Welcome to Addison Whitney Global Office Spotlight Month!
Addison Whitney is part of a large network of companies providing clinical, commercial and consulting services in various industries around the world. Our global reach gives us the experience needed to develop strong brands, regardless of geography.
Our presence around the world comes in the form of our global offices - Charlotte, North Carolina; Seattle, Washington; New York City; London; Munich and Tokyo.
All this month, we will be shining the spotlight on these offices, showing you what makes them unique and some of the great people and work that make up each of these locations!
Here is the schedule for the AW Global Office Spotlights:
- June 5: Charlotte
- June 11: New York City
- June 16: Tokyo
- June 24: Seattle
- June 30: Europe - London & Munich
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Making a Strong First Impression: 5 Benefits of Clinical Trial Branding
It has been said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. For many new assets the clinical trial stage of development is that first impression – the initial interaction it will have with those who will impact its future both from research and consumer perspectives.
With a strong brand in place prior to making this first impression, brands can ensure they will be moving forward following a positive first impression and giving a product a better chance to develop a positive brand image. Here are five benefits to clinical trial branding:
- Build Brand Equity Early
In the development of a new asset, branding during the clinical trial process is step one in building brand equity through awareness and familiarity, giving the brand an opportunity to establish positive associations and laying the foundation for future perceptions.
“In a saturated market for new pharmaceutical products, the companies that can create differentiation within their field and stand out to their audience are the ones best set up for a successful journey through the drug development process and beyond,” says Brannon Cashion, Addison Whitney Global President. “This is where clinical trial branding makes its mark. Having a strong brand in the clinical trial process can be the driver behind a raised level of recognition and make the asset stand out.”
- Make it Easy to Remember and Recall
The fact that a branded name is easier to recognize, process and remember than a code-like name is another point of differentiation provided by clinical trial branding.
Both internal teams and external audiences need to be on the same page in regards to the name when referring to an asset, and when branded, possesses a well-thought-out and researched name that can serve both groups in their interactions with it.
- Tell the Brand Story
Due to its presence early in a product’s development, clinical trial branding can also serve as a messenger for the asset, communicating its various characteristics.
During the branding processes, research is done to identify how this will be integrated in the brand, based on both the characteristics of the product and taking into consideration the overall market and its opportunities.
- Lay the Marketing Foundation
Clinical trial branding also provides a connection to early marketing efforts for an asset. Branding lays the base to which marketing builds upon, and a strong brand in the clinical trial stages gives it a head start when beginning to determine marketing strategies.
This is again why beginning to brand while in clinical trial is so important – if an organization chooses to wait until later in the product’s development, as they will be working through the branding process while competing assets have already introduced a brand that is building equity and awareness, filling the gaps in the marketplace.
- Tailored to a Proper Fit
Clinical trial branding can take many forms and include an array of features, allowing it to be tailored to fit the characteristics of the asset and the marketplace. This versatility ensures that it encompasses the best aspects of the product and instills confidence in the product’s chances for success.
“A successful and well-strategized branded clinical trial exudes this confidence to the audience, including potential investors and suppliers,” adds Cashion. “This can raise the profile of the asset to otherwise unreachable levels and grow its brand equity.”
Building a brand in the clinical trial stage is an important step in a product’s development, as it creates the first impression that is critical in driving value and success moving forward. These five reasons outline how it can start to work immediately to build a road for success, and can help provide a more effective clinical trial process.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
AW Spotlight - Meet Maya Babish
At Addison Whitney, our people are our most valuable resource. We are lucky to have such a talented group working throughout our offices, and in our AW Spotlight series we wanted to spotlight our employees, finding out more about who they are, and their thoughts on working at Addison Whitney.
This edition of AW Spotlight features Maya Babish, who recently joined Addison Whitney in our Seattle office as Account Director. With extensive experience in the branding and marketing industries, Maya has been a very welcome addition!
What has been the most surprising aspect of working with Addison Whitney so far?
I’m not a morning person and you guys schedule a lot of meetings at 8:00 AM! Seriously though, I knew Addison Whitney had a wealth of experience, but the client list is huge! It’s exciting to be part of a team 
who named the Escalade. Also, the company’s experience in pharmaceutical branding is incredible.
Give us your elevator speech – what do you do at AW?
I collaborate with companies to build strong brands by consulting with them to understand their customers and business needs. I work with a talented team of strategists, naming experts, designers and researchers to develop solutions that help move businesses forward by defining (or redefining) their brand position and customer experience.
What is it about branding that gets you excited to come to work in the morning?
Branding to me is the ultimate high when it comes to a marketing profession since it demands analytical, strategic and creative skills. I get to help people solve real business problems. The exciting part for me is showing people what branding is and the power it has in shaping a business’s direction.
