Bellevue-Based Graphic Design Firm Morton Creative
Launches New Identity as Copperfin

New Name Reflects Company’s Mission to Connect Companies with their Customers

BELLEVUE, Wash. — September 1, 2005 — After 16 years as a Puget Sound graphic design and brand strategy firm, Morton Creative is changing its name to Copperfin. The name change is the result of a number of significant changes within the company over the past twelve months and a reflection of the company’s expanded capabilities.

Established in 1989, the company has created recognizable visual IDs, innovative collateral packages, and effective web site designs for such well-known Puget Sound businesses as Rainier Industries, Schoenfeld Interiors, and Chinook Lumber, as well as companies with national and international reach including Holland America Line, Hyatt Hotels, REI, Boeing, and Microsoft Press.

The company was purchased in 2004 by Mirko and Julie Freguia, a marketing team with more than 27 years combined marketing experience with both B2B and B2C companies such as Microsoft, Western Wireless, Akamai, Captaris, and SquareSoft. The new owners bring additional skills and expertise in the areas of marketing communications, brand strategy, web marketing, direct response, channel marketing, and product management—evolving the company to a full-service marketing communications and brand strategy agency.

“Our goal is to leverage our skills and expertise to be a true marketing partner for our clients, guiding our clients’ marketing decisions to ensure they are reaching the right audience with the right message at the right time,” stated Mirko Freguia, principal. “Of course, we can make marketing collateral and web sites look fantastic, but we believe firmly in function over form—every communication tool we create is guided by a strategic direction that is aligned with our clients’ business objectives.”

The name Copperfin evolved part from inspiration and part from aspiration. “As a conductor of electricity, copper represents our creative energy,” stated Mirko. “And because fins propel and stabilize, we knew that word represented what we really want our creative work to achieve for our clients.”

“Our tagline, ‘Create|Connect’ really captures the spirit of what we do,” stated Julie Freguia, Copperfin principal. “Our goal is to create relevant and memorable branded environments for our clients to help them make lasting connections with their customers.”

Small Business Branding

While the company serves clients of all sizes in a variety of industries, Copperfin has developed a key competence in the area of small business branding. Many small business owners mistakenly believe that branding is important and affordable only for large, national companies. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth,” stated Mirko Freguia. “Branding is important for any small business that wants to set itself apart from the competition, improve its image within the community, and build lasting customer relationships. Basically, any small business that wants to grow needs to think about branding.”

The new owners are unique in their ability to help small businesses. Bringing to the company a wealth of knowledge and experience in “big business” marketing, the new principals are able to apply that expertise to small businesses to achieve big results. “Many of our small business clients come to us after having little success with typical ‘shotgun’ marketing activities,” states Mirko Freguia. “Our approach to small business branding ensures a cohesive and consistent brand image for our clients and in the end, a greater return on their marketing investment.”

Business-to-Business Experts

On the other side of the marketing spectrum from small business branding, the company brings another area of key competence to the market: high-tech, B2B marketing. Having honed their marketing skills at high tech giants and start-ups alike, Mirko and Julie understand what it takes to distill highly technical and complex solutions down to easy-to-understand user benefits and sound ROI justifications.

Additionally, Julie Freguia brings more than 12 years of channel marketing experience, having successfully managed a global distribution network of over 2500 system integrators, value added resellers and mass market retailers for Captaris, a leading provider of business information delivery solutions. “Successfully distributing your product through an indirect sales channel takes more than glossy brochures and slick demos. To motivate your channel, you’ve got to answer the age-old question, ‘What’s in it for me?’ We can help.”

The Un-Agency

What sets Copperfin apart from most other agencies is a strong sense of selflessness and an imperative to exceed client goals and expectations. “Mirko and I have spent more than 10 years as clients of creative agencies, so we know exactly what our clients want and expect from us,” stated Julie Freguia. “Copperfin is unique in that when we talk about our capabilities, it’s in terms of what we are capable of achieving for our clients.”

About Copperfin

Copperfin is a full service marketing communications and brand strategy agency with a single goal in mind: bringing companies and their customers closer together. The company specializes in visual communications solutions for companies of all sizes, in all industries, with specific expertise in the areas of small business branding and business-to-business marketing. Copperfin provides a full range of marketing communication services including graphic design, corporate identity, brand strategy, web site design and development, packaging design, interactive marketing tools, strategic product and distribution strategy and channel marketing.

Copperfin is located in Bellevue, Washington, and serves clients throughout the Pacific Northwest and across the nation. For more information on Copperfin, please visit www.copperfin.com.