How To Build A Standout Brand In Even The Most Conservative Industry

How To Build A Standout Brand In Even The Most Conservative Industry

When you think of FDA regulation you don’t necessarily think of fun, cheeky or funny, do you?

That might be precisely why Dr. Ediuska Laurens is about to take the Medical Device FDA regulatory process by storm.

Standing out isn't always about building a crazy, in-your-face brand with tons of personality. In fact, because of the name and of my company, Worstofall Design, and the brand that we’ve built, sometimes clients think that those are the only kind of brands that we build. 

In actuality, we never recommend building a brand like ours if it’s not already yours— the best brand for any small service or consulting company is going to be truly authentic to the owner. It’s the art of capturing that person’s voice, and then putting it into a clear message that can be owned by that person, that truly makes the brand stand out.

But sometimes it just so happens that the person in question has an inherent personality that was built for a standout, in-your-face, loud, fun, sassy brand. This is a brander’s dream come true because as fun as it is to build a great brand for a great company, the beat projects of the ones with an owner who wants to zig when everyone else zags, in life and in business.

This is why I was over the moon excited when I met Ediuska, a medical device product development and FDA regulatory guru on a mission to change the world. This young, whip-smart scientist and innovator has been in the medical device industry for over nine years, having built her career at the prestigious company Stryker, after completing a bachelor's in Aerospace Eng., master's in Mechanical Eng. and a doctorate in Biomedical Eng.

But more recently she decided to go out on her own so that she could help the little guys. Again, another wet dream for a branding company like mine. She’s on a mission to help smaller inventors, startups, and entrepreneurs who have game-changing medical device solutions that they want to bring to market that have the potential to save lives and improve the lives particularly of our most vulnerable populations, women and children, and the developing world. 

What Ediuska knows that you and I might not know off the top of our head is that the regulatory process, with good reason, is incredibly difficult to navigate. While at Stryker, Ediuska, not only innovated and patented craniomaxillofacial medical technologies, but also took plenty of devices from concept to the global market, but she had a huge corporate company behind her as well as all of their resources and processes. How are small yet brilliant entrepreneurial inventors supposed to know right off the bat how to navigate the complex regulatory- product development process to ensure taking their devices to market successfully, and how are they supposed to match the many years of experience of the giants to reduce risks and do it well enough that their device is actually safe and effective for patients? Ediuska knows how and she is building her business Genius Shield to bring that corporate experience plus her scientific and engineering background to the little guy.

And while this David is not trying to slay the goliath, she is trying to help huge swaths of the population with her work by empowering the little guys, because helping them de-risk and develop safe and effective devices accomplishes her ultimate mission of protecting patients globally. 

And she’s doing it by being herself and owning her personality. When you think of a scientist-innovator who is obsessive about the details of medical device regulation, you don’t normally think of someone like Ediuska who is vibrant and funny and outspoken, not to mention a woman in a male-dominated industry. 

And that’s why Ediuska came to us. Because she was ready to own her personality as her brand, and she has the guts to put herself out there in a way that is completely polar opposite to how her entire industry exists. It’s a bold move and one that is already starting to reward her with recognition and awards and guest appearances and invites to spread the good word about demystifying the regulatory process for these entrepreneurs.

When you’re thinking about the brand for your business, does it have to be as fun and opposite of the normal stuff in your industry as Ediuska ‘s? Absolutely not, and if that’s not your personality it definitely shouldn’t be because it will be inauthentic. However, whoever you naturally are is a great place to start to build a brand that stands out and women like Ediuska are paving the way to show that it is OK to zig when everybody else is zagging.

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