Insperity | Crafting a New Verbal Brand
Verbal Branding: Corporate Identity
With directives from Market Research and Brand Strategy, the Verbal Branding team embarked on creative for the new identity. With all of our core competencies in house, it was an easy project transition to move from strategy into naming. The Verbal Branding team worked closely with the Brand Strategy team to focus on the key drivers and characteristics from the market research. We also explored which creative cues and concepts should be communicated through the name, and which ones could be messaged through collateral, tagline, or another form of marketing.
The Administaff name had equity ... twenty-five years of awareness and associations to be specific. But according to our research, the messaging behind the name was limiting for future growth and positioned Administaff incorrectly in the minds of prospects. The name didn't capture the 'spirit of the entrepreneur' which we heard in many of our on-site meetings, and was a barrier to new clients who thought of Administaff as simply a 'staffing organization."
Our group began the process of crafting names and sharing those with the Administaff team. We explored a range of name constructions and communications, cognizant of being too descriptive of one particular service. After presenting several iterations of options and narrowing down through feedback, the name Insperity slowly began rising to the top of the list. We utilized our Market Research capabilities once again to validate the name among other candidates, testing each on a variety of marketing criteria. The target audience had a positive first impression of Insperity, and the name conveyed all of the selected attributes and performed well on likeability and preference measures. Using this information as a guide, the Administaff team was well equipped to strategically choose their new identity.
Insperity was coined by fusing two key concepts: inspiration + prosperity. We wanted to hone in on the emotion behind the company's promise of helping business owners achieve their goals and the utmost level of success. The team felt this name was broad enough to allow the company to tell the whole story of their full range of services and their refined positioning as a business performance solution provider. Insperity as a name is active and engaging in its tonality, which complements the emotional connection the company has with its clients and partners.
Verbal Branding: Tagline Development
When it came to the tagline, Addison Whitney wanted to create something that really identified what the business was all about. The new brand name communicates the emotion behind the offering; we wanted to use the tagline to help identify what the company offers, without limiting them in future applications or endeavors. "Inspiring Business Performance" works on two levels: the initial word "inspiring" can perform the role of an adjective, to describe the type of business performance clients can expect; it also serves as a verb, clarifying the functional aspects of what Insperity offers to its partners as a strategic adviser. It is an engaging tagline that provides the opportunity for business owners to define performance in their own individual way.
Next step: Visual Development of the identity and brand standards.
Click here for more information on Addison Whitney's Verbal Branding capabilities.
FDA Approval: Edarbi
FDA approves Edarbi to treat high blood pressure (source: FDA Press Announcement)
On Friday, February 25, 2011, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Edarbi tablets (azilsartan medoxomil) to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) in adults.
Data from clinical studies showed Edarbi to be more effective in lowering 24-hour blood pressure compared with two other FDA-approved hypertension drugs, Diovan (valsartan) and Benicar (olmesartan).
“High blood pressure is often called the 'silent killer' because it usually has no symptoms until it causes damage to the body,” said Norman Stockbridge, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Drug Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “High blood pressure remains inadequately controlled in many people diagnosed with the condition, so having a variety of treatment options is important.”
Edarbi will be available in 80 milligram and 40 mg doses, with the recommended dose set at 80 mg once daily. The 40 mg dose will be available for patients who are treated with high-dose diuretics taken to reduce salt in the body.
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps. If blood pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways. Nearly 1 in 3 adults in the United States has high blood pressure, which increases the risks of stroke, heart failure, heart attack, kidney failure, and death.
Edarbi is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) that lowers blood pressure by blocking the action of angiotensin II, a vasopressor hormone.
Adverse reactions reported by patients taking Edarbi in clinical trials were similar to those reported by those taking an inactive drug (placebo).
Edarbi has a boxed warning that says the use of the drug should be avoided in pregnant women because use of the drug during the second or third trimester can cause injury and even death in the developing fetus. If a woman becomes pregnant while using the drug, it should be discontinued as soon as possible.
