Hospital and Healthcare Branding: What's in a name?

Hospital Branding: Why a name change isn’t “just a name change.”

Naming is a key element of a brand strategy along with an identity, tagline, and architecture.  Creating a new name involves many hours of deliberations, word combinations, napkin renderings, pillow talks, research studies and brainstorm meetings.  However, the result is (hopefully) a strong brand name that perfectly reflects the new organization and its desired market position.

So, after all the painstaking work that goes into a naming strategy, why are some companies quick to qualify, or downplay it,  as “just a name change.”  It’s almost as if they’re apologizing to their customers about changing the name.

Wrong!  If you’ve gone through the decision-making and strategic process to change your name with key goals in mind, then own it and promote all the changes associated with it.  Your customers want to know the “why” behind your name strategy and what’s in it for them.

Whether you’ve merged, changed your business focus, or expanded your geographic reach, there’s a reason for your change and all the more reason to let your customers know about it.

Here are some of the “why’s” you might cite . . . 

• Expanded Services and/or Access – If your organization has grown, by way of merger or other strategy, let your audiences know about this expansion and the greater accessibility this means for them.

• Easier Navigation – Perhaps your name change and identity is easier to locate and identify with; that’s important news.

• Greater Expertise – Have you added staff and new experts to the team? That’s a great reason to have changed your name.

• Unification – Do all your sub-brands and/or services have a more common look? Again, a great reason for a change and an important message to your customers.

• Streamlined Communications – Is your new brand taking the place of several, and making it less confusing for your audiences? If so, let them know!

These are just some of the reasons that organizations go through name changes – and they are all very legitimate to share with your customer groups.

And, by the way, this means your internal stakeholders, too.  First and foremost!  There’s nothing worse than having your customer’s ask about your new name and for staff to recite, “not really sure why – I guess it’s just marketing!”

It isn’t “just a name change.” It’s an important business strategy and decision you’ve made, and it should mean good news for your key audiences.  It should bring them something they didn’t have before and they want to know all about it.

Have questions or want to talk about your brand name change – visit us at springboardbrand.com, call me at 847.398.4920 or email at Rob@springboardbrand.com