A Memo to Health Care Marketeers

Listen:

Of all the marketing messages consumers receive, those dealing with health care are arguably the most important.

Weigh the social impact of a Cheesy Bacon BK Wrapper against news of life-saving technology or facilities.

And yet, poor health is communicated far better to American consumers than is good health.

It's not as if health is less interesting.

Health does far more for your sex life, your family life, and your waistline than greasy pork and nicotine. Advertisers are just better at connecting these products, in consumers' minds, with the things they care about...

...The fundamental promise of pleasure (for example), especially appealing in tough economic times, is an easy sell. Identity is wrapped up in there, too. I choose Burger King because I'm funny, creative, and young(ish).

As health care marketers, before we even write copy or shoot photos, we can start with a better fundamental promise.

Right now, we're stuck in a preachy, "apple-a-day" mentality. Thinking top-down, we start from a position of expertise held over the heads of all of you, unhealthy slobs that you are. The fundamental promise of health care is a "should"...

...Exercise more because you should. Eat better because you should.

It's also, often, a negative. Take this and you won't get dandruff, heartburn, or worse.

Product advertisers not only start with a better fundamental promise, they express it far better. They use words, colors, sounds, and images that evoke and invite.

Us health care marketers, on the other hand, have gotten lazy! We dip again and again into the same pool of words and images. Clichés like the friendly, silver-haired doctor, the earnest and dedicated researcher, or even the happy seaside jogger are falling flat with consumers.

We're also far too technical, and scary. More than once recently I've seen the names of complex and unpleasant medical procedures used in headlines and lead copy.

We're allegedly in a downturn (I'm an optimist) and need to spend our money carefully. So let's start with something cheap, or free:

WHAT I SUGGEST:

Write Your Own Revolutionary Memo.

Before beginning, I suggest you listen to this,* for mood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OTHnXwr_s

And read this, for tone: http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html

I also wanted to include "watch this," but it has a bad word in it, so be warned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UeR0CqI4iw)

Now you should be suitably juiced up to open your email program, or better, the case on your college typewriter, and send an urgent note to leadership in your organization about radically rethinking the fundamental assumptions we make in:

1. Forming an underlying health care brand, and
2. Expressing that brand through marketing and advertising.

Tell your people to start watching commercials for pharmaceuticals very carefully (those guys really get it) as well as reading, watching and listening more closely to product advertising for soap, toothpaste and shampoo, as well as cars, turkeys, Wendy's, Mighty Putty, anything.

Tell them to get excited, because you're excited. And then get excited...

...Most of us not-so-secretly desire to be part of something big, and good. We feel guilty about the failure of our working lives to line up with the urgency of widespread, unmitigated suffering in this confusing world.

Those of us working within or as a partner to health care organizations have an opportunity to get creative, which is fun, about delivering a message that saves lives, which is inspiring. And also has some huge dollar signs attached to it too, by the way.

WHAT'S NEXT:

I am working hard to develop more thoughts like these, mapped to practical actions and outcomes. I put a lot of them on my blog (gdahaus.blogspot.com). You can read it.

Way more important, I want to form a loose coalition of like-minded people excited by the creative and socially relevant opportunity of transforming health care marketing. Want to join me? Write eric@grossmandesign.com.

BEST OF LUCK AND HEALTH TO ALL OF YOU IN 2009.

Eric

Creative Accounts Director
Grossman Design Associates
M:(612) 986-9412
O:(952) 922-4343
http://grossmandesign.com/
http://gdahaus.blogspot.com/

*There could conceivably be a spoken lyric in this song that offends somebody. It it's you, tune the words out (for shame) and just listen to the bass line. It's hot.