Catchword

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 workplace 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 margin for error was slim with these wireless fitness trackers. Successful names would have to be short enough to fit on the small devices, and match the snappiness of the mother brand. In addition, the names would need to fit within a larger portfolio of related products and still telegraph each product’s distinguishing features. 

For Fitbit’s entry-level device, Zip was in the zone, followed by One, which unifies data on exercise, calories burned, and sleep. Next came Flex, Fitbit’s first wristband, and finally Force, a fitness wristband to be reckoned with. All single syllable, all evocative, and all tied together by a common construction—a naming convention was born.

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. 
 

When Kellogg’s approached Catchword to name its exciting new Cheez-It snack food, we immediately requested samples. You know, for creative inspiration. Possessing the same wonderful crispiness of the original Cheez-It but with a new curvy form factor, this snack was just as munchable, bingeable, and delicious as we expected. We developed more than 1,600 names for the product, including Snapz. After determining that Snapz had a less than ideal trademark profile, Kellogg’s adopted a variation, Snap’d, retaining the same associations with a crunchy, crispy mouthfeel and establishing a new and distinctive name style for the Cheez-It brand.  

TikTok, the world’s preeminent video-focused social network, allows users to create short-form music and other videos. Always striving to amplify engagement and enhance creator capabilities, TikTok developed an augmented-reality platform to allow for the creation of custom “effects” (considerably more sophisticated than tools offered by Snap and Meta). And when they needed a name for the platform, well, they called on yours truly.

Effect House, the name Catchword created, Tik’d all the boxes. While perfectly telegraphic of an effects platform, the name strongly implies an online destination—a digital dwelling and repository for creators’ cool creations. Moreover, the name reinforces the company’s focus on community, with House strongly signaling a familial, cooperative, and supportive creative environment.

Mochidoki – naming a premium confectionary product

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 clever 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.

Upwork – company naming for oDesk and Elance

Elance and oDesk, the two largest online platforms for connecting clients and freelance workers, decided to merge to combine resources in a new, unified brand. They called on Catchword to develop a name that would capture their vision and inspire their global community of independent professionals and the businesses hiring them. The company's new name, Upwork, 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.

Presbyopia is a progressive condition that reduces the eye’s ability to focus on near objects, and nearly every adult over the age of 40 experiences it. That’s 128 million Americans (nearly half the US adult population).

Allergan, a world leader in eye care, developed an eye drop solution to treat this condition. The daily prescription eye drop improves near and intermediate vision without impacting distance vision in as little as 15 minutes and lasts up to 6 hours.

Catchword worked closely with the Allergan team to develop Vuity, a name that instantly conveys the solution’s ability to improve viewing acuity. The name is easy to spell and say (no small feat in pharmaceutical naming) and works equally well for English-speaking and international audiences. In addition to recalling the word view, the name’s smoothly voiced opening “V” suggests velocity, an idea reinforced by the word’s brevity. The name packs three syllables into a small, quickly spoken package, underscoring the product’s ability to deliver significant, lasting results.

Tech-enabled auto refinancing company MotoRefi had been helping drivers find better rates and reduce their monthly car payments since 2016. Using the company’s secure, online platform, and from the comfort of their own homes, consumers quickly, confidently, and easily refinanced their loans, including paying off old lenders and even retitling their vehicles, without ever needing to visit the DMV. The company leadership knew they could offer more ways for consumers to save, like comparing auto insurance plans, but its now overly specific name was holding it back. 

Caribou is delightfully unexpected, clearly standing out in an industry full of RateGurus and AutoWallets. Caribou conjures images of agile speed and graceful leaps, reinforcing the ideas of financial freedom and the independence gained from owning a car. And the name subtly recalls both car (visually) and care (aurally), underscoring its customer-centric approach. The final -bou sound is playful and friendly. And as a real English word used in a new way, it feels smart and contemporary.

