Global Naming Practices for Cosmetic Procedures
We were recommended by a board member to a business that urgently needed three to five appealing product names that could be used in the US and Canada, and ideally, globally. The product was an injectable dermal filler used for:
“correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles such as the smile lines that appear between your nose and mouth, or the marionette lines that turn down the corners of your mouth”
Timing was urgent, because the product would launch in the near term. A previous naming effort with significant investment was not successful. It resulted in a recommendation that senior management was not comfortable moving forward with.
Audience for the Global Brand Name
The key customers were plastic surgeons and dermatologists, but end consumer appeal was also important. End consumers were those who have previously invested in cosmetic facial procedures with physicians.
Multi-step Process for Global Naming Practices
The initial phase was to identify names with high potential:
- The first step was a benefit-focused ideation that identified over 1,100 potential names.
- Candidate names were then evaluated by the project team for appeal and benefit connotation as the second step, i.e., did the name suggest the desired benefits?
- In the third step, expert outside counsel performed a preliminary legal review and also a preliminary foreign language convention screen for 150 names. This was a substantial investment, with experts in over 10 countries performing the review, but essential for a global naming practices success.
- From the 150 names, approximately 30 emerged that met the criteria of availability and suitability with global naming convention.
With the available candidates, qualitative customer research was initiated to get feedback on the 30 high-potential names. This included one-on-one interviews with physicians (i.e., plastic surgeons and dermatologists) and end consumers. After the qualitative research was complete, 20 names were placed into quantitative screening with consumers and physicians. These same 20 names then underwent expanded legal review in 10 countries to ensure the global naming practices would work. Finally, seven names were recommended that met all the criteria.
Customer Insights from Global Naming Practices Research
Question #1: Among high performing names, are some more appealing to physicians vs. end consumers? (Note that all low-performing names were dropped, so we were evaluating among all names with moderate to high appeal)
Finding #1: There was a significant difference in the appeal of a name between physicians and consumers. Physicians tended to be more attracted to names with medical connotations, as they believed these names add credibility to their procedures and recommendations. Consumers also appreciated names with medical associations but were more open to those with primarily “beauty,” “youth,” or “sex appeal” connotations.
Question #2: Can customers read and say the name easily? (pronounceability).
Finding #2: Both physicians and end consumers agree that easily pronounceable names are more memorable, easier to recall and essentially required. Additionally, prounceability was even more important to physicians than consumers, as they use the names frequently in their practice with patients, staff, in charting, etc.
End result: The selected name, Captique, delivered against global naming practices
Captique was selected among the recommended seven names, as it met the criteria of:
- legally available globally
- appealing to consumer and physicians
- ease of pronunciation
- conveying relevant benefits (beauty, sexy, youthful)
- among the final names, it was less medical
Customer feedback:
“It reminds me of capturing my youth again, with a beautiful face, no lines or wrinkles”
“It sounds like a procedure associated with looking good. Much like an expensive make-up or cream”
In late 2004, Inamed and Genzyme announced that the FDA had granted market approval for Captique injectable gel,
“a new dermal filler product based on Genzyme’s non-animal stabilized hyaluronic acid (HA) technology.”
Captique’s in-office promotion, inserts, packaging and patient information promoted its beauty image and positioning as a gel hyaluronic acid line remover.
While this is a historical case study, as Captique is no longer available in the US, one of the key reasons the work was successful was that we delivered a range of seven names for the client to choose among. At each step, we had to allow for a drop off when selected names failed to meet all the essential criteria.
If global naming practices are in your brand’s future, contact us. The Insight to Action experts provide more guidance and examples on our naming resource page.
