Dec

Keeping health and healthy lifestyle branding and marketing simple

As health and healthy lifestyle brand owners, you should be doing what you can to reduce consumers’ stress levels. In a marketplace filled with too much choice (both product and media), too much information (often conflicting) and too much similarity, simpler is smarter. Today, complexity requires simplicity.

From a consumer perspective, we tend to shut down when faced with too many choices. We say we want choice, but not too much. Dr. Susan Broniaczyk, from University of Texas states in her paper “the deleterious effects of living in consumer hyperchoice”, when consumers face a large selection of items, they have to process a large amount of information, which can cause problems. People worry so much about buying the wrong item that they may opt out of the whole arduous decision-making process by not buying anything at all. Or, when they do buy something, foregone options linger in memory, causing post-purchase regret.

For brand owners, adapting a mantra of simplicity (of being all about your customers) translates to:

• Your brands ability to make people feel better and contribute to making their lives better. Which starts by making it simple for them to choose what they want (e.g. Amazon).

• A simple and delightful experience (in a world where many are not). Making airline reservations and trying to rent a car typically are not. Zappos and Pret A Manger are.

• The ability to put resources behind brands that will generate the strongest results. Which goes back to making it simpler for people to navigate your offerings. By paring back your portfolio to those brands that are most on trend and that represent the lions share of current and potential future revenues and reputation, you’re not only taking costs out of the system, but you have more horsepower to put behind those brands.

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Dec

Sustainability through a lunch box napkin

Actually one of a few different ideas I’ve seen recently related to lunch boxes – one citing the dangers of the boxes themselves, the other offering ideas for “sustainable” lunch sacks. Interesting idea, but what are the chances your kids will actually come home with the napkins? ttp://springwise.com/eco_sustainability/reusable_lunch_box_napkins/

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Dec

Dr. Dean Ornish: Healing and other natural wonders

Very interesting and engaging talk by Dean Ornish from TED conference http://www.ted.com (bringing together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers) – about simple, low-tech and low-cost ways to take advantage of the body’s natural desire to heal itself. Dean Ornish is a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventative Research Institute. He’s a leading expert on fighting illness – particularly heart disease with dietary and lifestyle changes.

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Dec

Health brand experiences – are there lessons to be learned from a sandwich shop?

Pret A Manger is a sandwich shop in NY. I hadn’t been to one since traveling with friends in London years ago. I was so impressed with the company that when I returned from that trip, I called the company to let them know.

Pret offers those who are on-the-go a comfortable, relaxing and somewhat surprising experience. It’s cozy, with a nice, simple assortment of self-select, fresh (pretty creative) sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads and desserts – all made with natural ingredients. And to top it all off, the people who work there are actually really happy and helpful.

I know Pret’s only a sandwich shop, but I can’t help but think that it often comes down to the basics,

“warm environments, inviting presentation, friendly faces, the opportunity to engage.”

Whether a sandwich shop, a waiting room in the hospital or a retail shopping experience. Really not to much to ask.

Dec

How can health and wellness marketers make the best of the recesson

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Never thought I’d guote Billy Ocean, but his statement is true. The recession’s impacted everyone. Both marketer and consumer are re-evaluating their priorities and their next moves. Both are under pressure to control costs, maintain liquidity and protect their bottom lines.

So how can health and wellness marketers make the best of a tough and lingering situation. How can you maintain or actually build momentum, when many others are hunkering down. In our work with clients, we’re focusing on these issues:

1. Stay True To Your Story. Who you are, what you stand for, what you believe in and the benefits you provide are what won you their loyalty in the first place. Now, in the midst of all this turmoil, is not the right time to revise your script. Those who know you best will see through you, begin to doubt you and make others aware of same.

2. Tweak The Value Proposition. Value is certainly higher on the consumer’s benefit ladder. Which can be defined as comfort, safety, security, etc. – those benefits that are already built into your value proposition. Consider creative ways to deliver more value at the same price (e.g. more utility, more relationship, more knowledge…). As long as you remain true to who you are, you have permission to evolve the proposition to fit with the times.

3. Keep Insiders Engaged And Positive . Your employees are feeling the strain and pain of the economic situation. Either internally or as consumers themselves, they’re anxious. It’s critical that you continue to work (and that they can continue to drive) your brand from the inside-out. If there’s doubt in their minds about your future (their future), if they don’t have a positive frame of mind, it will come through in their interactions and actions. Remember that employees are one of the most essential, and cost effective, components of marketing.

4. Sharpen The Experience. Walk the mall, and you can see who’se generating the traffic. And whose not. Particularly today, when dollars are tight, those brands that create an emotional connection – that make people feel good about themselves and their decisions – that make people feel more connected – in more control – smart or frugal – will win the day.

