There is Dignity in Branding Without Acronyms
The recent rebrand of healthcare provider CHW (formerly Catholic Healthcare West) into Dignity Health was a masterstroke of naming, and the resulting corporate identity is refreshing and beautiful. Not sure who did the naming and design. They did a great job. I was mostly glad to see another example of one of my most hated branding conventions – the acronym – fall by the wayside, its decaying corpse fertilizing the ground from which a real brand has sprouted and now begins to grow. And grow. Grow in a big and positive way. Literally. Here's what I'm talking about: At a recent event in San Francisco (where I got to Talk to Chuck in real life ) I ran into a fellow I know who is a senior executive with Dignity Health, neé CHW, and got to ask him about how the rebrand had affected business. He was emphatic. "It has completely changed everything for the better." He stated unequivocally, "Our people are energized. Our patients view us in a whole new, more positi