The XYMOGEN Diagnosis
The first stage of the Pure Branding legacy rebrand roadmap is a rigorous, deep exploration into the company, culminating in a three-day workshop with the leadership team.
“This workshop is where we present many hard truths,” said Yadim Medore, Pure Branding’s founder and CEO. “As with many legacy companies that have a rich and complex history, there were issues that were difficult for leadership to hear. One of the hard truths was that the company was supporting its practitioner customer base at the expense of its brand awareness. The brand had become known more for its private label business and Wholescripts, its distributor and e-commerce channel. Competitors began to capitalize on this unmet demand for the brand, diverting patients as they searched and shopped for Xymogen products. What was refreshing and most encouraging was the lack of defensiveness, the eagerness for open discussion, and the flexibility to entertain new directions. They clearly saw the need to focus on marketing the brand XYMOGEN first and foremost.”
Brian, Sr. reflected on this stage: “We were insular, and so the insights that emerged were amazing. While we have made mistakes along the way, it was a revelation to have Pure Branding as partners who understood who we are and what we needed to become. I wish I had brought them in years ago.”
One of the key opportunities leadership embraced was the shift from “practitioner first” to “patient first” — but not at the expense of the practitioner. The opportunity was for XYMOGEN to become the trusted, visionary, and engaging ally that serves the practitioner best by putting the patient first.
But how would this play out in the market?
Validating the Opportunities
With key opportunities identified, the next stage was validation through large-scale quantitative research with both practitioners and consumers.
“We knew going in that XYMOGEN appealed to a more pragmatic healthcare professional, but what we did not know was how this HCP segment actually viewed XYMOGEN compared to its competitors,” said Peter Littell, Pure Branding’s Director of Research and Strategy. “Nor did we know how well our new positioning would be received. The data gave us clear direction so XYMOGEN could avoid losing credibility with its base while at the same time exciting new practitioners to engage with the brand.”
“Despite being one of the most prominent and respected manufacturers in the category, the practitioner research found that the XYMOGEN brand had comparatively low awareness,” said Samantha Brewster, Pure Branding’s VP, Client Strategy & Activation. “Integrative practitioners may have known the XYMOGEN name, but they didn’t know what the brand stood for. The data dictated the urgency for the rebrand to build awareness of XYMOGEN as a top priority within the practitioner channel.”
XYMOGEN also invested in PureSegmentation, Pure Branding’s supplement consumer research and typing tool, to uncover which consumer segment would best respond to its offerings.
“We developed two distinct customer journeys — one for the primary HCP and the other for the target supplement consumer,” said Samantha. “Developing these two journeys was critical in determining strategy, since a patient-centric approach that serves the practitioner best requires an understanding of how patients and practitioners interact with each other and with the brand.”
Transitioning to a Marketing-Driven Company
Like many of the more successful practitioner brands, XYMOGEN had built its sales through a network of education/sales representatives. However, its investment in marketing was minimal, and during the diagnosis phase, leadership recognized the need to invest in sophisticated brand marketing. That meant a complete rebuild of the department. Pure Branding was instrumental in placing a Chief Marketing Officer as early in this process as possible and introduced the family to industry veteran Nikki Yas who became their new CMO at the end of the research phase.
“Pure Branding walked me through the insights of the Diagnose phase and the quantitative research,” said Nikki. “This was invaluable in giving me an objective overview and greater certainty moving forward. The research findings also became a critical component in helping our sales force understand the market better and fully support the new direction.”
The XYMOGEN Prescription
With validation in hand, Pure Branding delivered the brand strategy that would guide XYMOGEN’s future.
It was a strategy that managed what many thought was impossible: the ability to speak to consumers and HCPs at the same time, in a way that supported both of their needs while upholding XYMOGEN’s core belief in the transformational power of connecting people and expert functional and integrative healthcare professionals with breakthrough advances in nutrition.
“The message that we empower both patients and practitioners to elevate human potential is powerful,” said Kyle.“This strategy gave us newfound energy and excitement about why we do what we do — and that’s saying a lot because we were already excited about our work before this process started.”
During this phase, Pure Branding worked closely with Nikki to deliver a research-informed marketing strategy for the new XYMOGEN. “This strategy provided me critical guidance and priorities for the months leading up to our rebrand launch,” said Nikki. “I was building a marketing department from the ground up, and the strategy informed many of the decisions we had to make.”
