Globrands' expert unit for health and pharmaceutics
From name to brand
We do not know what the first word was, but a good guess is that it was ‘spoken’ by an Australopiticus (some 4,5 million years ago) in an effort to communicate with another Australopithecus. He (or she) made up a word!
When a word becomes a name
It is hard to imagine, living in a world without names because everything has a name, or else it would simply not exist. We have a word for everything we know in more languages and varieties you can imagine. If something new comes into existence and we do not know how to call it, we just invent a name for it.
Someone called a well-tasting fruit an apple, so it could be distinguished from other fruits. When there appeared to be many varieties they were given specific variety names like Granny Smith, Jona Gold, Fuji, Pink Lady, Gala and Braeburn. A smart grower crossed the last two into a new variety and sells it under the brand name Kanzi, distributed by The Greenery and sold by supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Aaaargh?
When a name becomes a brand
Every word can become a brand and therefore brand and company
company names can be anything from family names (Philips), geographic names (Bombay gin), animal names (Reebok), coined names (Nespresso) and made up meaningful names (Senseo) to abstract names (Thalys) or even ordinary words like apple and nuts. They, roughly spoken, only have to be available and distinctive enough in their category to claim (legally) and communicate the right message
(marketing-wise and linguistic) and have the right intrinsic values to become a brand.
Naming strategy
A brand consists of many elements, of which the name is just one, but the most essential. Examples of brand elements are the brand promise, the products or services that are delivered, design, language, web content, campaigns, and so on. The name is closely related to the brand identity and the most invariable element of a brand. This means that the name has to provide intrinsic brand potential, from the start and in the long term. The communication of a new brand is different from the communication that takes place once the brand has become established. A good name can remain the basis, also when conditions change.
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Brand positioning
A brand is distinctive because it has a distinct edge over other brands. This can be achieved in several ways. The function of the name is to convey the difference. Therefore, in addition to naming, Globrands is strong at helping develop a good brand positioning.
Brand language
Brand names are an important part of a company's brand language, supported by the words, tag lines, phrases, and terms that a company uses in its communication, to express and describe its purpose or in reference to its products and services. Brand language is used in marketing to help consumers connect specific words or ideas to specific companies or products.
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When developing a brand language word choice and tone are the two fundamental components. Word choice is the vocabulary that is used in marketing or advertising, while tone refers to the attitude of the advertisement. The tone is not limited to language, it can also be incorporated through visual elements as well as delivery.
Brand language is a part of verbal brand identity, includes the naming of both corporations and the products they sell as well as taglines, voice, and tone. Another benefit of developing a brand language is the ability for a corporation or product to be recognizable across international borders, while other advertising codes can be misinterpreted, words can be translated to ensure brand unity.
No brand without a name
While proprietary medicinal products used to have a high degree of in-crowd names and language, cultivated by the pharma industry and medical specialists as their domain of expertise, today pharma has become a brand dependant industry in which brands are owned by the public, debated by the media, commented on by patients and caregivers on the internet and requested by name in general practitioners’ surgeries. These developments have created a necessary paradigm shift in how healthcare companies should approach the concept of brand development.
Brand architecture and name portfolio
A brand name interacts with other names from its own brand portfolio. It gives meaning to the mother brand and other brands in the same product range. A brand portfolio is actually an interrelated family of brand names.
Rebranding
Clients often turn to Globrands when their brand has become too limited because of its name or its positioning. A name that worked 10 years ago, may no longer be adequate. This could be because it is not suitable for international use, or because the product offerings are starting to fall beyond the scope of the name. Globrands offers solutions where the right changes are made while retaining as much of the brand’s carefully built value as possible.
The brand as key differentiator
The end of drug patents also introduces complexity for brands with the rapid emergence of competition who can deliver the same performance as the brands but more cheaply. Taking the product formulation out of the equation, what is left?
The remaining key differentiators are the brand name and personality, and brand resonance is key here to keep valuable connections and reasons-to-believe with the consumer. The competition of the future no longer takes place between different products and services but between the values built into names.