By Nelson Freitas | Chief Strategy Officer
By Nelson Freitas | Chief Strategy Officer
Everywhere you look, brands seem to have decided unanimously to get into the healthcare space. Warm and fuzzy ads about well-being and mental health used to be limited to businesses that operated in the actual health-and-wellness realm, but the pandemic has ushered in a new era of identity.
Every company on some level now has to be cognizant of keeping customers and employees safe. Go into a Target, and the air is clean, the carts are sanitized, the workers are masked, the social-distancing markers adorn the floors.
Health and wellness used to be in the background, but now it’s at the forefront of everything. Because customers are making different choices on why they buy from certain brands, how well a company embraces “health” and treats people matters a lot.
Ultimately, a brand is a force for growth but also a force for good; the two are interlinked. Companies are expected to be transparent about how they produce their products and what they put into them — and nothing suits this transparency better than a consideration for our individual and collective “wellness.” Consumers will continue to be concerned about the air they breathe in a store or mall, the quality and purity of the food they eat, the safety of their clothes or of the moisturizers and makeup they put on their skin. The safety of everything they bring into their homes is a priority.
It only makes sense to showcase the proactive steps that brands are taking in those regards. Customers care about sustainability and responsible use of resources, not to mention how a company treats its employees. More than ever, wellness is becoming a key factor in what drives choice and preference besides the traditional “price and quality.” A brand that treats me (the individual) well, treats us (the collective) well, and treats the planet well, will be (of course) well-positioned for the future.
LG is but one example of a nontraditional entrant into the health-and-wellness space. The technology company’s menu of smart TVs will be equipped with a health education and telehealth app from the senior-focused health platform Independa, which will let users arrange and complete telehealth appointments through their TVs. Even tech giants Microsoft and Twitter are allowing employees to work from home permanently so they can put their wellness front and center.
Any brand can join this movement. Just make “kind” part of your brand ethos and spirit. We talk about empathy and listening more than ever, so let’s make sure kindness gets made a permanent part of our corporate cultures. When we’re well, we thrive.
If you’re a health brand, you’re contributing to society’s well-being, and that transcends simply maximizing the bottom line. We know people ignore or, worse, punish those who fake it, so think through your brand’s contribution so that it rings true with your values. In the end, it’s about getting closer to the people you serve — customers, stakeholders, vendors, employees — through essential and tangible acts of caring.
