Today, consumers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of wellness. As new companies materialize every day and flood feeds with a staggering amount of information on wellness, it’s no wonder people easily become overwhelmed by all of the choices.
And this isn’t slowing down any time soon. The wellness industry continues to expand, with consumers spending $450 billion annually on wellness products and services in the United States alone. In order to break through the noise, businesses must understand how to market their products and services.
Brands need to know the “why” behind the pursuit of wellness. Consumers are seeking wellness solutions that will profoundly impact the way in which they show up in the world. With this insight brought to life, brands can stand out in the wellness space and have a positive and lasting impact on their customers.
Understanding Wellness as a Multidimensional Process
The concept of wellness has evolved significantly in the eyes of consumers. People no longer solely focus on their physical health; they now demand a holistic approach to well-being that encompasses various dimensions. Wellness has become a top priority across all age groups. According to a recent survey from McKinsey and Company, over 50% of U.S. consumers say wellness is critical, up from 42% in 2020.
While wellness might feel like another trendy buzzword, it is actually a multidimensional process where people strive for health in every area: emotional, social, occupational, physical, intellectual, and even in their beliefs and values.
Brands Successfully Unlocking the Power of Wellness
Let’s explore a couple of examples of brands that have a positive impact to illustrate how brands can achieve wellness at every level.
Only Human is a clothing brand that aims to “spark human connection and bring us together in ways that matter.” It recognized that its target audience was not only looking for trendy t-shirts; they also had an emotional need that was not being met. Only Human partnered with platforms such as BetterHelp, an online counseling app, and Aura, a meditation and mindfulness platform, to provide resources for its consumers that support emotional well-being.
Only Human reaches across multiple platforms, providing an omnichannel advertising experience while encouraging health beyond physical exercise. In this way, Only Human became more than just a clothing brand. It became an opportunity for consumers to heal emotionally.
Another example is Walmart, a brand that leveraged the power of social wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social wellness is all about how a person contributes to their environment and community to achieve better living and social networks. Amidst the incredible social tension of the pandemic, few people wanted to risk going to Walmart Pharmacy to get a flu vaccine. But there was a growing desire within many communities to help others in the wake of the pandemic. Walmart successfully refocused the conversation on flu vaccination away from just personal well-being, encouraging people to get the flu vaccine not just for themselves but for the benefit of their communities.
How to Identify and Deliver the Wellness Aspect of a Brand
By understanding human tensions surrounding various wellness aspects, brands can leverage their unique benefits and offer greater wellness solutions for their customers.
1. Identify the pain point. To effectively market a product or service, brands must identify the genuine needs and tensions within the lives of their target audiences. What is the wellness aspect within the customer’s life that can be improved by the introduction of a brand?
2. Connect that need to a relevant brand offering. Once brands recognize what aspect of wellness is missing in the lives of their consumers, they should think through how their offerings can fill the gap. If a brand doesn’t have a solution-based product, service, or offering for its target audience, it should create one. This doesn’t have to look like an entirely new product or service. It could be a supplemental experience such as an app, newsletter, podcast, or wearable. Get creative!
3. Act like a wellness brand, not a healthcare brand. Once brands know their audiences’ problems and have solution-based products or services, they shouldn’t just deliver them via the traditional healthcare media buy. Rather, they should brainstorm how to show up and behave in consumers’ lives as a wellness brand versus a traditional healthcare brand.
Changing Perceptions of Wellness
Wellness is what the world needs. It’s what everyone is pursuing in their own ways, in every aspect of their lives. To become a brand that people can trust within wellness, companies must identify consumer pain points and elevate the parts of their products or services that fill that gap.
The shift toward wellness has the potential to be widely transformative in perceptions of healthcare as a whole. Brands that embrace and promote wellness aspects can overcome the lack of trust often associated with traditional healthcare and gain loyal consumers in the long run. Don’t just talk about being a wellness brand — be a wellness brand.
Margot Grover
Margot Grover is the chief strategy officer at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. She has over 20 years of experience building brands with extensive experience in healthcare. Her strategies have led to some of the most awarded and widely recognized campaigns within the health and wellness space.
