Zombies, it seems, are back in style. Hollywood is once again making movies with all sorts of soulless bodies chasing unsuspecting humans all over the world.

Not unlike the movies, there are millions of zombie brands chasing unsuspecting consumers. What is a zombie brand, you ask? A zombie brand is a brand with no soul. You may not notice at first glance—it has a nice name and slick logo—but there is no life behind it.

In his book Emotional Branding, Mark Gobe says, “Branding should not be about company nomenclature and obscure systems, but about flexibility and emotional reach. A lot of companies have logos but no soul.”

Many medical device, biotech, and lifescience companies fail to grasp the importance of creating a brand with a soul. Even the most high-tech and quantitative of brands should inspire people to achieve their aspirations and project who they are to those around them.

In a brand repositioning project we did a few years ago, we learned that molecular biologists working in a laboratory expressed the value of what they were doing with offbeat and quirky humor. They wanted to interact with brands that understood them, yet they were constantly presented with a world of gray machines and a list of lifeless features. They were being chased by brand zombies.

Ultimately, we crafted a brand with a soul—one that acknowledged how funny it was that you actually clean dirt before analyzing it. The result was an emotional connection and the establishment of ongoing channels that kept the human relationship going while helping them get better at their profession. And that is something brand zombies can’t do.

Clay Wilemon is the Chief Executive and Chief Strategy Officer at DevicePharm, a marketing strategy and integrated marketing communications firm based in Irvine, California. You can email Clay at clayw@DevicePharm.com.