Does your pharmaceutical product appeal to the doctors or to the patients?

Pharmaceutical brand owners have to consider three major groups in their marketing strategies: the physicians, healthcare payors and the consumers. Dependant upon who is making the purchasing decision, the branding has to be geared at the members of the appropriate group. The approach will differ if we are talking about prescription or non-prescription drugs and apart from this we find different situations in various countries. In many European countries for instance chemists still act as advisors to the public when buying non-prescription drugs fighting minor illnesses and complaints.Thus specific expertise is required to provide for consistent worldwide branding of a particular drug. Even in the most sophisticated companies, this rather critical of processes is left to chance, to the whim of a marketing director or patent lawyer. Since the creation of the brand name forms the basis of brand positioning and brand essence from different persectives, it is advisible to consult also an expert in this matter: the Namedesigner. The naming theory based on terminology science provides a sound and effective methodoloy for establishing a memorable and compelling brand identity, one that can withstand the test of time, cross lifestyles and cultural boundaries, and translate into success that endures. Brand names imbue their products with meaning which creates an emotional affinity so that the customer can decide whether a product feels right and is suitable for the particular purpose. Ultimately the function of the brand name is also to drive demand.
The meanings pharmaceutical brands hold are like primal assets that must be managed carefully and can be categorized according to target-oriented archetypes. For instance archetypes such as „creator" or „explorer" are to be conveyed if physicians decide on the medication and thus can be considered to be the main target for the (prescription) drug marketing, while archetypes such as „caregiver" or „sage" are more appropriate for consumer-style branding. For the physician usually the corporate brand name stands for a certain reputation, commitment to R&D, quality control and availability, while for the patient the product name plays a more important role in terms of effectiveness and improved health conditions. Archetypes are quite important because they provide the missing link between customer motivation and product sales by triggering an intangible experience of meaning expressed by the name and certain visual attributes. The archetypal meaning of a product becomes usually instrumental simply by evoking an image or a concept that calls forth the customer's instinctual recognition of some fundamental, recognizable truth inherent in it, almost as if it were a ritual object. It has to address timeless and universal human needs in a way that guarantees commercially effective and psychologically manageable brands.
Commercial communication in its various practical forms of expression has become a kind of applied art that profoundly influences our culture and that requires artistic and linguistic skills. It requires an understanding of the values related to the products being promoted and the cultural environment in which they are going to be sold. The Namedesigner offers consultancy and branding services tailored particularly to the needs of the pharmaceutical industry.