VersaTru™

In February 2016, Codman Neuro announced an acquisition that left them with a product gap in their portfolio. In order to quickly and aggressively compete with their competitor who now – after acquiring Codman Neuro’s product – had a 76% market share in the disposable forceps category, Codman Neuro made the business decision to develop a new line of their own design. The team approached Brandsymbol to be their partner and support their new product by developing an appropriate brand strategy, brand name, nomenclature, and visual identities for the product and its packaging.

Brandsymbol delivered the world-class brand CODMAN VersaTru – from the upfront strategy to the visual design of the packaging – for Codman Neuro’s ground breaking, high-end new disposable forceps, that will give them a powerful entrance into an established market.

VersaTru strongly resonated with neurosurgeons – based on face-to-face interviews conducted by Brandsymbol at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Conference – and encompasses the essence of this new product. The “Versa-” prefix ties to the versatility of the entire forceps line: standard, dual-illuminating, dual-irrigating, and slim – all named by Brandsymbol – and; the “-Tru” suffix highlights the product’s accuracy, specifically engineered for surgical control, and the natural feelings surgeons have while utilizing the forceps as an extension of their hands.

In addition, the brand VersaTru gives Codman Neuro the ability to continue innovating new products under one product family: “-Tru”; to build upon the brand’s equity while also streamlining references to the various product types… establishing a sustainable model for their continued presence in the neurological surgery space.

The accompanying Visual Brand Identity – including: logo, forceps color, logo positioning on the forceps, and packaging – pulls the blue from the Codman Neuro logo to leverage equity and tie the two together to create a consistent and long-lasting brand. The delivered logo does two things: 1) emphasizes “-Tru”, which eludes to a differentiator, standing out as a reliable alternative while reflecting their more expensive price point; and 2) incorporates a side profile of the product itself, which helps to draw the eye and give a recognizable visual.

In less than four months, Codman Neuro had a durable, compelling brand that could be introduced to the market without having a significant gap in their product offerings. Utilizing qualitative and quantitative market research methods, Brandsymbol uncovered the key insights required to assist Codman Neuro in reclaiming market leadership and a foundation for successful naming of future products in the same portfolio. The CODMAN VersaTru Disposable Non-Stick Bipolar Forceps were launched in early 2017, and are currently available throughout the United States.

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