriguing. The word means “village” in Swahili. How cool is that for a site that creates community?

Kijiji continues to be the most popular classified service in Canada, beating out Craigslist.

When naming a family of new products, you want to unite them all, distinguish each one, and leave room for new additions. Tricky business. Of the many ideas we presented, Kyocera chose an architectural solution: ending each name with the letter “o.” QWERTY keyboard? Lingo. Fashionista design? Deco. Optimized for entertainment? Tempo. The family later swelled with new siblings. Neato.

Levi Strauss’ Signature jeans brand had caused quite a stir. But the company lacked a naming system for things like fit and features. After various explorations, we recommended straightforward terms like straight, slim, and low rise. And suggested that they always appear in the same order: body fit first, leg fit last. This type of architecture is sturdy but has enough stretch to last a long time. And it never goes out of style.

The Silicon Valley office of venture capital firm Weiss, Peck & Greer wanted a company name with less of a stodgy, law-firm tonality. Ideally, the name would sound “science-y” and suggest a fast-moving company that kept pace with Silicon Valley. The board was our toughest crowd initially, but they rallied around Lightspeed. The name differentiated them and put them light years ahead of the pack.

For those shoppers who like to stay on top of what’s hot (and what’s not), Payvment’s new social commerce platform is the ultimate shopping feast. Shoppers on the site can find out what’s trending across the social web, and shop for top-trending items from 175,000 different sellers on the spot. We wanted to create a fun name for the platform that conveyed the ease of the site, as well as its delights. Lish is both a reference to delicious and a blending of the words list and wish. You can almost hear shoppers licking their chops.

Anoto needed a name for its amazing smartpen, which could capture anything written by hand, as well as perform calculations, record audio, translate words, play music, and cook dinner. (Okay, everything but the dinner part.) The new name had to embrace all of these features, convey a next-generation writing implement, and also work as a company name. Livescribe hit the mark.

Magellan needed a name for their new line of GPS car devices. But these were not your typical GPS gadgets; they were beautifully designed, with crisp visual displays. They were also the first GPS devices to offer voice command. So, the product name needed to convey elegance as well as superb functionality. Maestro struck the right note, suggesting someone who guided you to your destination in style.

The idea was simple enough: an online service that matched customers with local businesses. Finding the right name — and the exact dot-com domain — wasn’t quite as simple, however. We paired up hundreds of real English words until we landed on Matchpoint. The intuitive name communicated a kind of destination or meeting place, and the idea of intense competition. Game, set, match.

McDonald’s needed a name for their new chicken sandwich (and a bunch of other cool menu items). The new name had to be upscale enough to suggest premium, casual enough to appeal to a wide audience, and distinctive enough to signal a truly new menu concept. Hundreds of visits to the Arches (and who knows how many fries) later, we served it up.

McDonald’s wanted to build on the success of their McCafé coffee (which had already taken a venti sip out of Starbucks’ and Dunkin’ Donuts’ market share), and they also wanted to expand the McCafé brand to include more beverage items. As such, they asked us to develop a strategy and a system for organizing all of their new beverage categories and names. We needed to be good and caffeinated for this one.

Over the years, McDonald’s has engaged Catchword on a variety of naming related initiatives. From McCafé naming strategy and architecture development to dressing up a burger with just the right name. On this occasion, one of Catchword’s names was selected for the Golden Arches’ new grilled chicken sandwich: a perfectly seasoned and seared fillet lovingly prepared with a light vinaigrette and combined with McDonald’s new hand-crafted roll. A culinary work of art(isan).

Messaging directions and stylistic preferences are of course critical to developing a name for any product, but when it comes to foods and beverages there’s nothing more helpful than actually experiencing the new comestibles. And, when Catchword first sampled Gordon Dessert’s new line of mochi (a delectable combination of premium ice cream and other tasty ingredients wrapped in sticky rice dough), we knew we were naming a truly category re-defining confectionary. A play on okey-dokey, Mochidoki makes use of the product descriptor in a fun and playful way, all while recalling the product’s Asian roots and sounding bite-sized and delicious.

We named this instand oatmeal for Malt-O-Meal (or MOM, as we called it). Later, Malt-O-Meal adopted MOM Brands as its company name and Malt-O-Meal became a sub-brand, while Mom’s Best Naturals expanded into a whole line of cereals.

