Susan Brind Morrow, American Egyptologist

“A name is a mirror to capture the soul of a thing […]”

W. H. Auden, Anglo-American Poet

“Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable.”

Dr. David S. Slawson, American Landscape Garden Artist

“Names are an important key to what a society values. Anthropologists recognize naming as ‘one of the chief methods for imposing order on perception.’”

Claude C. Hopkins, British Advertising Pioneer

“The right name is an advertisement in itself.”

Mitch Hedberg, American Comedian

“I want to get a job as someone who names kitchen appliances. Toaster, refrigerator, blender … all you do is say what the shit does, and add “er”. I wanna work for the Kitchen Appliance Naming Institute. Hey, what does that do? It keeps shit fresh. Well, that’s a fresher … I’m going on break.”

What Can We Do For You?

We offer our services à la carte (freelance-style) or as part of a comprehensive brand development package (either as the lead agency or as a sub-contractor). If you don’t see what you’re looking for, feel free to give us a call or drop us a line. We’d be happy to point you in the right direction!

Branding

Brand Architecture, Brand Audits, Brand Communications, Brand Personality, Brand Strategy, Competitive Brand Research, Corporate Branding, Cultural Branding, Experiential Branding, Messaging, Positioning, Product Branding and Service Branding, Verbal and Visual Branding, Word Of Mouth

Naming

Brand Naming, Category Naming, Company Naming, Movie Naming, Naming Architecture, Nomenclature, Product and Service Naming, Theme Park Naming, TV Show Naming, Video Game Naming

Tag Line Development

Advertising Themes, Catch Phrases, Copy Lines, End Lines, Head Lines, Slogans, Story Line Development, Strap Lines, Tag Lines

Copywriting

Advertising Copy, Interactive Copy, Lyrics, Packaging Copy, Press Releases, Positioning Copy, Promotional Copy, Speechwriting, Translation, Web Copy

Creative Services

Brainstorming, Creative Concepts, Ideation, Product Placement, Story Development

Design

Advertising Concepts, Brand Experiences, Design Concepts, Logo Concepts, Photography

Entertainment Services

Copylines, Movie Titles, Product Placement, Studio Names, Taglines Storylines, Television Show Titles, Video Game Titles

Consumer Research Services

Consumer Anthropology, Consumer Ethnography, Consumer Psychology, Focus Group Consultation and Moderation, Integrated Research, Mixed Methods Research, Qualitative Research and Data Analysis, Quantitative Research and Data Analysis, One-On-One Interviews

Cultural Research Services

Asian Brand Research, Asian-American Brand Research, Cross-Cultural Brand Research, Cross-Cultural Brand Name Research, Ethnography, Hispanic-American Brand Research, Linguistic Research, Semiotic Research, Sociological Research

 

The Things We Do Best — Our Areas Of Expertise

Here’s a fairly comprehensive list of our areas of expertise. If you have a particular type of project in mind and don’t see it listed here, feel free to ask if it’s something we do. If it’s not, we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Brand Development

Brand Architectures, Brand Communications, Brand Implementation, Brand Management, Brand Messaging, Brand Positioning, Brand Strategies, Celebrity Brands, Consumer Brands, Corporate Brands, Cultural Brands, Emotional Brands, Entertainment Brands, Ingredient Brands, Internal Brands, Master Brands, Product Brands, Product Positioning, Rebrands, Service Brands, Technology Brands

Name Development

Brand Names, Code Names, Company Names, Consumer Names, Department Names, Division Names, Drink Names, Fragrance Names, Movie Names, Naming Architectures, Naming Protocols, Naming Systems, Nomenclature, Product Names, Retail Names, Service Names, Street Names, Subdivision Names, Team Names, Television Show Names, Theme Park Names, Themed Attraction Names, Themed Entertainment Names, Video Game Names

Title Development

Album Titles, Book Titles, Film Titles, Job Titles, Movie Titles, Song Titles, Television Show Titles, Theatrical Titles, TV Show Titles, Video Game Titles

Tagline Development

Brandlines, Catchphrases, Copylines, Endlines, Headlines, Loglines, Slogans, Storylines, Straplines, Taglines

Copy Writing

Advertising Copy, Interactive Copy, Lyrics, Magazine Articles, Press Releases, Packaging Copy, Point Of Sale Copy, Positioning Copy, Promotional Copy

Creative

Brainstorms, Creative Concepts, Ideation, Marketing Concepts, Story Consultation, Story Development

