Team
Meet our experts in the field. Here to make your business booming!
Richard
Product Strategist
Monica
Creative Strategist
Amanda
Designer
About Namebrand
NAMEBRAND is a naming and branding consultancy whose aim is to provide timely and cost-effective solutions to small- and medium-sized companies.
NAMEBRAND offers a wealth of experience in naming and branding. Its principals, Clive Chafer and Bradley Charbonneau, have accumulated more than 30 years’ experience in the field, working for several of the oldest and most prominent naming agencies in the United States, and most recently as freelance creative consultants.
NAMEBRAND offers a full range of naming and branding services. At the heart of our business is our creative work. Namebrand’s principals have successfully contributed product names to companies such as Apple Computer, PayPal, Coors Brewing, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Fujitsu. Namebrand’s creative associates have likewise contributed many more high profile product and corporate names over the last two decades.
NAMEBRAND takes the time to understand our clients’ needs. We evaluate existing names for brand equity, and determine if a new name will create market advantage. We advise clients on the best naming strategy (including not introducing new names if the costs of introduction, promotion or protection are too high). We analyze target markets, and assess the performance of different name types, as well as the costs of trademarking and sustaining a new name.
NAMEBRAND will work with you to determine the style and substance of the new name. We will ensure that the name is appropriate for the product, service or corporation, as well as the culture of the organization and its customers. The name must energize both those responsible for marketing it (and in the case of a company, working in it), as well as those who are considering buying it.
NAMEBRAND will give you a clearly worded service contract, and will live up to or exceed every aspect of it. We will establish clear and competitive budgets that accurately reflect the scope of work, and will ensure all deliverables are executed on time, to our clients’ specifications. We do not make excuses; we simply do the job right.
NAMEBRAND will undertake initial screening for market presence of all recommended names, to ensure as far as possible the availability of names for trademark protection and usability. (Full legal searches must also be undertaken by qualified trademark attorneys.) We will even ensure availability of appropriate URLs, and work with clients to acquire URLs that are for sale.
NAMEBRAND will communicate openly and clearly with clients throughout the process to ensure a complete understanding of the project’s progress. We believe naming is not a magical process: it is creative problem-solving. We provide peerless creative resources to ensure that every one of our names meets or exceeds our clients’ needs, and provides them with a unique market advantage.
Clive Chafer
Clive Chafer has been in the naming business since 1987, almost at its birth. He has worked for two major naming and branding consultancies during that time, before becoming a freelance namer and founding Namebrand. His naming career began with Placek & Associates (now Lexicon Branding), where he became the company’s first full-time creative associate as well as Marketing Director. In 1998 he moved to Master-McNeil in Berkeley, California (www.naming.com), where he advanced to Creative Director, a position he held from 2002 to 2006. He has subsequently done freelance work for companies such as Catchword in Oakland, before establishing Namebrand with Bradley Charbonneau in 2008. Among his clients during the past 20+ years are Apple Computer, Intel, Subaru, Coors, Buick, Procter & Gamble, Volkswagen and Charles Schwab. Successful product names developed include PowerBook for Apple, Eos for Volkswagen, Zima for Coors and Outback for Subaru; corporate names include PayPal and Conexant. Clive is a linguist who is fluent in French, and competent in Russian, Spanish and German, as well as Latin.
Bradley Charbonneau
Bradley Charbonneau has a strong mix of consulting, marketing, and language experience. Bradley received his international MBA at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and his BA in French from UC Santa Barbara. He worked for Magnus Management Consultants in the Netherlands, an IT consultancy and has also done marketing consulting work for a number of European companies including Philips, Mannesmann, Varta, and Röhm. Before moving to Europe, he was a project manager and translator for the language translation firm Berlitz. He also runs a successful website design shop with over 200 clients. He speaks Dutch, French, German and gets by in Spanish.
Recent works
Boxed water
Boxed water is an earth-friendly alternative for bottled water. Their package is completely recyclable and the inside is filled with 100% purified water.
Agency created a completely new strategy for the visual identity and branding, helping them in their mission to save the planet by decreasing the amount of consumed bottled water.
What we did:
Visual identity design, Branding strategy, Social media strategy.
The Shoe company
Shoe company is a market leader in their industry. For their new campaign, they wanted to raise awareness for being an environmental-friendly company. Their new shoes are completely made from recycled plastic.
Agency prepared and executed the roadmap for their new visual identity.
What we did:
Visual identity design, Branding strategy, Web design.
Company skin care
Company is a new skin product line. Their products are made from organic ingredients that are cruelty-free and harmless for every type of skin.
Company designed the packaging and created a social media strategy and interactive app to go along with the launch of their brand.
What we did:
Branding strategy, Social media strategy, Application development.