{"id":108,"date":"2011-11-23T07:39:48","date_gmt":"2011-11-23T07:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brandcare.net\/blog\/?p=108"},"modified":"2025-06-16T17:56:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T12:26:37","slug":"it-begins-with-the-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/it-begins-with-the-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Naming Pharma Brands"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>As the first public face of the brand, the brand name is the brand\u2019s first advertisement. This is one element of the branding that will endure throughout its lifecycle and doesn\u2019t have the liberty to change, unlike other branding elements of the branding mix.<\/p>\n

The naming of the brand is therefore a strategic component of the brand\u2019s identity and value rather than a mere sprint in the registration race. Not that one wants to wash down the complexity of the registration process, but at times this all Herculean task becomes the only pivot around which brand naming balances itself.<\/p>\n

Strongest brands are built on the foundation of
\nrelevance, distinctiveness and sustainability.<\/strong><\/p>\n

BRAND NOMENCLATURE PHILOSOPHIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> <\/strong>RELEVANCE<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Driving Force:<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Generics<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/em>Here the naming is relevant to the molecular name<\/strong>. High difficulty levels at registration<\/p>\n

Mox (Ranbaxy) Brand of Amoxycillin<\/em>
\n<\/em>Taxim (Alkem) Brand of Cefotaxime<\/em>
\n<\/em>Samy (Wockhardt) Brand of S adenosine methyl<\/em>
\n<\/em>Mebex (Cipla) Brand of Mebendazole<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Therapy<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/strong>Here the naming is relevant to the therapeutic category<\/strong>, brand belongs to. Also high difficulty levels at registration<\/p>\n

Betaloc – Astra Brand of B Blocker Metoprolol<\/em>
\nAsthalin \u2013 Cipla For asthmatics \u2013 Salbutamol<\/em>
\n<\/em>Candid – Glenmark For Candidiasis – Antifungal range<\/em>
\n<\/em>Rabipur – Novartis Vaccines Rabies vaccination<\/em>
\n<\/em>ABDEC Drops – Pfizer Multivitamin drops<\/em><\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> <\/strong>Distinctiveness<\/strong><\/p>\n

Driving Force:<\/em><\/p>\n

1.<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>Benefit<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Benefit-led names communicate to both presciber as well patient target groups. They are reflective of what the product promises<\/strong> <\/strong>to do.<\/p>\n

C-Pink – Hematinic brand of Wanbury
\nRevital – Multivitmain, antioxidant from Ranbaxy
\nRestyl – Anxiolytic from Cipla
\nRockbon – Calcium from Piramal<\/p>\n

2. <\/em> <\/strong>Abstract<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here the naming is completely unrelated to the molecule or the category. Poular examples are
\nAugmentin
\nVoveran
\nTarivid
\nBenadryl
\nChampix
\nViagra<\/p>\n

3. <\/em> Z Brigade<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The belief that names starting with A or Z can break the clutter and be distinctive. Popular examples are<\/p>\n

Zintac – GSK \u2013 Ranitidine
\nZifi – FDC \u2013 Cefixime
\nZenflox – Mankind – Ofloxacin<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> <\/strong>Sustainability<\/strong><\/p>\n

Driving Force:<\/em><\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Corporate Heritage<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Some brands take equity from the parent brand to make themselves visible. This helps applies especially if there\u2019s a sustainable pipeline<\/p>\n

Manforce – Sildenafil from Mankind
\nAmlokind \u2013 Amlodipine from Mankind
\nWockadine – Antispetic from Wockhardt
\nCiplox – Ciprofloxacin from Cipla<\/p>\n

The brand name cannot exist in isolation, it needs to build salience to to the overall personality of the brand. The use of colours, fonts and graphics add life and personality to the name and increase its salience to the intended target group.<\/p>\n

The criteria for selection of all the naming elements cannot be that of personal likes or dislikes, but those that will make the brand<\/em><\/p>\n

Relevant to target groups<\/em>
\nMemorable<\/em>
\nSustainable – that which will carry its own weight and that of its future extensions<\/em>
\nNon offensive<\/em>
\nPhonetically pleasant<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

And of course good luck with the regulatories<\/em><\/strong>!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rashmi Thosar<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Founder & Director Brandcare Healthcare<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Brandcare Healthcare Communications <\/a>is a leading healthcare advertising agency based out of Mumbai, Over the last decade we have helped companies and brands traverse the changing pharma landscape and emerge as category leaders.<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the first public face of the brand, the brand name is the brand’s first advertisement. This is one element of the branding that will endure throughout its lifecycle and doesn’t have the liberty to change, unlike other branding elements of the branding mix. The naming of the brand is therefore a strategic component of … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,8],"tags":[35,34,33],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-healthcare-branding","category-insights","tag-mox","tag-pharma-brand-names","tag-pharma-branding"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4591,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/4591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brandcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}