You could argue that the marketing industry is largely responsible for the whole enforcement of 'New Year, New Me' bravado. So what was your resolution for this year – quitting smoking? Kale and flaxseed smoothies every morning? Yoga classes or pole dancing lessons, six times a week?
While the majority of us tend to slip back into our old ways by March (Or is that just me?) marketeers have more sticking power. Now, each month in the calendar seems to be 'hijacked' with a different healthcare campaign – encouraging us to quit this, lose that and even growing facial hair (thanks, Movember!)
As the calendar becomes ever more crowded with charity link-ups and interactive campaigns throughout the year, how can healthcare brands ensure that they are ‘fun enough’ for people to want to get involved, but also maintain a professional, authoritative persona? How do they ensure that their brand is carefully associated with their chosen charity at the heart of the campaign, instead of – dare I say it – appearing to jump onto the good cause bandwagon, leaving themselves open to accusations of profiteering?
There’s a large majority of healthcare awareness campaigns that have been well executed, but it’s also fair to say that there have been a number of hiccups along the way, too… Here’s a selection of a few campaigns that have particularly stood out.
I’m sure we’re all aware of Movember, which officially launched to support and build awareness for Prostate Cancer UK. A variety of global brands officially sponsor the cause – of which, arguably, some do seem to maintain a ‘natural fit’ with the overarching nature of the campaign. Gillette, for example, have been lucky to encourage those to not chop, but to style their facial hair by using Gillette products – launching TV ads while Movember is in full swing.
There are other brands, however – including PlayStation, HP Sauce and Marshall Amps – that are slightly less successful at establishing a natural harmony with the cause or campaign itself, seeming to offer nothing much more than encouraging their own brand values as a stereotypical ‘man brand.’ For instance, HP Sauce created a social media campaign which ran simultaneously with the whole Movember campaign. Fans were encouraged to send in their photos daily, with others voting for their funniest or favourite. The winner was then rewarded by having their winning shot featured on an HP Sauce limited-edition bottle as a prize. Fun and interactive, yes… strengthening core brand values and providing the charity with valuable support, hmm – possibly not.
Stoptober, an NHS funded campaign aimed at helping pre signed-up members quit smoking for 28 days – is another hugely high-profile. One of the brands that (un-officially) supported this campaign in 2012 was ‘E-Lites,’ which, in their own words, ‘offers smokers a safer, cheaper and legally unrestricted alternative to tobacco cigarettes.’ At first glance, this may seem like a good fit, but is this really a valuable brand offering for E-Lites? They introduced a new ‘harm reduction’ variety of electronic cigarette for those who are struggling to quit completely… or simply don’t wish to. Maybe I’m thinking too much into this, but (coming from an ex-smoker myself – the worst kind, I know…) I agree that there should be a lot of support given, but E-Lites seem to be ‘jumping’ onto this as a trend with minimal strategic or financial support given to the NHS – (or if they have, perhaps this could have been communicated more.) E-Lites seem to tackle this from a cost perspective, mentioning that a ‘typical 20-a-day smoker could save around £162 per month by switching to E-Lites.’ I say – break the habit by breaking the habit.
It’s great to see that charities are raising the bar when it comes to getting their names out there, and it’s certainly appealing to the masses – but I can’t help but feel that the national awareness weeks / days / months are almost on the way out… When will we get bored of them? When will we witness long-term awareness campaigns, instead of seeing fashionable events, tied down to one month in the calendar? When will the public actually give more money?
Charities and causes need to think about what’s next in the scene for them – in addition, brands could be more careful with their CSR and aligning their core brand values to more suitable projects.