Entertainment

Book Titles, Character Names, Constructed Languages, Copy Lines, Dialect Coaching, Dialogue Continuity, Film Titles, Invented Languages, Language Effects, Linguistic Effects, Log Lines, Movie Marketing Concepts, Movie Titles, Pitches, Place Names, Product Placement, Promotional Copy, Reconstructed Languages, Script Research, Story Consultation, Story Development, Story Lines, Tag Lines, Television Show Titles, Theatrical Titles, Video Game Titles

Research

Anthropological Research, Brand Audits, Brand Research, Brandscapes, Competitive Analysis, Competitive Landscapes, Ethnography, Focus Groups, Integrated Research, Linguistic Analysis, Linguistic Research, Mixed Methods Research, Qualitative Data Analysis, Quantitative Data Analysis, Psychological Research, Semiological Reseach, Sociocultural Research, Sociological Research

Exclusive Beauty Collection Launches at CVS/pharmacy Locations Nationwide

CVS/pharmacy, the nation’s leading retail pharmacy, today announced the introduction of the exclusive beauty collection, Nuance Salma Hayek. Co-developed by actress Salma Hayek and CVS/pharmacy, Nuance Salma Hayek is a full beauty line offering high-quality products designed to enhance every woman’s individual beauty, at a price that she can afford. The comprehensive collection of more than 100 products within four categories – skincare, cosmetics, haircare and body – is available only at CVS/pharmacy locations nationwide and on cvs.com/nuancesalmahayek.

The first complete beauty line developed by an actress in partnership with a national retailer, Nuance Salma Hayek was inspired by Hayek’s grandmother, a cosmetologist who developed her own homemade beauty remedies. An embodiment of her rich family heritage, the products in the Nuance Salma Hayek line represent the fusion of advanced, proprietary formulations and personal beauty rituals passed down from generations. Each product in the line was inspired by Hayek’s own beauty rituals as well as her extensive global travels. Many ingredients, such as tepezcohuite, blue agave, prickly pear and lime enzyme, are being used in exclusive beauty formulas available to the mass market for the first time. Hayek rigorously tested every product in the line, partnering with formulators to ensure the highest standards and results.

“I wanted to create a line of premium beauty products that were both effective and affordable using the ingredients and knowledge passed down to me from my grandmother,” said Hayek. “My partnership with CVS/pharmacy allowed me to be truly involved in every aspect of product development, bringing my vision to life in making a line that is available to all women, who are entitled to preserve their youth no matter what.”

“CVS/pharmacy’s leadership in beauty for the past decade has been demonstrated by a long list of first-to-market innovations for our beauty customers,” said Mike Bloom, Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Supply Chain for CVS/pharmacy. “Our partnership with Salma Hayek in creating a premium beauty line that is accessible to all women takes our beauty leadership and innovation to the next level. We are proud to introduce this highly-anticipated line, Nuance Salma Hayek, exclusively to CVS/pharmacy customers.”

Premium, yet approachable, the Nuance Salma Hayek line combines exotic, natural ingredients and ancient beauty secrets with science to create efficacious products that enhance the nuances that define every woman’s individual beauty. Prices range between $2.99 and $19.99, and the line includes:

• Nuance Salma Hayek Skincare: Nuance Salma Hayek Skincare products are specially formulated with natural fruit extracts and essential oils to address multiple skincare concerns like aging, loss of hydration, and uneven tone and texture.
• Nuance Salma Hayek Cosmetics: Nuance Salma Hayek Cosmetics include a full line of products for face, eyes and lips in a palette of stunning shades. Advanced technology and fine ingredients create beautiful, endless, customized looks.
• Nuance Salma Hayek Haircare: Nuance Salma Hayek Haircare products address the needs of all hair types with formulations for fine hair, dry hair and chemically treated hair. The line includes treatments that nourish, style and help protect for all-day, healthy-looking hair.
• Nuance Salma Hayek Body: Nuance Salma Hayek Body treatments combine nourishing botanicals and natural fruit extracts to help create more youthful, hydrated and radiant-looking skin.

For more information on Nuance Salma Hayek and to purchase the products, please visit cvs.com/nuancesalmahayek. To hear more about the inspiration behind the line and additional information directly from Salma, please visit facebook.com/cvsbeautyclub.

