Is Color the New Naming in Pharma Branding?

I would guess that everyone is a bit perplexed by the brand names for new pharmaceuticals we see advertised every day. Names like Ozempic, Farziga, Humira, and Tremfya, to name just a few, seem meaningless. They don’t offer a clue to patients as to what therapy the drug provides. The challenge for drug developers, and the branding and ad agencies they hire, is somehow to provide that meaning and create preference.

There is a logic as to why these names are so obscure. The process for clearing trademark and regulatory hurdles for new pharmaceutical names is arduous and complex. The product identity must be clearly differentiated from others currently in or soon to be in the marketplace. Creating and launching a pharma name that passed as a unique trademark is difficult enough. Receiving the OK to proceed from the FDA and other similar global agencies is even tougher. Getting a drug from the lab to market is a long and expensive process. Miscues in naming are to be avoided if launch timelines are to be met.

Of course, simplicity and clarity are basic tenets of good branding. But when it comes to pharmaceuticals – often weirder is better.

A colorful solution?

Differentiating a product by its color certainly isn’t a new concept. Sometimes color itself is available as a distinguished trademark – such as green for John Deere farm equipment. Even over the counter drugs may benefit from a unique color – such as pink for Pepto Bismol.

But when you are dealing with prescribed medications for more serious conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, or psoriatic arthritis, the packaging color of the pill or device, is less of a factor. TV and online advertising are making individuals more aware of new biologic therapies. But the doctor is the one that prescribes, and the patient often picks up the vial or unit in a brown paper bag from the local pharmacy.

So, now there’s a newer way to color brand

Many advertised pharmaceuticals employ optimistic vignettes to demonstrate how a patient may benefit from a newly developed therapy. In these scenes, patients may wear ‘color-coded’ clothing and/or find themselves in ‘color-coded’ settings that become the graphic identity of the drug itself. The vignettes for diabetes drugs employ this technique. Ozempic features lifestyle experiences in red and orange, and the newer Mounjaro features settings in purple and orange.

How effective is this tandem approach?

Honestly, I can’t say. As a branding professional who works on many pharma naming assignments, I can understand and distinguish one drug name from the next. Certainly, anything that can be done to create brand awareness and preference for these obscure pharma names among patients makes sense.

I find that these happy, colorful vignettes do capture my attention. Do I feel more favorable to one drug over the other? I don’t think so. Would I ask my doctor to prescribe one over the other. I don’t think so.

In sum, I’m glad for the advent of these pharmaceuticals. But I’m tired of watching these trite advertisements over and over. Yet, I do understand that simply and effectively branding them in the crowded consumer space is very challenging.