The Value of Branding in Health Care

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The value of branding in health care.

What is branding? Branding has been advocated as a potentially successful response to heightened market concentration; it offers the possibilities of centralized control and format standardization, and an added value or cost driven strategy can be used to differentiate the retail offering and reinforce market positioning. Brands provide informational cues for buyers about the store's merchandise quality, and favourable images of brands positively influence patronage decisions." Successful retail branding can provide a form of "insulation" against price competition and states: "Where the store brand name is itself a brand name based on a quality appeal, it will be easier to position the own brand as a premium product under the same name" (Schmidt, R., & Pioch, E., 2005). Further as consumers, we tend to think about brands as symbols like the Nike swoosh or McDonald’s golden arches; the working definition of a brand is broader. A brand is usually defined as a name, logo, symbol, words, or combination of these, intended to distinguish a particular company’s offerings from those of competitors. In this sense, the modern use of the word “brand” harkens back to its older meaning which is a distinguishing mark or burn to identify wine, livestock or other commodities by their owner (Koehn, N., 2013).

The value of branding in healthcare is very important because the changes happening in health care today will put a new premium on strong and trusted brands. As health care leaders, we recognize the value of great brands in this sector such as the Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, or Mayo Clinic. Strong brands can play such important roles, including creating strategic and thus fi...

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...he worldwide web on January 2014 at http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-branding-identity-23586.html

Lofgren, Diane Gage & Cantu, Debbie (2010, Summer). Thrive. Retrieved from the worldwide web on January 2014 at http://www.marketingpower.com/ResourceLibrary/Publications/MarketingHealthServices/2010/30/3/Five%20lessons.pdf

MSNBC staff. (2004, October 6). Report: Vioxx linked to thousands of deaths. Retrieved from the worldwide web on January 2014 at http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6192603/ns/health-arthritis/t/report-vioxx-linked-thousands-deaths/#.Usvg2UaA1Zc

Schmidt, Ruth., & Pioch, Elke A. (2005). Community pharmacies under pressure - can branding help? International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 33(6/7), 494-504. Retrieved on January 2014 from Proquest at http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/docview/210942979

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