How do you successfully rebrand a nearly 20-year-old products and formulation company into a contract development and manufacturing organization? Just ask Ology Bioservices (formerly known as Nanotherapeutics). They recently launched a broad rebranding effort reflecting the company’s evolution.
What is Ology Bio?
Founded in 1999 as an integrated biopharmaceutical company named Nanotherapeutics, Ology Bio has grown over the years through contracts and grants from industry and federal government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute. In 2013, the Department of Defense awarded it a 10-year, $400 million contract to provide essential services needed to establish a 183,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Medical Countermeasures Advanced Development and Manufacturing facility. Today, Ology Bio operates the multi-purpose and multi-product biologics and vaccine facility in Alachua, FL and has over 185 employees around the U.S.
Why Rebrand?
A long-standing maxim in business is “image is everything.” Whether you subscribe to this belief or not, how your company is viewed by its internal and external audiences is important. Brand awareness is an intangible asset that can influence the long-term value of your commercial enterprise. Rebranding enables your company to evolve its corporate image and align it with a revised vision. Evolution is a reason why some companies launch a rebranding process.
Have a Clear Purpose
Ology had a clear purpose in mind when it rebranded. Although it was already a respected and successful enterprise, it opted to change its image to better reflect its current position and future vision.
“We wanted a new name, and brand image, that was compelling, memorable, and more closely aligned with our strategic focus of becoming a world-class contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on biologics, vaccines, and protein therapeutics,” said Peter H. Khoury, Ph.D., MBA, President and CEO of Ology Bioservices.
Consider Agency Assistance
Retaining outside professional assistance can often be a wise move. The Ology Bio rebranding effort was led by Vitamin D Creative, a full-service advertising and marketing agency. Vitamin D Creative spearheaded a thorough brand development process resulting in a new name, logo, palette, and tagline. ‘Capable, Collaborative, and Creative’ is the new tagline, which represents Ology Bio’s capabilities as biomanufacturers, collaborative partners, creative scientists, and business partners.
Be Comprehensive
Does rebranding need to be complicated? No, but it should be comprehensive. “Vitamin D Creative conducted a two-step rebranding process. Step one was an extensive market analysis to understand the positioning of competitors in the market. Step two was a collaborative creative process yielding a new name and image reflecting the company’s current reality and forward vision,” said Dan Malowany, who serves as President and Co-founder of Atlanta-based Vitamin D Creative and has 20+ years of experience in branding and marketing healthcare companies.
Pick a Good Name
“A good name goes a long way” is a popular saying, especially in the branding business as it begins the positioning process. Since a suitable name can differentiate your company from the competition, it can be one of the most important deliverables in a broad-based rebranding effort. Simplicity is an excellent strategy when revamping a brand image.
“Ology is simple to remember as everyone understands the uses of words like technology, biology, and psychology to mean the study of an advanced subject. Thus, Ology Bio is simply a brand that plays on our advanced offerings in the field of highly advanced biologics manufacturing services,” commented Dr. Khoury.
Simplicity is vital to business success in complex and technical industries such as biotech. ‘Ology Bioservices’ is a straightforward and strong new brand image, which captures the essence of an innovative company destined to dominate in an advanced knowledge-based sector.
By Kamal I. Latham