J&J wanted us to name a new line of feminine care products that relieved itching, irritation, and chaffing. The product line was fairly diverse and condition-specific, but through our discovery process, we found a common benefit: all of them were about soothing care. Sometimes the best way to say something is to just say it. So we did.

Video game developer THQ has often consulted us when they need brand extension names for their awesome action games: always a thrill for us game geeks. We’ve named first-person shooter, racing, and strategy games—as well as THQ’s first ever single-player fantasy RPG title. One of the many sequel titles we’ve developed for them over the years is MX Unleashed, a thrilling all-terrain motocross race.

The Nature Conservancy already had a pretty good tagline: Saving the Last Great Places. But they needed something more specific. We explored variants, as well as new themes. Adding “on Earth” to the old tagline anchored it in the natural world, and gave it urgency and heft. We’ll typically develop many hundreds of taglines before we even think about selection. This project ran true to form.

Ahold’s U.S. supermarkets (including Giant Food and Stop & Shop) sold more than 500 natural and organic products ranging from chips and salsa to pasta sauce and peanut butter. They challenged us to create a distinctive name that would quickly communicate the health benefits and general deliciousness of the entire line. Ultimately, we landed on a name that let nature do all the heavy lifting.

EEI came to Catchword searching for a name for the new company whose platform not only connects financial data and the real world, but breaks down data barriers to create a universal standard. A term out of nautical history and mythology from many cultures, the Ninth Wave is a single, massive wave that is the last of a series of incrementally larger waves. The name naturally conveys the flow, integration, and power of the company’s new platform to sweep away obstructive complexity while avoiding the obvious “fin” and “tech” references of so many players in this sector.

Think product names that are all numbers are easier to create? Think again. Nokia’s business phones were no-nonsense, multi-functional devices, but their numbering system left you clueless about where each phone lived in the product family, or what features made it special. Our naming architecture organized Nokia’s numbering system and built a structure for all future Nokia business phones.

This company makes software for hospitals and nursing homes that facilitates the logistics of hiring staff, scheduling shifts, and communicating with staff. They needed a company name that would be on point, and have a no-nonsense, get-it-done tonality in keeping with their mission. The name also had to be available as a domain. OnShift was just what the doctor ordered.

Intel’s innovations pretty much define modern computers, so when they asked us to name a technology that would revolutionize memory, we knew this wouldn’t be a routine software-update-naming project. Deploying 3D XPoint technology, Intel’s next-generation memory combines the plasticity and speed of RAM with the resilience and dependability of hard-drive memory. The name Optane—coined from octane, obtain, and optimum—conjures acquisition of blazing fast speed and the optimization of hardware, from personal laptops to servers.

Data, data everywhere … but what do you make of it all? And more importantly, how do you make the most of it? OSIsoft’s PI system is the industry standard in enterprise infrastructure for managing real-time data and events. Its 2012 conference was designed to help the system’s users make the most of the technology, as this tagline made clear.

Palm needed a product name for their groundbreaking smartphone. The device could shift seamlessly between apps and had an uncanny ability to anticipate users’ needs. One might even call it prescient. The name had to complement the Palm brand name, and be short enough to work alongside it. More than 3,000 names later, these three little letters made the cut.

Testing and measurement powerhouse Keysight (whom we named when it spun off Agilent in 2014) has developed the industry’s first software solution to integrate design, testing, measurement, and analysis. This platform provides users a fluid experience from concept through deployment, accelerating fresh ideas and product development. Pathwave clearly expresses this streamlined path to a new wave of innovation, while its compound construction pairs well with the company name.

A pioneer in wearable audio technology, Plantronics had a growing portfolio of enterprise and consumer products, from office and gaming headsets to innovative software and mobile apps. But the wealth of branded product names was creating confusion. We helped Plantronics orchestrate a more harmonious arrangement, defining and streamlining their naming structure. The result was a strong masterbrand, with a few select sub-brands that spoke to target audiences loudly and clearly. Catchword continues to advise Plantronics on naming issues large and small.

Not so long ago, potato chips were always on a first name basis with the deep fryer. A delicious but greasy and caloric affair. But in 2006—pop!—along came a new snack brand, offering consumers a healthy and tasty alternative: potatoes are heated in a pressurized chamber and quickly released to “pop” them out. Catchword assisted Addis in developing the name Popchips, perfectly capturing the excitement and distinctiveness of this category-popping product.