What is something about you that would surprise people?
When I lived in Boise, Idaho, I launched a restaurant franchise. It was called Mountain Thyme Pasta. I developed the business plan, marketing plan, branding, packaging, in-store retail design and all the recipes. You should have seen my kitchen while I was in product development mode - somehow I needed to translate years and years of experimentation into set recipes for others to cook. It was a blast!
Where do you see the branding industry going in the next few years? What are some trends you think we should be on the lookout for?
The traditional methods of developing brand strategy need to evolve given the increasingly dynamic environment driven by digital and social media. This has been true for some time now for consumer brands but is becoming more profound in the B2B space. I can see a discipline around social branding evolving as well as new tools to integrate real-time social conversations into the strategic process. Gone are the days of putting in place a brand pyramid that will drive the business for years. We are now challenged with developing models that create a distinctive position and experience for a brand while integrating the ability to evolve and change fluidly in direct response to customers.
Addison Whitney President Brannon Cashion Featured in PM360 Magazine
Addison Whitney's Global President Brannon Cashion is featured in the April edition of PM360 Magazine, with the first of his series of guests posts.
This month's edition of the "Brand Slam" article series is titled "Finding the Value in Clinical Trial Branding."
A brief passage from the article is below, and if you'd like to read the entire post, you can find it here.
Why Should You Brand Your Clinical Trial?
We all understand the scientific value that clinical trials provide in the development of a new molecule. But what we’ve come to see is this: More companies understand the value that clinical trial branding can provide, from building awareness and familiarity (steps one and two of brand equity) to laying the foundation for future brand strategy. A strong brand can communicate confidence in the product. Clinical trial branding is the first opportunity to build positive associations and lasting perceptions of the future brand.
With some clinical trial programs spanning several years, the opportunity for building momentum can be compounded over time. But if any time goes by without a clinical trial brand name, that can undercut what could be the product’s head start.
When deciding whether to move forward with a comprehensive clinical trial branding process, one factor to consider is that product’s competition within the clinical trial space. If similar products are under investigation and the study will be competing for recruitment, investors or educational space, your product will need to find ways to differentiate.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
AW Capabilities Month Market Research Week in Review
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month!
Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy – via brand salsa and our social media channels. Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
This week, we wrapped up with month with a focus on Market Research, which encompasses the research and data analysis of various aspects of your branding portfolio. In this special edition of the AW Rewind, we will take a look back at the market research-focused brand salsa posts from this week!
What is Market Research?
At Addison Whitney, we’re nerdy about data! Effective research and analysis drives and validates your brand vision and gives you confidence in your brand’s future power.
Our research pros guide you through the process that will build your brand’s value, and our global expertise delivers the insight you need to make strategic, data-driven decisions about your brands. Read more...
How to Catch the Eye of the Consumer - Visual Market Research at Work
How often have you scanned the store shelves looking for a product, and a particular one caught your eye, making you stop, do a double-take or spend a few additional seconds focusing on that one product before moving on?
Well, those few seconds and that additional look were not a coincidence – they were largely caused in part because of the work of a market research team, much like the one at Addison Whitney. Among the many roles they fill within the organization, one of them includes research for logo and product design – which yields compelling insight to the visual aspects of a brand.200464106-001
Whether it was the packaging design or the brand’s logo that caused you to stop, the fact is research has ensured that each visual aspect of a brand has been fine-tuned to the consumer’s taste and painstakingly tailored to achieve maximum appeal across the largest base of potential consumers. Read More...
Don’t forget, you can stay up-to-date with everything from Addison Whitney by joining the conversation with us on our social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in market research? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney market research team!
Visual Market Research at Work - Catching the Consumer's Eye
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month! Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy - via brand salsa and our social media channels.
This week, we are focusing on Market Research, which encompasses the research and data analysis of various aspects of your branding portfolio. Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
How often have you scanned the store shelves looking for a product, and a particular one caught your eye, making you stop, do a double-take or spend a few additional seconds focusing on that one product before moving on?
Well, those few seconds and that additional look were not a coincidence – they were largely caused in part because of the work of a market research team, much like the one at Addison Whitney. Among the many roles they fill within the organization, one of them includes research for logo and product design – which yields compelling insight to the visual aspects of a brand.
Whether it was the packaging design or the brand’s logo that caused you to stop, the fact is research has ensured that each visual aspect of a brand has been fine-tuned to the consumer’s taste and painstakingly tailored to achieve maximum appeal across the largest base of potential consumers.
“One of the goals of our research is to see the previously unseen,” said Ben Patton, Market Research Analyst at Addison Whitney. “We want to uncover something that nobody else has seen, or discover the underlying trend in the data that often times comes up as a surprise to all parties. Finding these allows us to crack into the mind of a consumer in such a way that we increase our top-of-mind opportunities.”
