Buoyant branding

Branding is set to become increasingly important in the UK medical device market, which in recent years has experienced phenomenal growth and is now worth about £4 billion. And more companies in the market are planning to increase their spend on product design and sales and marketing than on any other category of investment.

This is according to independent research commissioned by the organisers of the Medical Device Technology Exhibition & Conference (MDT 06 - NEC, Birmingham from 15-16 February 2006) among European medical device manufacturers. The research shows that 71% of UK medical device manufacturers believe that their customers will be more influenced by brand in the future. The pattern is the same across Europe.

The medical device market has for many years been fragmented. Companies have perhaps been protected from the need for branding by the buoyant market for such products, and perhaps by an assumption that providers of healthcare are too sophisticated to be persuaded by branding. However, the research suggests that this is changing.