Turns out brains need workouts, too. This company came to us with a line of computer games, developed by pioneering neuroscientists, for those in need of brain fitness—basically anyone over 40. The company name had to work for consumers and brain experts alike. Posit (meaning “to put forward for study”) had a scientific feel, and was also rather positive.

Take Care Employer Solutions (a Walgreens subsidiary) and CHS Health Services, two of the largest worksite healthcare providers merged to create the leading worksite health provider, with approximately 500 health centers and more than 200 clients nationwide, including Google, Time Warner, and General Electric. Working with senior leadership and board members of both companies, Catchword developed the name Premise Health, which alludes to on-premises healthcare facilities and management, as well as a company setting the stage for a real impact on employee population health.

AgileTV needed a product name for their voice-activated TV remote. We developed a couple thousand names (many forged from foreign words, Latin roots, and morphemes) before winnowing the list. The name Promptu could apply to voice prompts, yet its associations were also broad enough and layered enough (impromptu, speed) to allow the product to morph over time. Which is just what it did: it became the company’s name and now offers cutting-edge voice recognition software for everything from apps to automotive.

PSI Services, which has been delivering testing programs to help people achieve success for more than 70 years, asked Catchword to develop a company tagline as well as names for several new products. The tagline needed to express the company’s core business while resonating with the company’s varied customers: students, job seekers, academic institutions, and employers. PSI ultimately chose two of our candidates, one to be used as a traditional tagline with the company logo, and one as a site headline. The double meaning of “Testing Excellence” makes it clear that PSI both assesses qualifications and provides premium testing technology. “Where People Meet Potential” is a great summary of the company and now headlines the site’s About Us page.

PSI Services, which has been delivering testing programs to help people achieve success for more than 70 years, asked Catchword to develop a company tagline as well as names for several new products. The tagline needed to express the company’s core business while resonating with the company’s varied customers: students, job seekers, academic institutions, and employers. PSI ultimately chose two of our candidates, one to be used as a traditional tagline with the company logo, and one as a site headline. “Where People Meet Potential” (the headline on the company’s About page) expresses multiple meanings in one: PSI is the place where human resources and potential come together and where people are expected to, and enabled to, realize their potential.

This luxury vacation club gives members access to opulent, multi-million-dollar homes in some of the world’s most beautiful places. The founders wanted a name that would suggest quintessential elegance and luxury (for once, a brand that could actually live up to such a claim). They also wanted a name that was available as a domain. They got both.

Director Vicki Abeles wanted to ignite a national conversation with her documentary about the pressures faced by American schoolchildren, and their steep cost. She asked us to create a title and tagline that would get people talking. Sounding overly preachy or tragic would be a turnoff; the key was to suggest a gripping story. Our solution, Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture, got attention. The New York Times dubbed the film “a must-see,” and screenings around the country helped launch a grassroots movement.

When Safeway needed a name for its top-of-the-line beef, Addis Creson (a branding agency and frequent partner of ours) brought us in to help out. We liked the understated confidence and quiet authority of Rancher’s Reserve for this premium house brand. And its alliteration and propulsive rhythm made it very easy on the tongue. Not unlike the beef in question.

Ever seen a TV set display news at a café or gas station? ActiveMaps was taking this concept to a whole new level. Each TV’s location would be identified, so advertisers could customize information and target specific stores and demographics. Only problem: the name ActiveMaps implied car-related information. Ripple, on the other hand, could describe any kind of information spreading out in waves. Just like the ripple effect.

Roku, a leading streaming device company, knew it was time to move away from its numeric product naming system as it prepared to launch new offerings. In order to ensure consumers found the device that fit their needs and to support continued portfolio expansion, Roku came to Catchword for help developing family names that signaled the right level of tech and entertainment.

Not all kids’ pajamas are created equal. If they’re flame retardant, they’re probably not very comfortable. And if they’re untreated, loose-fitting cotton, they’re probably not very safe. Securest (a leader in flame-retardant clothing and a brand name we created) had invented a technology that let fabrics be both comfortable and safe. Our tagline made that clear. Sweet dreams.