How does market research find out what makes the eyes of a consumer stop and remember a certain logo or package design?
Two areas of focus when performing research are color associations and image connotations, said Patton.
When conducting research for visual branding, questions are designed to help the researchers understand what comes to the forefront of a consumer’s mind when they view a potential product. Often, unanticipated associations can open doors down the road with respect to creative that lead to a more granular approach in secondary research, and other times doors can be closed due to the findings of a study.
The most successful brands hit the market only after extensive planning, research and data analysis to ensure that the brand is set up on the right path from the beginning. Research is the driver behind properly preparing a brand, especially its visual aspects. Those few seconds might not seem like much, but to a brand and to a company, they are the reward for proper preparation.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in market research? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney market research team!
AW Capabilities Month: What is Market Research?
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month! Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy - via brand salsa and our social media channels.
This week, we are focusing on Market Research, which encompasses the research and data analysis of various aspects of your branding portfolio.
But what is Market Research? What does it mean to you? Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
At Addison Whitney, we’re nerdy about data!
Effective research and analysis drives and validates your brand vision and gives you confidence in your brand’s future power.
Our research pros guide you through the process that will build your brand’s value, and our global expertise delivers the insight you need to make strategic, data-driven decisions about your brands.
We provide customized survey design and sample selection, along with fielding and data analysis, and we work closely with you to tailor our process to your needs. The result is a research plan that addresses your specific challenges. Our process combines both qualitative and quantitative research elements to reveal the opinions of your target audience.
Here’s what our research team can do for you:
- Name and Tagline Validation
- Design Validation
- Brand Assessment
- Positioning and Messaging Validation
Click here for a sampling of our research case study stories, and here for our comprehensive research client list.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in market research? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney market research team!
AW Capabilities Month Brand Strategy Week in Review
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month!
Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy – via brand salsa and our social media channels.Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
This week, we focused on Brand Strategy, which encompasses the strategic and planning aspects of your branding portfolio. In this special edition of the AW Rewind, we will take a look back at the brand strategy-focused brand salsa posts from this week!
What is Brand Strategy?
At Addison Whitney, we feel brand strategy is important because success is a strong marriage of business and brand strategies.
Successful brands are built on a foundation of meaningful brand strategy. And, that strategy provides the framework for what your brands mean and how they should be organized.
Oftentimes, making decisions about the future of a brand can be politically charged and challenging for an internal team to confront on its own. It’s difficult for a company to be objective about themselves – tenure and passion have a tendency to cloud constructive decision-making. That’s where we come in. Read more...
AW Capabilities Month Case Study Wednesday: Sonoco
As one of the leading global branding firms, Addison Whitney is behind some of the world’s strongest and most iconic brands. We’re proud of the work we do for all of our clients and love sharing our stories, especially our brand strategy experience. That’s why this week’s “Case Study Wednesday”, where we highlight one of our amazing clients and the work we have done with them, will focus on our brand strategy work!
Following its Tegrant acquisition, Sonoco sought to create a new brand architecture that would integrate Tegrant’s three businesses into Sonoco’s primarily master branded strategy in a way that would effectively communicate the brands and product offerings while minimizing any loss to brand equity and sales. In addition, it was important that the new structure help tell the Sonoco protective packaging story to existing and potential customers. Read More...
The Two Pillars of Efficient Brand Strategy
Managing a brand efficiently has both time and monetary implications. Both are valuable, but often limited resources that are essential to developing and maintaining successful brands.
This is especially important for organizations working to establish meaning and purpose for multiple brands in their portfolio. However, this is not always the case, and when brands don’t have a well-defined meaning or purpose, organizations run the risk of missing an opportunity to capitalize on the value of their resources. But there also must be an efficient use of time and resources from the parent company in order to ensure success across their portfolio.
There are two main pillars that address these components, and that strongly impact the ability to commit time and financial support to brand strategies – Prioritization and Organization. Read More...
Don’t forget, you can stay up-to-date with everything from Addison Whitney by joining the conversation with us on our social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in brand strategy? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney brand strategy team!
The Two Pillars of Efficient Brand Strategy
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month! Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy - via brand salsa and our social media channels.
This week, we are focusing on Brand Strategy, which encompasses the strategic and planning aspects of your branding portfolio. Make sure to join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #AWCapabilitiesMonth.
Managing a brand efficiently has both time and monetary implications. Both are valuable, but often limited resources that are essential to developing and maintaining successful brands.
This is especially important for organizations working to establish meaning and purpose for multiple brands in their portfolio. However, this is not always the case, and when brands don’t have a well-defined meaning or purpose, organizations run the risk of missing an opportunity to capitalize on the value of their resources. But there also must be an efficient use of time and resources from the parent company in order to ensure success across their portfolio.