Caribou took top honors at the 2022 Hermes Creative Competition, winning a platinum award for naming excellence.

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.

Semtech, a leading supplier of high-performance semiconductors, engaged Catchword to develop a name for its portfolio of sensing products. These sensors detect human proximity to mobile devices in order to regulate power savings, auto on/off capabilities, gesture controls, and more.

The project involved exploration of a variety of creative avenues, including extending the naming convention of one of Semtech’s most successful brands, LoRa (short for “Long Range”), chipsets that connect sensors to the cloud. The chosen name, PerSe, is derived from “Personal Sensing” and is a short and memorable two-syllable intercapping—just like LoRa, enhancing naming consistency across Semtech.

In addition to selecting PerSe for the umbrella brand, Semtech adopted Catchword’s recommended strategy for naming products within the portfolio, assigning the three descriptive names Connect, Connect Pro, and Control. These terms quickly telegraph the products’ end-benefits, while allowing the PerSe portfolio brand to stand out and accrue the most equity.

A leader in 3D printing, Shapeways has evolved from B2C solutions to enterprise-level B2B 3D manufacturing. Catchword was engaged to develop a name for its end-to-end digital manufacturing platform that addresses every phase of the process—from ordering and pricing to fulfillment and distribution. While the platform provides numerous performance benefits, it was digitizing and automating that stood out as the most important end-benefits.

OTTO, the name Catchword developed, is a homonym for “auto” and strongly alludes to the platform’s key benefit, automation. And because it’s a personification, the name evokes a manufacturing coordinator or facilitator to help expedite and support the process. The compact palindrome is also visually striking, consisting of just two letters and four characters, with bookended Os that underscore the platform’s full range of capabilities.

Vudu – naming a popular media streaming service

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 makesVudu little short of … well, voodoo.

Since its founding in 1943, the Tulsa Federal Credit Union has grown from six to 56,000 members, expanded its service to areas outside of Tulsa, and opened up membership to non-governmental employees. Needless to say, the organization had outgrown its name in just about every way and needed a new, more inclusive name to better reflect its expanded service area and membership profile.

WeStreet, the name Catchword created and recommended, provides much greater flexibility and underscores the organization’s focus on local ties, collective values, and financial harmony—business objectives it will maintain no matter how large it becomes or where it does business. Lastly, and conveniently, the word “Street” evokes the streets that make up our neighborhoods, our financial Main Streets, and the shared paths that we all travel in life.

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.

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.

Historically, Ply Gem has led the industry with its Mastic, Variform, and Performance Collection vinyl siding product lines. Looking to make waves in the composite siding space, the company approached Catchword to help name its breakthrough weather-resistant composite siding product line. Whereas most existing composite siding products use PVC, Ply Gem’s composite product is a mixture of sand and urethane, which provides countless benefits over traditional composite products, such as being all-season/weather appropriate and super light and easy to install. 

Elements, the name Catchword developed for the brand, alludes to both the product’s ability to withstand the elements (rain, heat, snow) and its composite nature—that is, one composed of multiple elements. In addition, the name suggests easy, simple (elemental to install), and essential.

Artisan Chicken Sandwich – naming over 10 food & beverage items for McDonald's

Over the years, McDonald’s has engaged Catchword on a variety of naming-related initiatives. From McCafe 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 filet lovingly prepared with a light vinaigrette and combined with McDonald’s new hand-crafted roll. A culinary work of art(isan).

Crazy8 – retail brand naming for Gymboree

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.

Clover Health – naming a new health insurance company

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, and we feel lucky to have found it for them.

Nature's Promise – naming a family of organic products for Ahold USA

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.

Fibrance – naming a revolutionary technology for Corning

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.

Shomi - naming a new video streaming service for Rogers and Shaw

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 Shomi got the part. Shomiis 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!

