What’s in a name?

In San Francisco, a coalition of residents and businesses engaged a marketing consultancy to create a new brand name and image for their neighborhood in the hopes of raising the area’s profile and in turn real estate values. Apparently, they are on to something. CNBC reports on a study of wealthy US neighborhoods which finds that neighborhood names with certain words, e.g. hill, forest, oak, universally connote a high value and command premium prices.

And what’s true for real estate is true for healthcare. For example, a recent survey suggests variations in how biosimilars are named may affect the willingness of pharmacists to substitute a so-called interchangeable biosimilar for a more expensive biologic. The right name can literally make the difference between a sale and a product remaining on the shelf.

From Circumstraint to Steriguard to Colvera, healthcare companies are increasingly using the power of brand names to create competitive advantage and boost brand value. So startups pay attention.

The power of a name, its ability to influence perception and drive action, is rooted in three core principles:

• To name things is to be human. We are compelled by our nature to attach labels to things and events both real and imagined. From biblical times – man gave names to all the animals – to current events – Brexit – names give us brief, complete and convenient ways to communicate complex ideas.
• A name is the most powerful and most cost-effective communication tool there is. No marketing message will be used as long or as frequently as the brand name. It is the single most profound form of communication.
• Like a diamond, names are forever. A brand’s slogan, logo, message, tone and even its positioning can and usually will change with the times, but the name is an indelible tattoo. By any measure, it pays to create a name and it pays hugely to create an extraordinary one. People are going to call your product something so why not own it?

Creating a name for a health care product is not complicated but it is hard. It requires time, patience, an open mind and not a little resiliency. But given its overwhelming strategic impact on the future of the product, it is an effort well worth undertaking. Here’s how:

• Allow Enough Time

Creating, evaluating, prescreening, and gaining approval for a name can take three or more months. The creative process takes time to simmer, stew and percolate. Evaluations and approvals will go back and forth necessitating patience and fortitude. The IP folks will ask questions and invariably reject your favorite ideas. Resilience is called for. None of this is insurmountable and it is well worth it, but expectations need to be managed.

• Make or Buy

Professional naming consultants don’t have a monopoly on creativity but they do have one on focus. Naming is fun but hard and will be but one part of your work day. For a professional, developing your device’s name is their only job. Furthermore, they provide the experience, independence and professional perspective that can facilitate the approval process.

• Creative Development

It is a common misperception that ideas spring forth from the ether while contemplating the stars. Ideas, like fire, require fuel. Naming fuel includes surfer dictionaries, Sanskrit rhyming dictionaries, and glossaries of American sports metaphors to name a few. Of course, the ideas are only as good as the strategic roadmap that informs and inspires them so it goes without saying that a crisp insightful creative brief is paramount.

• Evaluation and Feedback

Rejecting ideas is easy. Approving them requires courage. Evaluating any creative output, be it fine wine or names, involves a degree of subjectivity, but establishing a set of criteria beforehand can minimize capricious winds. Because the name sounds like the name of the boss’s mother-in-law is not a reason to reject it. A good start for evaluative criteria would include semantics and linguistics, rational and emotional cues, and descriptive and suggestive sounds and words.

• IP Clearance

Creating names may be fun, but having the lawyers say no is not. The USPTO receives 5,000 requests per week and reject thousands every year for reasons that are not always consistent request to request. Back-up name candidates and rhetorical suasion are good tools to have on hand.

While a name can’t help a bad business model or product, it can significantly aid a good concept by giving it buzz and a jumpstart that ignites the conversation with prospects.

Photo: tumsasedgars, Getty Images

This post appears through the MedCity Influencers program. Anyone can publish their perspective on business and innovation in healthcare on MedCity News through MedCity Influencers. Click here to find out how.