Edarbi is made by Takeda Pharmaceutical North America of Deerfield, Ill.
For more information on pharmaceutical naming, branding, research or submission documents, please contact Vince Budd at Addison Whitney via email or phone 704.697.4021.
Valentine's Guide for the Guys
Valentine's Day is historically geared towards the ladies ... a pink & red inspired holiday with iconic imagery of hearts and chocolates and roses.
This year, we thought we'd refocus the Vday brand on the guys instead, and tapped into some of our own to find out what they would like for this 'holiday.' Some are giftable ... others are simply aspirational. Either way, we hope it helps you ladies to find the perfect gift for your man.
"Time, more time."
Brannon Cashion, President
"A good shaving kit ... maybe from the new SouthPark store."
Nick Irwin, Senior Graphic Designer
"...newspaper subscription to The Wall Street Journal or Barron’s; subscription to Sports Illustrated or Field & Stream magazine ... or even to XM-Sirius radio (a little pricey, but another one that can be shared, maybe listening to the LOVE channel)."
Bill Lippincott, Vice President
For the sports fan in your life, how about helping him show his team pride with some official gear from Fanatics.com?
Gadget lovers will appreciate being able to sync all their audio video devices with one universal remote.
Of course, you can always go old school and share your love with a simple handwritten sentiment. Or take a cue from our VP, Healthcare Group Andy Cuykendall, who remarked that his family doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day ... "We celebrate love for all 365 days." Aww.
EMA Approval: Jonexa
Jonexa (hylastan) is a bacterially fermented product derived from hyaluronan that is indicated for the treatment of pain associated with OA of the knee and administered in one or two injections. Genzyme expects to launch Jonexa in select European Union markets and Hong Kong in 2010 because they believe opportunity exists in those markets for a lower cost, more convenient OA treatment option than locally available multiple injection products.
For more information about recent drug approvals or pharmaceutical branding, please contact Vince Budd at [email protected]
FDA Approval: Viibryd
Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vilazodone HCl tablets, to be marketed under the brand name Viibryd™, for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). Viibryd is a new molecular entity and the first and only selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5HT1A receptor partial agonist. Clinical Data plans to make Viibryd available in U.S. pharmacies in the second quarter of this year.
“It is also the first drug that the Company has developed, and to have received marketing approval from the FDA on its first review is a significant milestone for Clinical Data.”
"When treating MDD, our goal is to offer treatment options that meet the individual needs of each patient," said Stephen M. Stahl, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego. "Viibryd is an important new treatment option with proven efficacy and a demonstrated safety profile."
The mechanism of the antidepressant effect of Viibryd is not fully understood but is thought to be related to its enhancement of serotonergic activity in the central nervous system (CNS) through selective inhibition of serotonin reuptake. Viibryd is also a partial agonist at serotonergic 5HT1A receptors; however, the net result of this action on serotonergic transmission and its role in Viibryd's antidepressant effect are unknown.
For more information about recent drug approvals or pharmaceutical branding, please contact Vince Budd at [email protected]
Starbucks Goes Bigger
On the heels of the new logo debut last week, Starbucks announced a new drink size for its iced beverages on Sunday. "Trenta" will be a 31oz size specifically for iced coffee, iced tea and iced tea lemonade drinks in the United States (read: Venti is still the largest you coffee addicts can get for your java fix).
In case you need a refresher, here's the lineup of current Starbucks sizes:
Four sizes for hot beverages:
* Short (8oz)
* Tall (12oz)
* Grande (16oz)
* Venti (20oz)
Four sizes for cold beverages:
* Tall (12oz)
* Grande (16oz)
* Venti (24oz)
* Trenta (31 oz)
(Notice that the actual ounces are different between the Venti size in hot and cold beverages.)
So with discrepancies in size continuities across product lines, it's a lesson in creating a strong brand strategy from the onset.
