Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News
Magazine
PMPN Article Index
Originally Published PMPN November 2005
BrandMatters
More News in Naming
A survey reveals some of the recent likes and dislikes in brand naming.
By Robert C. Sprung, TippingSprung LLC
In the last issue, we discussed responses to our naming survey in the area of pharmaceuticals. We now look at the naming trends in the broader market, which may offer some lessons or clues to future directions in medical and pharmaceutical naming. Respondents identified top brand names in nine categories, listed below in figure. There are a few key trends observed in the survey:
Authenticity and simplicity rule. Our survey shows that companies are gravitating towards real-word names like Cornerstone and Harmony rather than coined or made-up names. This is partly because of the ongoing backlash against the dot-com-naming era, when coined names proliferated. But it also reflects the broader trend in the market, which is that consumers connect with brands that communicate authenticity and simplicity. With this in mind, many companies are avoiding the introduction of new names and are looking at leveraging the verbal assets they already own.
Know what makes your audience tick. Smart namers are taking time to understand their target audiences and to ensure that they’re creating names relevant to them. This trend can be seen in the example of InvesTex. For teachers in Aldine, TX, knowing their credit union is in or from Texas is very important.
Marketers are stuck in the middle between consumers and lawyers. To a corporate trademark lawyer, there is nothing more appealing than a distinctive, coined name such as Verizon or Altria. These names make strong trademarks that can be registered and protected in multiple classes. However, as the results of our survey show, consumers generally dislike coined names and gravitate toward familiar, real-word names, such as Cornerstone.
Savvy marketers try to address both concerns by developing coined names that have instantly recognizable roots and meaning. One approach is to embed a real word prominently in the new name, as in the examples of Achieva, Genworth, and Scenium. Another approach is to bring two words together to create a new name, as in the case of PureVision.
As companies get more complicated, so do the names. In the good old days, companies could choose a name, such as International Business Machines, that neatly described the company. Today it’s still possible to develop great names that clearly describe an individual product. Crest White Strips or HotPockets are good examples. But when you get to the corporate level, it is tougher to communicate. How does a company with a complex portfolio of offerings come up with a simple, descriptive name?
Pharmaceutical naming has its own set of rules. In addition to trademark issues, pharmaceutical names must meet stringent regulatory criteria that determine what claims the name can make, the likely risk of confusion with another name, and even how easily the name is deciphered when written by a physician. The only way to clear all these hurdles is to develop a coined name, which is why 2004 saw the introduction of such names as Erbitux, Vidaza, Xifaxan, and Campral. Our survey results show that it is possible to create consumer-friendly coined names like Lunesta and Aldaran in the pharmaceutical category. But as new guidelines for direct-to-consumer advertising come into effect, we may see a return to names that communicate strength and efficacy.
 |
Figure 1. A summary of TippingSprung’s 2005 survey of top brand names. |
Robert C. Sprung can be reached at robert@tippingsprung.com. TippingSprung (New York City) offers brand strategy, naming, and design services with a focus on the needs of technology companies.
Copyright ©2005 Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News