About Salma Hayek

A prolific actress who has gained worldwide recognition and success, Salma Hayek has proven herself, in addition to acting, as a producer, director and activist. Known for such works as “Frida,” “Desperado,” “Grown Ups,” and “Ugly Betty,” Hayek has received nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA and she won an Emmy. She is currently filming Oliver Stone’s “Savages,” and will be heard on November 4th lending her voice in Dreamworks Animation “Puss in Boots.” Hayek is dedicated to her social activism in the areas of maternal health, the environment and domestic violence.

About CVS/pharmacy

CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS), is America’s leading retail pharmacy with more than 7,200 CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drug stores. CVS/pharmacy is committed to improving the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at info.cvscaremark.com.

Asiana Airlines was named the World’s Best Economy Class Airline for customer product and service quality at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held in the French Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show.

World Airline Awards

Asiana Airlines was named winner of the World’s Best Airline Cabin Staff award at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held in the French Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show.

World Airline Awards

Hayek does, however, have one womankind-saving trick up her sleeve. Next year, she’ll unveil her own beauty line, Nuance. It’s been a secret project for six or seven years, and, she says, this is the first time she’s spoken about it.

“I always wanted to do this,” Hayek says, “because my grandmother, who was a beauty, she died at 96 with no wrinkles. And you should see my mother! We have some family secrets. . . . Have you heard of tepezcohuite?”

A brief pause to supply information about your humble reporter. My mother is Mexican too, and I have spent my life laughing every time she suggested one of these remedies, invariably some kind of cactus or tree bark with a complicated Aztec name, or, memorably, using a particular seashell to make freckles evaporate. But of course now even I use tepezcohuite to heal burns — because it really does work — and it’s my children’s turn to laugh at me. So it’s somewhat surreal to be sitting opposite a movie star in the Café de Flore in Paris, listening to her tell me about things that take me back to my Mexican childhood, and even prompting her on what the next ingredient in the battle for healthy hair or wrinkle prevention might be.

“You know how if you burn the stone of the mamey fruit and rub it on your eyelashes it makes them grow?” Hayek says.

I nod. Are you using concha nacar? I ask.

“Concha nacar — of course! As a lightening cream — that’s our next step.” She leans across the table in conspiratorial excitement: “And we’re not even claiming some of the things I know this stuff can do!”

The logical leap Hayek has made is that if, for instance, tepezcohuite regenerates skin so fast that it’s used in hospital burn units, why isn’t it used in moisturizer? All the secrets passed down from her grandmother involve ingredients that are natural, cheap and readily available in Mexico. The whole project says a good deal about her character: First, take zany-sounding, family-heirloom beauty tips. Then put in a lot of research work over several years. And finally, reject any ingredient that raises the price point too high. Hayek could have produced the most exclusive range imaginable — a whole new PPR brand to herself, say — but she wanted the most democratic, so the company she chose to team up with is the American drugstore chain CVS.

New York Times

Academic Disciplines

• Architecture
• Art
• Design

Business Disciplines

• Brand Design
• Emotional Branding
• Experiential Branding
• Graphic Design

Central Metaphors

• The Emotional Experience
• The Work Of Art

Theoretical Framework

• Sight
• Hearing
• Touch
• Smell
• Taste

Deliverables

• Acoustic Branding
• Architecture
• Brand Experience
• Graphic Design
• Olfactory Branding
• Interior Design
• Retail Design
• Sonic Branding

6′ 4″ Laker guard Shannon Brown has become a fan favorite for his athletic and emphatic dunks. He’s a true high fly act; some say he has the highest vertical leap in the NBA.

The Lakers organization did the smart thing and backed a viral campaign designed to get Shannon into this year’s Sprite Slam Dunk Competition:

Let Shannon Dunk

It worked. Today the NBA announced Shannon will be joining Nate Robinson, Gerald Wallace, Demar DeRozan, and Eric Gordon in Dallas.

The lesson? Your brand culture isn’t just about your stars. It’s about your role players too.

With Apple’s help, Disney is rethinking its retail presence:

Disney Stores, which the media giant is considering rebranding Imagination Park, will become more akin to cozy entertainment hubs. The chain’s traditional approach of displaying row after row of toys and apparel geared to Disney franchises will be given a high-tech makeover and incorporated into a new array of recreational activities. The goal is to make children clamor to visit the stores and stay longer, perhaps bolstering sales as a result. Over the next five years, analysts estimate that Disney will spend about $1 million a store to redecorate, reorganize and install interactive technology.

New York Times