When Rogers and Shaw Communications, two of Canada’s biggest media companies, decided to launch a video-on-demand service, they knew they had to outperform Netflix. So, they hired a team of directors, screenwriters, and festival programmers to complement their recommendation algorithm, with the aim of reducing the time consumers need to find the right content. They asked Catchword to create a name to match, and after thousands of auditions, Shomi got the part. Shomi is inviting, memorable, and playful—as distinct from Netflix as can be—and the underscore in the wordmark suggests infinite possibilities, and an end to aimless browsing!

Blockchain mining needs huge amounts of energy, which has led to an increase in damaging fossil fuel consumption. Soluna seeks to solve this problem by creating the first blockchain company powered by its own private sustainable energy sources. A coinage of sol and luna (“sun” and “moon” in Latin), Soluna evokes human aspiration at its most fundamental – looking up at the great light in the sky. The name recalls “solution” as well as “una” (one), suggesting the company’s all-in-one energy production and computer processing solution.

Spalding had invented an in-ball micro pump that kept balls inflated without changing their weight or balance. (How cool is that?) Rather than naming each type of sports ball, we suggested creating an ingredient brand name for the technology. After Infusion’s introduction, Spalding’s market share doubled and unit sales of Infusion balls topped one million in the first year alone. We were as pumped as Spalding.

Spalding asked us to develop a tagline for their company. Key to their positioning was the notion that Spalding products perform exactly as they should. Basketballs have the touch you’d expect. Soccer balls float like they should. Volleyballs do whatever volleyballs are supposed to do. In other words, Spalding creates products that are authentic and true to the game. Swish.

Video game developer THQ has often consulted us when they need brand extension names for their awesome action games: always a thrill for us game geeks. We’ve named first-person shooter, racing, and strategy games—as well as THQ’s first ever single-player fantasy RPG title. One of the many sequel titles we’ve developed for them over the years is Splashdown Rides Gone Wild, an epic jet ski race around the world.

Gap had a very cool idea for a totally new kind of customer rewards program: if the price dropped on an item after purchase, the customer’s account would automatically be credited the difference. And there would be other unexpected perks. It was a shopaholic’s dream (and we speak from experience). Kind of like a surprise and a prize rolled into one.

Made with green coffee extract and fruit juices, Starbucks’ line of sparkling cold beverages packs a natural, revitalizing punch. The name Refreshers conveys that, without veering into the high-octane territory of energy drinks. And it’s inclusive enough to encompass handcrafted in-store beverages, sparkling canned product, and VIA instant packets. Try some and find out what all the buzz is about.

Bluefly, Net-A-Porter.com, Like.com, clear the runway. There’s a new shopping website in town and its name is StyleFind. Boasting a crazy-sexy search engine and curated ever so carefully so customers always find exactly what they’re looking for, this fashion-forward shopping site is dressed to kill the competition. Of course, InStyle tried on lots of names, but the one that fit best was StyleFind: a punchy, highly communicative, composite name that speaks directly to the core feature and end benefit of the site—finding the right style. It doesn’t hurt that it also recalls its parent brand.

When Raritan decided to spin off its Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software business, the company and Catchword agreed the name should steer clear of the “edgy tech” sound of its competitors and instead convey approachable confidence. The name should tell customers they’ve found a partner, not just a software company.

Sunbird, a brightly colored variety of songbird, is friendly and warm, yet fits comfortably in the tech space. Because it evokes clear, vivid imagery, 
it’s easy to remember and a great springboard for visual identity. The implication of a comprehensive, bird’s-eye view reinforces that Sunbird’s solutions provide remarkable vision into data center workings.

Healthline needed a new name for its Healthcare Information Technology group, which allows clinicians to extract simple, accurate insights from messy, free-form data—and thereby give patients the best possible care. Catchword developed the name Talix, coined from italics, to convey this idea of emphasizing and drawing attention to what’s important, and unlocking the power of unstructured data.

For computer security company Trend Micro, we serve as an all-around naming resource and consultant. Our mission includes guiding Trend Micro’s team in the naming of new products and services, as well as keeping Trend Micro’s entire naming architecture in order. Some of the new products we’ve helped launch include Online Guardian, SafeSync, DirectPass, and Deep Discovery.

