Background / Challenge:

Based in Silicon Valley, Intuitive Surgical is a trailblazer in the field of robotic surgery, inventing and building groundbreaking surgical systems such as its renowned Da Vinci system that makes feasible operations and medical procedures that would be otherwise impossible.

In 2016 the company was already successful with revenues of $2.7B and was continuing to grow at a strong pace. However, the business had created thousands of products, devices and accessories, some of which had branded names, others descriptive and some that used legacy names from acquisitions. Intuitive’s product portfolio had become an unwieldy system that was proving to be extremely difficult to maintain, organize or communicate.

But first, Intuitive had invented a novel device to complete minimally invasive biopsies on potential lung cancer patients

Solution:

In early 2016, WANT began working with Intuitive to create names for a new robotic-assisted platform for minimally invasive biopsy in the lung. The new system would use an ultra-thin, ultra-maneuverable catheter enabling navigation far into the peripheral lung, and unprecedented stability enables the precision needed for biopsy. Intuitive sought to create a new distinctive sub-brand independent from its Da Vinci robotic devices.

Following this engagement WANT was put on an 18 month retainer as the company’s naming agency of record to help craft the company’s brand strategy, brand and naming architecture.

Outcome:

WANT created the name ‘ION’ for its endoluminal system. Over a 12 month period, we went to work on Intuitive’s entire portfolio of products. We created a new brand architecture for the renown Da Vinci system (the Da Vinci Xi, X and SP), we also named several new products, including ‘SmartFire’, the technology used in the world’s first fully wristed, 60mm surgical stapler.

The culmination of our engagement was to simplify and optimize Intuitive’s product portfolio. We’ve also created an intricate naming decision-making tool, to help guide future naming decisions and to prevent another situation where product names and classifications become more of a hindrance than a help.

Our work helped to build a high-performance brand for Intuitive that helped the business almost double its revenue from $2.7B to $5B.