Burt Alper - Articles

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Burt Alper, Principal, Catchword – a full-service naming firm that specializes in creating company names and product names that stand out in the marketplace and engage customers in fresh ways. For more information, call 510.628.0080 ext.101. And check out the Catch This naming blog.

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Looking for Names in All the Wrong Places: the Power of Borrowing Names
At first glance, product names and company names like BlackBerry and Apple have nothing to do with the products they brand or even the industry they’re in. So why do they work? Because strategic naming rarely requires a literal descriptive name. In fact, if you want to set your brand apart and make it memorable, an evocative name borrowed from another field is often far more powerful. Here are some tips that will guide you in “successfully” borrowing a name from an unexpected source. Read
By: Burt Alper | 26/09/2008 | Branding

Getting Down and Dirty With Naming
The recent movement to eat local and organic has people thinking a lot more about where their food is coming from and how it’s grown. And distinct, creative farm names help smaller farms differentiate their produce from that of their industrial agribusiness competitors (whose produce usually isn’t labeled in the supermarket). Read
By: Burt Alper | 26/09/2008 | Branding

Naming and Your Bottom Line
Perhaps the question isn’t whether you can afford to hire a naming professional—but whether you can afford not to…. The threat of recession looms close (some say we’ve already made the plunge), and companies are studying the bottom line to see what’s working in the marketing department and what’s not. In times like these, the temptation to take a do-it-yourself approach to naming new products may be strong. Resist it. Read
By: Burt Alper | 26/09/2008 | Branding

Romancing the Product: the Power of European Brand Names
What do Häagen-Dazs, Saint Benoît and Clinique have in common? Answer: they’re all successful European brand names for stuff manufactured right here in the U.S. of A. They’re also living proof that one of the most effective ways to telegraph luxury or premium quality is to use a product name or company name that’s derived from a European language. But it’s not all peaches and ice cream—here are both the perks and pitfalls to be aware of when considering a European-sounding name for your brand. Read
By: Burt Alper | 26/09/2008 | Branding