Trimble provides end-to-end field service solutions. From service portals with advanced scheduling and optimization tools to customizable mobile applications and workflows, Trimble streamlines efficiencies from the back office to the technicians out in the field. Pulse, the name Catchword developed for the company’s core software platform, communicates always in the know–having your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the field.

In 2014, Elance and oDesk, the two largest online platforms for connecting clients and freelance workers, decided to merge to better provide international services with their combined resources. They realized they could maximize impact by developing a new, unified brand. They called on Catchword to develop a new name that would capture their vision and inspire their global community of millions of independent professionals and the businesses hiring them. Upwork—the company’s new name as of May 2015—is as innovative and impactful as the company itself. The name invites you to reimagine how work happens today and suggests that the best talent is always up to the task.

NOTE: Upwork was named one of Inc. Magazine’s 10 best new company names of 2015! See here.

While consumers have many options for streaming music nowadays, most subscription-based services are focused solely on delivering as much music as possible, and provide little opportunity for artists and fans to interact in truly meaningful ways. Ursa, the name Catchword developed for an exciting new music engagement “ecosystem,” speaks to a constellation of streaming services and connecting in countless ways (features, music, people, etc.). It also recalls the major and minor scales (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), and evokes an otherworldly music streaming platform.

Toyo needed a name for their new line of premium all-season touring tires. The tires were designed for a variety of luxury vehicles, with comfort, performance, and noise reduction in mind. Versado is the Portuguese word for “well-versed,” and it also recalls the English word versatile. The name sounds quiet and smooth, just like the ride you might expect from a set of these tires.

Over the years, Catchword has had the pleasure of partnering with Corning to name many innovative products, including Fibrance, the highly flexible, light-diffusing fiber (vibrance of color and light + fiber + radiance). When Corning decided to spin-off a new company to develop smart, integrated products and solutions using Fibrance, they asked us to create something that complements the product name while conveying the elegant versatility of this new light technology. Versalume was the clear choice.

From the moment we heard about this online movie service, it had us under its spell. Users can instantly stream an almost infinite library of HD movies on demand—as well as new releases—directly to their Xbox 360®, PlayStation® 3, Blu-ray™ player, HDTV, iPad®, or computer. And the crispness of the definition and richness of the surround sound makes Vudu little short of … well, voodoo.

WebEx’s portfolio had grown like kudzu through innovation and acquisition. Now they needed an architectural naming strategy to make sense of all of it on their website. We brought our pruning shears and a fresh perspective, recommending they lose fanciful names and use functional descriptions for navigation, like web meetings and marketing and events. Our naming architecture was a perfect fit when WebEx was acquired by Cisco.

Wells Fargo’s launch of this secure online storage service was a big deal, and the product name needed to have impact. It also needed to be reasonably transparent. So how did we infuse this vault-like product (not the sexiest of images) with some life? vSafe (for virtual safe) was not only descriptive; it also sounded like “be safe.” A fitting rallying cry.

Catchword was engaged by Greatland to develop a naming strategy for the company’s family of web-based and software tax management, filing and reporting products. Once a strategy was in place, Catchword was tasked with actually naming the family and product brands. Yearli, the name we gave to the family brand, is both authoritative and friendly sounding, and clearly speaks to a set of annual use products. The descriptors, Core, Desktop, and Performance, either allude or speak directly to the basic, desktop, and more robust filing solutions, and help keep equity at the family brand level.

We’d just named Zillio, a new type of math game for kids that was as fun as it was educational. Now we needed a tagline in the same playful spirit. Besides being engaging, the game was incredibly versatile; it helped kids learn everything from multiplication to algebra. This tagline, which played off the product name and reinforced it, was a natural.

We’ve named tons of educational games for LeapFrog over the years, and it always brings out the kid in us. No exception here. This high-energy learning system, co-branded with Disney, was designed for preschoolers, and used full-body movement (dancing, hopping, jumping, playing) to drive learning. The product name needed to be lively, suggest movement, and appeal to little ones. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, what a wonderful name!

Meeting the FDA’s myriad requirements for pharmaceutical naming (while retaining a milligram of marketing appeal) is always tough. That’s why most pharmaceutical names resemble Slavic gods (like Ipabog or Krsnik). For Merck’s shingles vaccine, we loved Zostavax (from vaccine and herpes zoster, the name for shingles). It was meaningful, easy to say, and—hold on to your pill fob—had only one set of adjacent consonants.