Customers have long questioned Starbucks' naming strategy when it comes to their beverage sizes. It's a challenge to retrain a population so familiar with "Small, Medium and Large." Even I have to remind myself that it's a TALL, not a SMALL, when ordering, but it's also a very distinctive strategy that mimicked the brand experience they were evoking.
From a continuity perspective though, I'm not sure it makes the most sense.
Dictionary.com posed a nice question on this as well: if the names were created to relate to the actual product size, why not simply use the actual size? Studying the etymology of Starbucks size names, you'll find that Grande is Italian for "large," Venti is Italian for "twenty," and Trenta means "thirty." Tall lacks the panache of the other size names, but it's still a part of their nomenclature. Venti translates nicely for a 20oz hot beverage, but not exactly for the cold beverages at 24oz, unless it means "twenty-ish."
What do you think? Is Starbucks doing its customers a disservice by not having a more "mainstream" naming strategy? Or is that too, just a part of the brand experience?
FDA Approval: Brilique
LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's new heart medicine Brilique -- or Brilinta -- won final clearance from EU regulators on Monday, putting it on track to compete with Plavix, the world's second biggest-selling drug, next year.
AstraZeneca is relying on revenues from the new product to offset expiring patents on some of its best-selling medicines, such as heartburn treatment Nexium and Seroquel for schizophrenia.
The approval by the European Commission had been expected following a positive recommendation from experts at the European Medicines Agency in September.
AstraZeneca said that of the European markets that would start selling Brilique in 2011, the majority of launches would occur in the second half of the year due to pricing and reimbursement negotiations.
The drug is recommended for preventing dangerous blood clots in patients with serious chest pain or previous heart attacks.
It is a competitor for Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb's top-seller Plavix, which had sales last year of more than $9.5 billion, and AstraZeneca will face a tough competitive marketplace, since Plavix is off patent in parts of Europe and loses U.S. patent protection in 2012.
In the United States, where the medicine will be sold as Brilinta, the Food and Drug Administration is due to decide on whether to approve it by Dec. 16. It was endorsed by a U.S. advisory panel in July, despite a perplexing lack of benefit seen among a North American sub-group of patients in a clinical trial that found it was superior to Plavix overall. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by Kate Kelland)
FDA Approval: Halaven
FDA Approves Eisai Inc. (ESALF.PK)'s Halaven For Late-Stage Breast Cancer
11/15/2010
SILVER SPRING, Md., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Halaven (eribulin mesylate) to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer who have received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death among women, according to the National Cancer Institute. This year, an estimated 207,090 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, while 39,840 women will die from the disease.
Halaven is a synthetic form of a chemotherapeutically active compound derived from the sea sponge Halichondria okadai. This injectable therapy is a microtubule inhibitor, believed to work by inhibiting cancer cell growth. Before receiving Halaven, patients should have received prior anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy for early or late-stage breast cancer.
Halaven's safety and effectiveness were established in a single study in 762 women with metastatic breast cancer who had received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease. Patients were randomly assigned to receive treatment with either Halaven or a different single agent therapy chosen by their oncologist.
The study was designed to measure the length of time from when this treatment started until a patient's death (overall survival). The median overall survival for patients receiving Halaven was 13.1 months compared with 10.6 months for those who received a single agent therapy.
"There are limited treatment options for women with aggressive forms of late-stage breast cancer who have already received other therapies," said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Halaven shows a clear survival benefit and is an important new option for women."
The most common side effects reported by women treated with Halaven include a decrease in infection-fighting white blood cells (neutropenia), anemia, a decrease in the number of white blood cells (leukopenia), hair loss (alopecia), fatigue, nausea, weakness (asthenia), nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy), and constipation.
Other FDA-approved therapies used to treat late-stage, refractory breast cancer include Xeloda (capecitabine) for patients with breast cancer resistant to paclitaxel and anthracycline-containing chemotherapy; Ixempra (ixabepilone) for patients with late- stage disease after failure of an anthracycline, taxane and Xeloda; and Ixempra plus Xeloda for patients with late-stage disease after failure of anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy.