Sunbird – naming a DCIM company and B2B platform for Raritan

When Raritan decided to spin off its Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software business, the company’s executive team and Catchword agreed that the name should steer clear of the “edgy tech” sound of its competitors and instead convey approachable confidence. Sunbird, a brightly colored songbird, is friendly and warm, yet fits comfortably in the tech space. It's easy to remember and a great springboard for visual identity. The implication of a bird’s-eye view reinforces that Sunbird’s solutions provide remarkable insight and vision.

Optane – naming Intel's revolutionary technology

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 fromoctane, obtain, and optimum—conjures acquisition of blazing fast speed and the optimization of hardware, from personal laptops to servers.

The Home Depot produces hundreds of new product styles every year from multiple in-house brands (Hampton Bay, TrafficMaster, and Home Decorators Collection to name a few). As the people most familiar with every new item, each product group independently handles naming, but with product turnover every season, there’s little time for creative name development or coordination with the dozens of other groups. How could the company ensure that these new item names weren’t already in use by The Home Depot or competitors, yet were evocative of the product style and, of course, easy to pronounce and spell? 

Catchword worked closely with THD to develop names for numerous business groups, including Flooring & Tile, Lighting & Fans, Vanities, and Patio Furniture that would give the group teams ample names to choose from, confident that they would not create any marketplace conflicts. We created and vetted long lists of personal and place names with tonalities that matched the group’s styles.

Click here to see the names we’ve developed for The Home Depot that have already been adopted.

Javiva – naming a blended beverage line for Peet’s Coffee

Unlike most leading blended iced coffee drinks, Peet’s Coffee’s new line would be hand-made with freshly brewed East African roasts. 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.

Boston Beer approached Catchword to develop a name for a new, easy-drinking but high quality beer focused on social occasions such as time spent with friends, parties, and unwinding. A lager/ale hybrid sourced entirely from American grown ingredients, the new beer is lightly golden with a subtle citrus tropical aroma that is both refreshing and smooth. However, the name needed to speak less to the flavor profile and more to the strong American heritage for which the Samuel Adams brand has always been known. The name needed to serve as a tribute to the American spirit and focus on inclusivity, hard work, perseverance, and grit. After an extensive creative ideation, and among other ideas, Catchword presented ’76, a crisp salute to 1776 and our nation’s year of independence. Ultimately, Boston Beer added “Sam” to the name to tie it very closely to the Samuel Adams brand.

Long-time client Intel needed a name for its new line of high-end graphics cards, designed to compete with Nvidia and AMD offerings. The line delivers full-throttle gaming, immersive visuals, powerful multi-tasking, and seamless streaming, as ideal for engineers and artists as for professional gamers.

As a section of a circle, Arc elegantly conveys that these are components while also implying the geometry of design and the comprehensiveness of the solution. Like the trajectory of a project or game, an arc is the frictionless way to what’s next. The word is crisp yet lyrical, a springboard for rich imagery and copywriting.

Intel selected Arc not just for the cards but for its entire set of new graphics solutions (hardware, software, and services). The announcement in August 2021 generated huge industry buzz and highlighted another facet to the Arc metaphor: how, through gaming and creating, graphics “connects people across communities and cultures. Every game, gamer, and creator has a story, and every story has an Arc.”

Every developer, coder, or technology professional is familiar with (and mostly likely a member of) Stack Overflow and its community of online Q&A forums that serve over 100 million people every month. Indeed, Stack Overflow is one of the 50 most popular websites in the world, and Catchword was thrilled to work with the company on a number of naming strategy and name-development initiatives, including naming its newest offering aimed at organizations seeking deeper interactions with potential users of their products.

Collectives, the name Catchword developed, is in keeping with the company’s other highly overt product names such as Teams, Jobs, and Talent, and underscores both the cooperative nature of the platform and the strong sense of community for which Stack Overflow is so well known.