There are two main pillars that address these components, and that strongly impact the ability to commit time and financial support to brand strategies - Prioritization and Organization.
Prioritization:
The key word associated with prioritizing a brand portfolio is “opportunity.” Prioritizing can be made up of a number of actions, including identifying and evaluating the opportunity, then looking at whether a brand is poised to capitalize on the opportunity.
The importance of prioritizing and working through these actions can contribute to taking advantage of these opportunities and providing target audiences with what they need.
Prioritization takes an integrated approach, a holistic strategy, and dedicated investment to build a brand. If you choose to spread resources equally across all the brands in the portfolio, often times your company won’t hit critical mass for any of your brands.
Organization:
Organization of brands can also be seen as a “definition” of the portfolio. In order to successfully organize, there needs to be a definition of around the brand strategy, such as defining who the brand’s audience is and defining the brand’s positioning.
Taking a look at the brand portfolio as a whole, and define where it stands and what the strongest brand position is that maximizes their impact. If there are multiple strong brands, the main goal will be to organize where they fit within the portfolio.
The order in which these pillars can be acted upon depends on the organization, its business vision and long-term goals. One of the valuable characteristics of the pillars is their ability to be tailored and to fit within the organization’s needs.
For instance, if a brand has a portfolio with unknown brand strength, where there isn’t a clear-cut “hero” brand, it may be most efficient for them to begin with Prioritization. Performing a brand assessment will help find the opportunities within the portfolio and identify which brand is the strongest. Then, the company can prioritize the rest of its portfolio and use this information to assess where to be allocate resources for the brands going down the list.
On the other hand, if an organization has gone through a recent merger or acquisition and finds itself with brand overlap, where multiple brands fit within similar industries or lines of business, Organization might be a strategic first step. Organizing the portfolio will allow for more efficient recognition ofthe brand that will represent the company moving forward, and will also make more clear the identification of next steps for the other members of the portfolio.
The outcome for all of these actions, as it is with the majority of strong brand strategy, is to find the best use of time and resources for the sake of strong business results. When managing a number of brands, having a well-defined and focused strategic awareness and acting within the strategy allow for the organization to achieve the goal of an efficient brand portfolio.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in brand strategy? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney brand strategy team!
AW Capabilities Month Case Study Wednesday: Sonoco
Welcome to Addison Whitney Capabilities Month! Throughout the month of March, we will be designating one week where we will be highlighting one of Addison Whitney’s capabilities – visual branding, verbal branding, market research and brand strategy - via brand salsa and our social media channels.
This week, we are focusing on Brand Strategy, which encompasses the balance of business planning with creative thinking to create clear road maps to where you want your brand to be in the future!
As one of the leading global branding firms, Addison Whitney is behind some of the world’s strongest and most iconic brands. We’re proud of the work we do for all of our clients and love sharing our stories, especially our brand strategy experience. That’s why this week's “Case Study Wednesday”, where we highlight one of our amazing clients and the work we have done with them, will focus on our brand strategy work!
Our case study this week highlights Addison Whitney's work with Sonoco: 
When Sonoco acquired Tegrant Corporation, it created a leading multi-material protective packaging business unit within one of the largest diversified global packaging companies in the world. While Sonoco had a small protective packaging presence, it was not as well known as Tegrant and its three primary business units – Protexic, ThermoSafe and Alloyd – all leading brands in their individual spaces.
Following the Tegrant acquisition, Sonoco sought to create a new brand architecture that would integrate Tegrant's three businesses into Sonoco's primarily master branded strategy in a way that would effectively communicate the brands and product offerings while minimizing any loss to brand equity and sales. In addition, it was important that the new structure help tell the Sonoco protective packaging story to existing and potential customers.
Addison Whitney conducted a number of internal interviews with leaders of both organizations as well as brand owners, and multiple workshops in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of overall business and marketing strategies as they relate to the current and potential brand architecture strategies.
Based on the research, we recommended Sonoco change the name of its protective packaging division to Sonoco Protective Solutions to better communicate the division's broad offerings. We also recommended the Alloyd and ThermoSafe brands be maintained in the short term in order to introduce the Sonoco name alongside the existing brands to key audiences; in the long-term, the brands would be transitioned to Sonoco product brand names.
Leveraging the Sonoco brand as soon as possible was important as it signaled strength, stability, and more global capabilities to the target audience. Additionally, it helps internal audiences more quickly adopt the new brand identity.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Want to get exposed to real projects and attain real-life knowledge and skills vital for success in brand strategy? Click here for information about interning with the Addison Whitney brand strategy team!