As President of Creative at Brand Institute, I’ve spent my career working at the intersection of creativity, science, and regulation—helping to craft names that don’t just stand out, but also survive the intense scrutiny of global regulatory agencies. Over the years, we’ve seen the challenges in our field grow sharper: the regulatory bar is higher, trademark landscapes are increasingly crowded, and the demand for quality names—those that are easy to pronounce, conceptually on message, and naturally expressive rather than contrived—has never been greater.
This is the reality that inspired Brandi™, our AI-powered name generation platform and the most advanced program within our BI•Q™ portfolio of AI branding solutions. Brandi is not simply another tool in our process—it represents a paradigm shift in how pharmaceutical names are created.
AI Co-Creation, Not Automation
Brandi is not about replacing human creativity—it’s about co-creation. The platform generates novel names “from scratch,” but the real value comes from how our team guides it: exploring prioritized strategies, refining prompts, and curating robust output. Every viable name that Brandi produces is the result of AI power multiplied by human expertise.
This represents a paradigm shift: for the first time, technology isn’t just screening and recrafting what humans have already created—it’s working alongside us to build something new.
Solving the Real Problem
Some describe the problem as “shrinking white space.” That’s true, but incomplete. The real problem is an insufficient volume of quality and viable names—caused by regulatory and trademark barriers on one side and the practical limits of even the most talented teams to produce the necessary volume of quality names on the other.
Brandi solves this by enabling us to generate Great Names at Scale. Every name is grounded in client-prioritized strategy, curated by BI’s creative experts, and screened with BrandReality Max. This combination gives our clients the breadth and quality of names they need to fulfill all regulatory, trademark, linguistic, and commercial requirements.
As AI continues to evolve, its precision will only improve. What will remain constant is our commitment to pairing cutting-edge technology with unmatched human expertise. Brandi is engineered to meet today’s challenges head-on.
Regulatory Rigor at Its Core
Prescreening is foundational to the creative process for naming pharmaceuticals. Some in our industry lean on customizable POCA thresholds as a proxy for predictive power. At Brand Institute, we set a higher standard.
Brandi integrates BrandReality® Max, our proprietary prescreening platform, developed by our Drug Safety Institute team of former directors and key officials from the FDA, EMA, Health Canada, WHO, and AMA—within the very divisions responsible for drug name review and approval. These experts helped author the global naming guidance documents still used today during their tenure with their respective agencies.
BrandReality Max uses proprietary algorithms to assess name similarity globally, providing a rigorous, regulatory-agency-calibrated analysis that goes far beyond standard POCA screening to ensure only the most viable names advance to formal review.
Designed for Creatives
From day one, Brandi was built with a clear philosophy: this is a platform for our creative team. Our clients’ time is far too valuable to be spent learning software. Their insights, respective roles, and expertise fuel the naming brief. Our job is to take that brief and deliver great names. Brandi enables us to do that faster, smarter, and at a scale previously unimaginable.
The Role of “White Space” in Driving Productivity and Outcomes
One of Brandi’s unique features is its White Space Navigator, which identifies underutilized, opportunistic letter strings that, by their differentiated nature, have a greater likelihood of emerging as viable at the end of our process. By proactively exploring these opportunities, Brandi increases the survival rate of candidates—helping our teams and clients focus on names with greater viability, and driving further efficiency and speed during the creative phase of name development.
Complementary Tools for Collaboration
We also know that naming is a collaborative and consensus-building process. That’s why we have developed companion programs like NamePage®, NameVote®, and our recently redesigned BrandMatrix®, which allow clients and team members to share ideas and evaluate names in real time and without bias or influence. Brandi is focused squarely on name generation, while these tools ensure inclusivity and consensus across stakeholders.
Security & Data Integrity
As with every tool we deploy, security is paramount. Client data is fully siloed, never shared between projects, and never used to train large language models. Each project is conducted with the same care, confidentiality, and safety standards that define Brand Institute’s reputation.
The Table-Stakes Features
Of course, Brandi also delivers the features any credible AI naming platform should:
- Real-time avoidance of “hard conflict” names
- Automatic duplicate detection
- Clickable prescreening analysis that makes conflicts transparent and reviewable
- Enterprise-grade data security
But these are not the story. They are simply the baseline.
A New Chapter in Naming
Brandi was designed by namers, for namers. It is the product of decades of regulatory expertise, creative leadership, and a relentless focus on innovation. It strengthens what has always set Brand Institute apart: our people, our process, and our proven results.
With Brandi, we are entering a new era of pharmaceutical naming—one where creativity, strategy, and regulatory rigor converge to deliver great names at scale. The product roadmap for Brandi grows clearer by the day, informed by ongoing client feedback and real-world insights from our creative team. Together, these perspectives are shaping the key features and capabilities that will define Brandi 2.0.
We’ve never been more excited about our ability to continue adding greater value, speed, and efficiency to our clients’ naming projects.
By Scott Piergrossi
Scott Piergrossi
President, Creative
Mr. Piergrossi joined Brand Institute in 2003 and serves as President, Creative. Now in his 22nd year with the company, he has led thousands of naming and brand strategy projects across pharmaceuticals, healthcare, consumer products, technology, and other sectors. In addition to his creative leadership, he guides the development of the company’s AI-powered naming capabilities, ensuring alignment with regulatory, legal, and creative standards, and oversees corporate communications, including media relations. Well-versed in strategy, positioning, trademarks, and regulatory affairs, Mr. Piergrossi ensures each brand solution is distinctive, memorable, and compliant. He serves as an expert contributor to major global media outlets and holds a B.A. in Advertising from Barry University.
