the group:
The Naming Group members bring years of experience working at top global branding and naming agencies. Spanning industries from financial to consumer packaged goods to technology, they have developed some of the most recognizable names and brands in the global marketplace.
All Group members worked together directing and executing branding and name development projects with Mercedes Benz, Southwest Airlines, Chase Bank, ConAgra, Epson, and Dow Jones, to name a few...
Feel free to take a closer look at our experience.
Nina founded The Naming Group upon the philosophy that the right brand name catalyzes brand evolution. She is obsessed with three things: words, brands and people. These healthy obsessions pair beautifully with a strong academic background in visual art, design and psychology. A self-described creative solutionist, Nina infuses every project with her passion for creative marketing and extensive knowledge of Latin, Spanish and sound symbolism. Her razor-sharp Scrabble skills don’t hurt either.
Nina has led naming and brand development projects for Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Target, PUMA, Southwest Airlines, EPSON, and Dow Jones, ConAgra and Mercedes Benz. A recognized authority on brand naming, Nina has been published nationally and has appeared in a feature segment of the Emmy Award-winning television show, Autoline Detroit. Before founding The Naming Group, Nina was President/Creative Director of Namebase.
Every creative agency needs an innovation specialist, someone who is constantly thinking of the next step, for the agency itself and the clients they serve. For The Naming Group, ours is Oneida. As Branding Director, Oneida directs competitive brandscape research to develop innovative brand strategy for each project. She applies her acute sense of brand foresight and outside-the-box marketing approach to brand development. From the nascent stages of each project, Oneida works with naming teams to establish unique positioning through insightful branding initiatives.
Oneida has worked with top tier brands such as Mercedes Benz, Pepsico, Verizon Wireless, Southwest Airlines and ConAgra. A richly diverse background in marketing, branding and package design combined with her fluency in Spanish and experience traveling to all corners of the world, Oneida brings a unique global perspective to naming and brand development. Before joining the Naming Group, Oneida was Branding Specialist at Namebase and Landor Associates.
It’s tough being Naming Director and resident tagline guru all while upholding the most impressive Scrabble reputation in the world, but Stu handles it pretty darn well. As Naming Director, Stu assembles specialized naming teams according to individual project objectives. In addition to creating names, and evaluating industry nomenclature trends, Stu also defines naming strategy for each project.
Stu has been creating brand names and taglines for more than 20 years, working with clients such as Ford, Tropicana, and LG. His diverse creative background includes writing, producing and performing numerous award-winning jingles and commercials. Before joining The Naming Group, Stu was Naming Director at Namebase and a Naming Specialist at Interbrand.
We weren’t kidding about that Scrabble reputation. Along with his wife, Kathy, Stu compiled the first Official Scrabble® Players’ Dictionary. We’re pretty proud of that.
If words are errant bits of sand and great brand names are pearls, then you can consider Kathy a naming oyster. She is the creative linchpin of name development at The Naming Group. Kathy’s strength lies in her ability to create names that cause clients (and the rest of The Naming Group!) to scratch our heads and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Kathy brings more than 20 years of experience developing names for brands such as Coca Cola, Del Monte, Nissan and Casio. With a strong background in French, Spanish and Latin, she is also a talented singer, lyricist and composer, bringing her eclectic creativity to every project. She has produced and performed on numerous national radio and television commercials. Before becoming Associate Naming Director at The Naming Group, Kathy was a Naming Specialist at Namebase and Interbrand.
Being that words are our strong suit, it is important to have someone like Phyllis onboard. Phyllis applies a diverse wealth of business savvy and creative problem solving to each project. She brings a mathematical edge to the word-nerd culture at The Naming Group, enabling us to develop names for a wide range of projects.
Phyllis has developed names for clients including Dow Jones, Mercedes Benz and Precor. With engineering degrees from Columbia University and MIT, Phyllis managed projects for Exxon and Chevron before branching into fashion design and later managing a software development company. She has provided consulting on international marketing strategy and has written a book on international business protocol.
Kristin has over ten years of experience analyzing brand names for their linguistic strength and safety. Her ears are attuned in a way that most people’s are not. Her ability to hear words and sounds within words and to critically evaluate language is, in our opinion, a superpower. Kristin brings a passion for linguistics, phonetics and extensive classical knowledge to every project.
Before joining The Naming Group, Kristin worked alongside Group members analyzing names for clients ranging from Dow Jones to EPSON.
