Let's Go Eco!

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Astroturf, wasabi, the loaf of bread you left unattended for a month . . . it seems like everything is green these days. Environmentalism is here to stay, and organizations worldwide are taking strides to adopt eco-friendly policies.

Who says peer pressure is a bad thing?

1. PAPER: Nearly 40% of municipal waste is paper products, with offices alone going through an average of 10,000 sheets of copy paper per person each year.

• Let’s get the most out of paper before we chuck it
• Whenever possible, print/copy documents on both sides; if you’ve printed on one side, put the paper in a scrap bin for re-use
• Think before you print! And encourage others to do the same by adding this message to outgoing emails: P Please consider the environment before printing this email

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You Have the Flu Too?

It’s not just your imagination- it seems like everyone has been sick this flu season. Even the top 24 finalists of American Idol were unfortunate enough to fall victim to bronchitis and the flu.

What makes one flu season worse than another? Each year, different strains of the influenza virus circulate throughout the world. About nine months prior to flu season, research on the previous flu season is conducted by the four World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza. Based on these findings, each country then makes an educated decision on which viruses to use in the influenza vaccines for the upcoming season.

Sometimes the vaccinations are not a good match for the actual influenza viruses that make people sick. According to the CDC, this year’s flu vaccine has proven effective against 40% of the virus strains that are currently circulating the U.S. Although this year’s vaccine doesn’t seem to be well matched to the viruses, the track record is pretty strong. In the last 19 years, 16 have been right on target.

In this day and age where huge advancements are being made in medical science and technology, we get easily frustrated when we don’t have a solution. Can you imagine though, how difficult a task it must be to predict the next year’s flu viruses? Of course it isn’t pleasant to be sick, but I think the CDC and pharmaceutical companies deserve praise for their tireless efforts in ensuring our well-being. We can all try to take a little more responsibility for ourselves as well.

Follow these recommendations from the CDC to help avoid sickness and prevent spreading germs.
• Wash your hands frequently to decrease chances of catching the flu or cold
• If you are sick with flu, reduce your contact with others and cover your cough to help keep germs from spreading
• Get a flu shot- even when the vaccine is a less than ideal match, it still can provide enough protection to prevent or lessen illness severity and prevent flu-related complications
• Your doctor can prescribe flu antiviral drugs that can treat the flu or prevent infection with flu viruses

By: Jessica McGrail


Welcome Sascha-Marcel Poschet

Addison Whitney is pleased to announce the addition of Sascha-Marcel Poschet to the company. Sascha is the latest addition to the global healthcare team, where he has taken the role of brand consultant and will be joining our team in Munich, Germany.  Sascha, with more than four years of sales experience in the pharmaceutical industry and over 12 years of business development and marketing experience, will be a wonderful addition to the company.  Welcome to the team Sascha!

By: Trista Thielker


Review of PTMG Speaking Engagement

On April 1, 2008 Brannon Cashion, Senior Vice President of Addison Whitney, spoke at the Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group (PTMG) in Dublin, Ireland. Brannon addressed the topic, from a brand consultant’s perspective, of launching a new pharmaceutical brand name. Thanks to Jeremy Phillips and IPKat team for reviewing the conference.

By: Trista Thielker


You Do What for a Living?

“Wow is that like branding a cow?” or “You must be really creative to do that!” … That’s what people say when I tell them what I do for a living.

My name is Kelly, and I am a “brand namer,” a Senior Associate of Verbal Branding to be exact. "You guys must sit around in beanbag chairs and come up with names all day” or “That must be such a cool, easy job” are among other statements that I hear often. While we do sometimes brainstorm in beanbag chairs, and it is a cool job to talk about with others, naming doesn’t always come so easy, and although I like to think I possess a spark of creativity, it’s not as simple as thinking of a clever name, writing it down, and it magically appearing on a package. It’s actually much more than that…
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