Specialty products manufacturer Advantage Midstream was helping clean up in the industrial sector by converting major pollution sources, including methane and industrial carbon dioxide, into pure, environmentally friendly everyday products such as mineral spirits, paints, and personal care products. But the company’s name didn’t express this tremendous contribution and the ethos behind it. Catchword was tapped to help rebrand with a new name. We worked closely with the client team to develop an ownable name that communicates all the company offers. ClearShift conveys not only the conversion of potentially harmful chemicals to cleaner products but the environmental shift in thinking behind everything the company does.

Stanford Global Health approached Catchword to name a new nonprofit, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, that will promote and support women in health-leadership positions across the planet. Women currently represent 70% of the health workforce but only 25% of executive positions. The new initiative will catalyze sustained change by investing particularly in mid-career women in lower-resourced regional settings to attain better health outcomes worldwide. With its double meaning, WomenLift Health elegantly communicates both the elevation of women to leadership and the elevation of health by women.

Catchword and GreyBox collaborated to create a new name and identity for DNAMx, an emerging leader in medical diagnostics. Using a unique, DNA-methylation approach to disease detection, the company’s innovative platform allows for early detection of disease in a single platform with a very high level of specificity and sensitivity. A variation of au delà (meaning “beyond”…) and a female name meaning “noble,” Adela underscores the company’s ability to test not just for cancer but for other diseases, and reflects the warmth and comfort that patients feel knowing the risks before they manifest.

As the world’s largest oilfield service company, Schlumberger provides an enormous range of products and services to assist with reservoir characterization (e.g., seismic surveys and evaluations of rock formations), drilling, completion, production, and processing.

A critical piece of well completion is the liner hanger system, which is essentially the heart of the well. Schlumberger needed a name for its new high-performance system that combines critical data analyses to enhance efficiency and drilling precision.

XCELIS, Catchword’s name for the liner system, communicates a range of product and market benefits, including drilling excellence, efficiency (via an association with acceleration), capacity and scalability (the name sounds like “XL”), and the ability to excel in the most challenging well environments.

Momentive, a global leader in quartz and silicone materials, tapped Catchword to name its new line of sustainable, derived natural ingredients. These materials would create the next generation of beauty products for planet-conscious consumers while improving performance, efficiency, application, and sensory appeal across a wide range of beauty industry categories. Harmony Derived Naturals by Momentive clearly expresses the balance and beauty of nature as well as the line’s ability to blend perfectly with a variety of products, and customers.

Indeed, the world’s #1 job site, came to Catchword after years of explosive growth. They needed a way to simplify their portfolio of offerings, which had been named on the fly and were a mix of descriptive names (Indeed Resume), branded names (Indeed Prime), and suggestive names (Indeed JobSpotter). Additionally, the names needed to be understandable or translatable for jobseekers in more than 60 different countries, speaking 28 languages. Catchword helped implement a stronger masterbrand system that establishes a clear hierarchy and consistent naming guidelines, as well as provides greater consistency and a common set of tools for use across Indeed’s ecosystem. Through our retainer relationship, Catchword continues to assist Indeed with naming on a day-to-day basis.

Over the past two decades, Social Interest Solutions (SIS) has used its tech and policy expertise to help connect more than 25 million people across the country to critical health and human services. Catchword was delighted to help the Oakland-based nonprofit better express its mission: to eliminate the barriers between people in need and the community and governmental organizations created to support them. A fusion of all and illuminate, Alluma conveys the group’s ability to address all aspects of the complexity facing agencies and the people they serve, and to illuminate new solutions and possibilities through deep analysis.

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.

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.

Freeman, a global leader in event management, marketing, and design, engaged Catchword to develop organization logic and naming architecture for its large portfolio of existing and upcoming products. Customers were having trouble navigating the wide range of products to find what they needed. Catchword recommended grouping the products by customer role as well as product offering. We suggested a suggestive, real English word approach for names of featured products (which the company planned to trademark), with descriptive names for the remaining products and services. Single words would be easy to remember for end customers as well as event staff. Freeman rolled out its new strategy over two years, with eight new names from Catchword.