Halaven is marketed by Woodcliff Lakes, N.J. -based Eisai Inc.
For more information:
FDA: Office of Oncology Drug Products
NCI: Breast Cancer
Media Inquiries: Erica Jefferson, 301-796-4988, [email protected]
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA Approval: Ofirmev
PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CADX) announced last week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for OFIRMEV(TM) (acetaminophen) injection, the first and only intravenous (IV) formulation of acetaminophen to be approved in the United States. OFIRMEV is indicated for the management of mild to moderate pain, the management of moderate to severe pain with adjunctive opioid analgesics, and the reduction of fever.
"The approval of OFIRMEV is a significant milestone for Cadence as we advance our mission to improve the lives of hospitalized adults and children," said Ted Schroeder, President and CEO of Cadence. "IV acetaminophen is the unit market share leader among all injectable pain medications in Europe. With our planned launch early in the first quarter of 2011, we believe that OFIRMEV will fill a significant gap in the United States for the treatment of pain and fever in the hospital setting."
Acute pain, particularly postoperative pain, often requires a multi-modal approach in which two or more analgesics are used with the goal of providing better analgesic efficacy. U.S. physicians already prescribe acetaminophen frequently in combination with opioids for oral management of pain, where it is the most widely used non-opioid in fixed combination therapies. In clinical studies, OFIRMEV improved pain relief, reduced opioid consumption, and improved patient satisfaction when used as part of a multi-modal regimen.
"OFIRMEV is a long-awaited and much needed addition to postoperative pain management," said Eugene R. Viscusi, M.D., Director of Acute Pain Management at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "With the approval of OFIRMEV, clinicians will now be better able to use a multi-modal approach to pain management in the hospital setting, when oral medication can't be used."
Brand Refreshment: Belk vs. Gap
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Much of October's design buzz was focused on the new Gap logo. With the change came die-hard Gap customers commenting on blogs, Facebook sites, and within the design community.
Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, initially defended the logo, writing that the move brings Gap into the modern age. "We want our customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today," she said. "We chose this design as it's more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward."
Hmm. The iconic blue box of Gap was actually diminished, rather than honored in the new design. Adding a gradient and moving it into a submission position does nothing in my mind to 'honor its heritage.' After only a week, Gap decided to revert back to the original logo.
Belk Department Store debuted its new image right around the same time, but was somewhat overshadowed in the media. Both Belk and Gap stated that they wanted to move their respective brands into a more updated space, and redesigned the logos to coincide with the modern feel of the apparel and the stores. So why was Belk's change more widely accepted (individual design critiques aside), and Gap's new image was met with such passionate disapproval?
A couple of ideas:
1. Regional awareness. Belk is a regional brand, with a smaller target audience than the global presence of Gap. While Belk isn't just "your Grandmother's store" anymore, the company hasn't been as active over the years in building and defining their brand image, so their change could be met with less resistance.
2. Belk is a collection of individual brands. Gap IS a brand.
3. Lack of connection to the audience. Belk had a plan for change and is systematically making the change market by market, and Gap introduced the logo to the entire world without so much as a hint that something new was coming. For such a devout target audience and such a large presence, you have to be prepared for the response - positive or negative. No market research to find out what customers think prior to launch?
4. Redefining the brand ... consistently. The Gap logo is/was classic. "Classic" is actually what their brand was all about. If they wanted to modernize or talk about their new modern jeans, they could update their collateral, or use social media in a new way to talk to their audience. Create a contest to have customers help design the new logo. The same can be argued about Belk: the iconic script was regarded as a logo with "class and character" that many argued should have been retained. However, Belk complemented their change with a tagline: "Modern. Southern. Style." which helps to reinforce the overall change.
What are your thoughts on refreshing a brand? Total re-definition through a new name or logo? Change the tagline? Update your social media efforts? Any other positive examples?