Phyllis Freyer, vice president of marketing/communications at the newly minted Renown Health, spoke recently at A2N2’s luncheon, and discussed the process used by Washoe Medical Center in selecting a new name.
Here’s Bill O’Driscoll’s report from the Reno Gazette-Journal
A “compelling” case.
That’s how Renown Health officials describe a consultant’s assessment of the need to change the health-care company’s name from Washoe Medical Center.
Finding that new identity was another matter, and last week Phyllis Freyer, Renown vice president of marketing/communications, walked an audience of Reno-area advertising executives through the yearlong process that led to the launch of Renown eight weeks ago.
“It was very important that people understand our private, not-for-profit status,” she told the Advertising Association of Northern Nevada, referring to confusion with the word “Washoe” in the old name.
The consultant, Monigle Associates of Denver, came up with 60 possible na
mes based on three categories: descriptive, such as a geographical entity; “empty vessel,” or made-up words; and “connotative,” a word, or parts of several together, that has a meaning.
“You look for brevity, memorability,” Freyer said, and then you run exhaustive searches to avoid trademark infringements and other legal traps.
The initial list was trimmed to 10 options, and that was pared down to a final three, which were put before internal staff and community focus groups.
“Monigle told me focus groups might see red flags, and that’s what happened,” Freyer said.
One of the finalists was “Acompra,” a combination of “accomplished” and “comprehensive,” she said. But in it the panel groups saw the word “comp,” which led them to think the company was offering free health care.
“That was kind of the opposite of where we wanted to go,” Freyer said.
“Renown,” though, was a hit, and the focus groups saw “Reno,” or “Reno’s Own,” or “Reno Western Nevada” in it, Freyer said, but added that those interpretations had no bearing in the final decision.
“We picked it for ‘Renown’ and what it stands for,” she said of the word whose Webster’s definition is “widespread and high repute; fame.”