Shentel, a regional telecom company serving customers in six states, engaged Catchword to develop a name for its new high-speed fiber optic subsidiary. The new network would offer broadband internet, cable TV, and phone, focusing on residential markets underserved by the national telecoms. Founded in 1902, Shentel has a deep history of helping rural and small town Americans connect. In 1990, it was the first company in Virginia to offer cellular service to a rural area. Catchword recommended Glow for its human warmth as well as its suggestion of a luminous link to the world. The altered spelling of Glo adds distinction and approachable style. 

Kyn Therapeutics envisioned a world where every cancer patient has a cure. Such an expansive vision needed to be matched with an aspirational name, rather than one that references a particular treatment. (Kyn had been chosen to express the company’s initial breakthrough using the kynurenine-degrading enzyme Kynase.) Catchword recommended the beautiful, multi-layered Ikena, a Hawaiian word meaning “vista, perspective, knowledge.” The name also retains a light connection to Kynase.

Long-time client Intel asked Catchword to name its new set of tools for enhanced control of processor performance. Using machine learning algorithms and advanced power control settings, the kit dynamically adapts to the system environment, enabling OEMs and users to fine-tune and customize performance. Sometimes the simple name is best (and we rigorously explore many, many options to make sure). Adaptix clearly expresses that this toolkit can handle any situation. 

Juniper Networks, a top provider of networking products and services, has many products. We help them make sure they can communicate clearly about these products to internal and external audiences. Over its nearly 25 years, Juniper has acquired (and continues to acquire) smaller companies, each with their own products and customers. And all these great products were named at different times by different people with different vocabulary and a different approach to naming. Catchword provides ongoing naming strategy and architecture consultation to help ensure that folks from Sales, Marketing, the Product Team, and every other department use names and descriptors logically, consistently, and in a way that customers can easily understand and that fits the Juniper brand now, and in the future. 

Agari was founded by the thought leaders behind Cisco’s IronPort solution and co-founders of the DMARC standard for email authentication. Using predictive AI informed by global intelligence from about 2 trillion emails annually, the company protects organizations against phishing, account takeover, and other advanced email threats. Agari, meaning “rise” and “advance” in Japanese, suggests technical advances and the start of a bright new day in cybersecurity.

Allergan engaged Catchword to name several new products, including a new formula for its Refresh line of eye drop products. This lubricant was specially developed to relieve the discomfort of dry, irritated eyes and prevent further irritation. Customers looking for relief from eye pain need to find the right product quickly. So its name should immediately communicate why this is the one. Relieva leaves no doubt.

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.

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.

Christopher Michael Brands engaged Catchword to develop names for several of its new delicious adult beverages. The first was a hard soda made with a proprietary vodka, classically filtered with activated charcoal, mixed with carbonated water, fruit zest, and just enough cane sugar (only 1 gram) to wake up a smile. With no preservatives, artificial colors, or artificial sweeteners, this refresher is as light (only 100 calories!), fresh, and natural as a summer breeze. Beach St. is making waves. 

NIIT Technologies, the spun-off IT division of India-based global powerhouse NIIT Ltd, engaged Catchword to develop a new name for the company after several acquisitions. Coforge instantly expresses the brand’s position as a leading solutions builder as well as its close collaborations with clients that create lasting value.  

Long-time partner Corning asked Catchword to develop a name for its new glass substrate that enables higher pixel density, a necessity for producing brighter, faster, and more lifelike images in television and computer displays. To build displays that can meet tomorrow’s high-performance expectations (8K resolution!), panel makers need a glass that can remain stable during the high heat and pressure of manufacturing. Like the stars above us, Astra Glass (Astra is Latin for “stars”) is born of heat and pressure to radiate a pure, beautiful light.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dunkin’ engaged Catchword to name several new food and drink menu items. The first was a flaky croissant with savory favorites like cheese and bacon baked right inside. Folks on the go don’t have time to guess what a menu item is, especially while rushing to work or school or looking for a satisfying snack. Croissant Stuffers immediately lets you know you’re in for some hot, savory goodness. Dunkin’ rolled out the sandwich in select markets in the South in late 2019, and we hear the Chicken, Bacon & Cheese is the fan favorite. 

