Pharmaceutical industry branding is immature compared with the consumer and business-to-business segments—but that is largely by choice. For decades, a pharmaceutical company's brand success formula was simple: discover a drug that was needed, introduce it to the doctor via a sales rep, and watch the prescriptions get filled. What is more, the products themselves, secured under a decade of patented protection, were almost guaranteed to generate large profits. Integrated brand strategies were unheard of and unimportant. A scientist—whose role was discovery and development, not marketing—directed the corporation.



Gone are the days when companies used to release products with out much thought to branding, especially pharmaceutical branding. Now pharmaceutical companies are are starting to work on developing the pharmaceutical brand even before the product is fully tested and ready for production.

Pharmaceutical branding is an important way of creating awareness among the public to the potential benefits of drugs and medicines. The marketing process and branding give the public ready knowledge of what the product is about and thereby induces them to buy that particular product from among many other similar products in the market.

As more and more pharmaceutical companies start realizing the importance and the power of brands. So how do companies brand their products to stay ahead of the competition? To start with a good name is important. In fact a great name is very important! A great name can increase the value of a product brand and in turn the revenue, where as a poorly chosen name can lead to disaster for the product.

Marketing teams are spending more and more resources on getting the name of the pharmaceutical product right. However naming a drug or medicine is not the same as naming an electronic consumer product. Careful thought and consideration to all important factors is required for a pharmaceutical product.

If the product is going to be sold internationally then the name should not be wrong when translated into the local languages.

The second most important part of pharmaceutical branding is the product logo design. The logo has to be in tune with the target market with the exact font and colors. Iconic pharmaceutical logo design or illustrative logo design can create a great impact on the consumers.

Then comes packaging. The packaging of pills and other pharmaceutical products is very important. Like the name, the packaging and pill can't look like other products that may sit on a nearby shelf.

Also psychological issues are carefully examined. Take the pill shape and color. If a pill is large, and might seem difficult to swallow, dark colors such as black will be avoided because they make it seem even larger. If the pill has high toxicity levels, then a "hot" color such as red is avoided because it subliminally gives off a feeling of threat, experts say.

Pharmaceutical branding also heavily depends on the marketing and promotional materials. Every thing from brochures to the product leaflet has to be crafted to reflect the brand and appeal to the target market. Pharmaceutical products for children should have bright colored cut outs and packaging to appeal to children.