Jane Asscher explores the role of brands in consumers’ wellbeing
Brands have a significant role to play for people and society – and that goes beyond simply providing a great product or service.
In an uncertain world, consumers are looking to businesses to introduce innovation into their lives. According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2024, business is the most trusted group to “make sure innovations are safe, understood and accessible,” with an emphasis on partnering with government.
Within this context, people are increasingly receptive to having brands they trust support their health and wellbeing, backed up by our own research at 23red which showed 59 percent of women would welcome health information from brands, rising to 66 percent in the 18-44 younger age bracket. Supporting consumers with their wellbeing feels like a sweet spot for brands and businesses.
Brands with purpose
While you might think it’s only health-specific brands that have license to access the conversation around wellbeing, there are many other types of brands that can and do help consumers: food, clothing and toiletries brands have a central role to play.
The classic example is beauty brand Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which aims to improve women’s self-esteem and build body confidence.
The brand’s latest research describes “toxic” beauty standards as a $500 billion public health crisis and says the Dove Self-Esteem Project has reached more than 82 million people in 150 countries by providing resources for teachers, a body-positive tool for LGBTQ+ youth, and a petition to end hair discrimination.
You might be surprised to learn that the campaign has been running for 20 years now, and while Dove has been a pioneer in helping people with their wellness, companies such as Essity continue to be very keen to innovate in the space. Essity’s “Viva La Vulva” campaign for its Bodyform period brand aimed to normalise conversations about vaginal health – much needed in a world where the gender health gap is a huge issue. Women spend 25 percent more of their lives in poor health than men, causing absenteeism and wide-ranging negative effects on society, so there is a huge opportunity for brands and businesses to help close this gap.
A healthy focus
Creating campaigns or initiatives that help people on their way to better wellbeing is a focus for many forward-thinking brands. Topically, during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Games sponsor Procter & Gamble provided more services to athletes “than ever before,” including a Pampers-branded nursery to support athletes balancing parenting with their careers. P&G also used the Games to launch its Always “It’s a New Period” campaign, which addresses anxiety around periods for those competing.
Nudging people to change their behaviour for the better is another strategy employed by brands. When alcoholic drinks company Pernod Ricard South Africa wanted to help people moderate their alcohol consumption, it launched water brand 141 Water. It aimed to prevent people from getting intoxicated with the premium product, serving it in a cube-shaped glass bottle at lifestyle events and dubbing it “The drink to drink between drinks.”
Simpler mechanics can also be effective in helping people with their wellbeing, such as charity donation partnerships. Neutrogena, Aveeno and Wellwoman are among brands that donate 10p to Marie Curie on purchases, via packs bought in Superdrug.
A personal touch
But there is also an unfulfilled need to communicate life-saving health messaging for diseases such as cancer. This requires a more delicate and personal approach and there are very few media opportunities to communicate with consumers in their most personal moments, contexts in which to prompt people to check for possible signs and symptoms. This is where there is space for innovative brands to get involved, and products beyond those in the healthcare category can do this, from urinals and loo rolls to toothpaste and underwear.
Brands have stepped up to support the NHS to help people be more aware of what’s ‘normal’ for their own bodies, and to take action if they spot any unexpected changes. The NHS Long Term Plan describes how the service will continually move forward to better support patients, and part of that includes increasing the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 to 75 percent by 2028. It’s working in partnership with brands such as P-Wave to add cancer warnings about blood in pee to urinal mats in thousands of men’s toilets in leisure outlets such as pubs and sports stadiums that is helping to achieve this ambition.
Another example is the “Be Body Aware” campaign delivered by the NHS and 23red. Vital cancer awareness messaging has been added to supermarket products including underwear care labels (see below) and loo roll.
This is a powerful way to reach people during their most personal moments when they are more likely to check themselves. Being close to a moment like this – getting dressed – creates a unique and unexpected media touchpoint to prompt people to check their bodies regularly and contact their doctor if something does not feel right. The messaging is done in a way that is wholly applicable to that context, and makes body awareness easy, normal and regular – and we worked with consumers to get the tone just right.
Around 400,000 pairs of Nutmeg-branded boxer shorts and crop-top bras carrying NHS care labelling have been sold across 240 Morrisons stores since its launch in August 2023, encouraging people to visit a website with information about breast and testicular cancer. Similar cancer messaging also features on Asda’s own brand mouthwash and toothpaste to spot mouth cancer symptoms, as well as on Tesco’s own label boxer shorts and packets of toilet rolls. “Look out for these possible signs of cancer when going to the toilet,” the text states, with examples including tummy discomfort or bloating for three weeks or more. Getting close to these intimate consumer moments is only possible by working in partnership with brands, and at 23red we always seek to create impactful collaborations to drive credibility and close the gap between behavioural intention and action.
Employee wellbeing
If your business makes great brands that have the potential to communicate with people to improve their wellbeing, then don’t be afraid to innovate and don’t underestimate the impact you can have on your own workforce too. We know that wellbeing is a core part of successful business design, creating better employee morale and engagement, and a more inclusive culture. So make it a win for your employees as well as your customers.
Brands can play an important role in changing people’s lives for the better. Not only is purpose good for people and the planet, but it can also drive profit, creating a win-win scenario for businesses and society alike.
Jane Asscher is the Chief Executive and founding partner of 23red