Plantronics (now Poly) 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, the name of 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.

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.

SportsEngine, Inc., a division of NBC Sports Group, provides software solutions and mobile applications for 23,000 youth sports organizations and is used by 15 million athletes annually. The company needed a name for its all-in-one class-management software for studios providing such disciplines as gymnastics, dance, and martial arts. The new name needed to express the brand’s approachability and enthusiasm, and be instantly understood by studio owners, parents, and students. GoMotion makes it easy to manage activity classes, registration, payments, and more on the go.

Though an open-office plan has its merits, quite often it can be stressful and distracting. Plantronics (now Poly) developed a solution: an innovative soundscaping platform that combines nature-inspired audio and visuals and responsive software to transform offices into peaceful spaces of focus and collaboration.

The multi-sensory, immersive “biophilic” experience—waterfall sculptures, sound design, digital windows and skylights, and virtual landscapes—lent itself to a name suggestive of an organic environment. Habitat was a natural. Readily connecting to the outdoors and alluding to comfort and home, Habitat asks us to reimagine our work environments as places fostering both productivity and well-being.

The system was among the first to offer biophilic design for offices and was adopted by forward-thinking brands such as Hewlett-Packard and customer data platform leader Segment.

Purigen Bio approached Catchword to develop a name for its unique, and truly revolutionary, automated approach to prepping and purifying biological samples. The technology, Isotachophoresis (ITP), uses an electric current to not only separate the target molecules from the rest of the sample, but concentrate and focus them as well. The new name, Ionic, speaks to the process by which the technology moves the target molecules to an isolated location between the two sets of electrolytes, into what the company refers to as the ITP zone. Catchword also developed the company’s new tagline “Pure & Simple.” to highlight both the enhanced biological output and the system’s ease of use.

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.

Hitachi Insights Group needed a name for the company’s powerful new IoT core platform, the foundation for all the company’s IoT solutions. The platform blended data orchestration, streaming analytics, content intelligence, simulation models, and other Hitachi software technologies—turning huge amounts of data into actionable insights and illuminating new ways to drive digital innovation. Lumada, a blend of illuminate and data, elegantly expresses this idea, and with its Latin base and consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel construction, the name is easy to say and understand for an international audience. Launched in 2016, Lumada was named the top IoT platform of that year. It continues to grow as part of the Hitachi subsidiary Vantara, which was also named by Catchword.

AknaDx had developed a simple blood test to predict a pregnant woman’s risk of giving birth prematurely, creating an affordable, non-invasive diagnostic for expectant mothers. But the techy name AknaDx lacked the warmth and humanity of the company’s reason for being—namely, removing uncertainty so mothers-to-be and their families can focus on the wonders of pregnancy. A coining of miracle and mira, Latin for “wonderful,” and vie, French for “life,” the compact coining Mirvie suggests the wonder and miracle of life.

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.

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.

Allstate is one of the nation's leading personal lines insurer and we’ve named many of their products, including auto and home, life insurance, and annuities. Just some of the brands we've created include GoodForLife Insurance, Allstate House & Home, RightFit Annuities, Your Choice Auto, Your Choice Home, Whole Life Advantage, and MarketSmart.

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.

Longtime client Corning asked Catchword to develop a name for its new Gorilla Glass solutions for automotive interior displays. This lightweight yet durable line of glass can brilliantly display driving info, navigation, or entertainment content while enabling touch control and safely standing up to traffic mishaps. It can even be curved or bent to accommodate the sleekest automotive designs.