5. Open Up The Conversation. Enable and share in your customer conversations. Listen to what they are saying. Learn and build on the positives as well as the criticism. And don’t ignore or cancel out the negatives when they arise. The more transparent you are, the more their trust and loyalty will come out on the other side.

6. Continue Brand-Building Activities. Study after study has demonstrated that companies that continue to spend through recessions come out stronger on the other side. It’s actually a good time to build share of mind as others put on the brakes. And it’s more efficient as media should be less expensive and opportunities exist to negotiate surrounding opportunities.

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Nov

Starbucks "Project Red" Campaign

I just read in today’s Ad Age online that Starbucks has entered into a holiday promotion with Project Red. Clearly, a worthwhile endeavor. And the Starbucks brand, along with the Starbucks consumer, certainly fits with Red. But the fact that they entered into this partnership “amid projections that it won’t see improved same store sales until 2009″ really rubs me the wrong way.

If Starbucks mission is to be a responsible company, why wait until now to sign up with Red. Why wait until after reporting really disappointing Q4 profit and same store sales results. Sort of rhetorical questions. And they acknowledge the effort is only a promotional program. Other Red partners like Gap, Converse, Apple and Hallmark (as reported in this article) have long ago built Red into their ongoing product programs.

Transparency is supposed to be a good thing. But in this case, it’s just too easy to see through. While I can’t argue with the cause, I think the impetus for the effort – particularly for Starbucks – is just wrong.

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Nov

Promising Signs For The Relaunch Of A Global Healthcare Brand

We’re relaunching a global cardiac safety brand in the next couple of months. To begin to educate and engage inside, we just had our first internal session yesterday with Brand Ambassadors (those people – who based on Senior Leadership input – represent each department within the organization and who will be the lead liaison between employees and their new brand).

It’s one thing to get Board and Senior Leadership sign-off on brand direction. But you really find out if you nailed it when those on the front-lines feel like they are one with the new brand. When they can see themselves in the new brand idea. When they’re inspired and motivated by it. When it’s aspirational, but within their grasp.

To a person, our Brand Ambassadors left our session with a stronger connection to the organization and to each other. They’re fully engaged and on board. And are excited that they get to carry the torch for new brand. Yesterday was a great day. And now the hard work starts.

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Nov

What's happening to the Starbucks brand?

When times are tough, people hold on to those small vices that make them feel like things are still okay. Yet Starbuck’s Q4 profits plummeted. Though restructuring charges and other costs associated with their turnaround plan are built into the numbers, this result causes one to consider what’s really going on.

Are people trading off for Dunkin? Are they going through the McD’s drive through on their way to work (and enjoying a much better McD’s cup of coffee)? Has WaWa, or even the local deli, become a much more attractive and far less costly stop. Ultimately, the answer is yes. Because Starbuck’s position as a “third-place” has lost some traction.

So what’s happened? Seems that a third-place given these troubling times would be just what people are yearning for. A place of refuge – to get away from the maddening world. And a whole lot less expensive than cozying up to the bar. But now it’s only come down to the coffee. What’s led to the watering down of the Starbuck’s experience?

Some question whether the Starbucks brand has lost its soul, its special place as a local neighborhood-feeling destination. I think the answer is yes. And I think the solution is going back to what made it so different and special in the first place – a warm and inviting experiential brand that just happens to serve coffee.

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Nov

Lessons from Microsoft – when not to revitalize a health brand

Saw the brilliant Apple tv spot (for the umpteenth time) in which “Bill” is apportioning dollars between funding Microsoft advertising and fixing Vista. Started to think about how Microsoft should respond to Apple’s attack ads, separate from their multi-hundred million dollar “I’m A PC” campaign.

Vista-specific advertising isn’t the answer, because the product is inferior. So why fuel the fire even further. In addition, why spend more money giving Apple any more air time. Also, what could Microsoft possibly say that doesn’t make them look foolish – “we’ve finally fixed a product that we know really sucked; sorry to the millions of people who suffered through the Vista experience.”

I think that Vista’s reputation is so tarnished at this point that it doesn’t pay to try to revitalize it. And how do you tell people, without acknowledging that you screwed up in the first place (along with consumers knowing full well that your apology isn’t quite as sincere as when J&J masterfully handled their Tylenol scare).

How about evolving away from Vista. From a product with an awful reputation that’s a drag on the corporate brand. Introduce (and fix) the next generation of operating system. It would certainly give Microsoft a cleaner slate. And a new platform to drive what can only be a more positive message. Give all those people who proudly stand up and say “I’m A PC” something to be proud of — because they’re most likely using PC’s now only because they have to. Otherwise, why would they want to. Unless you’re prone to lemming tendencies.

And when they do introduce the new operating system – look beyond advertising. Consider the strategic use of PR – to help impart a message that sounds strong enough to come from a leader but humble enough to acknowledge that you screwed up – and it won’t happen again.