Week 3: Welcome to the Team

I can’t believe this is has only been my second week. I feel like I’ve already learned so much, and it’s equal parts exciting and daunting knowing that there’s still so much to learn. However, when I try to tell my friends and family about my internship, I always get one question: “What is Verbal Branding?” Going into this internship, I honestly had no idea. Even last week I did not truly have a firm grasp on the concept. Now I’m confident that I can give you (and my family) a more definitive answer.

Addison Whitney is a global branding firm founded in 1991 and was acquired by inVentiv Health (their parent company) in 2007. Basically, branding is the construction of an identity, whether it be for a product or an entire company. At the basis of every brand is its name. That’s where the verbal branding team comes into play. The verbal branding department at AW is capable of handling global brand name development, global trademark prescreening, tagline creation, global linguistic evaluation, and corporate identity development. Lots of fancy words and lots to learn.

Thankfully, I have an entire team of people guiding my way through this process. For the past two weeks, I have been working with AW’s 5 verbal branding associates: Rosie, James, Rachel, Ashley, and Joshira. They have all been incredibly supportive, and I’ve learned so much already from them. I was nervous entering this internship that I would feel intimidated by the older, more experienced employees, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The office has an open layout, giving it a social feel. This helps me feel more comfortable building relationships with my supervisors and puts me at ease when I need to approach them to ask questions.

I’ve definitely needed the verbal branding team’s support this week as I’ve begun to enter the confusing field of pharmaceutical naming. Pharma naming may be one of the most difficult challenges I have ever encountered. You wouldn’t think it to be challenging when looking at the names on prescription bottles or over-the-counter medicines. The strange names just look like a randomly selected string of letters. Alas, that is not the case.

Before embarking on my pharma creatives (the name generating process), I needed to learn the different strategies behind generic and brand name pharma naming. Each has a distinctive list of avoids that absolutely, positively cannot be in the name. Beyond that, the generic name must include the molecular stem (this is how clinicians identify the type of drug). Lastly, as with all naming projects, you must adhere to the client’s vision. This is a lot to remember and consider when attempting to form a brand new name.

Even with this new challenge, I am falling in love with my internship. It’s fun and exciting, and I feel that I’m learning so much. I can now definitely picture myself pursuing a career in branding. I’m already looking forward to another week of challenges and educational opportunities.