Proven success is an eye-catching brand claim. This simple statement can instantly add credibility for a brand and build trust with patients and healthcare providers with a mere 2 words. This claim is always substantiated by the brand’s clinical research; however, as a health educator, I often question whether or not the results are sustainable long-term behavior.
I would argue that partnering claims with the support of health education can lead to sustained health behavior changes. Here's why.
I discovered health education while I was coaching consumers of a well-known weight-loss brand on the basics of nutrition and the brand-focused weight-loss products. I felt that despite all my efforts, the end result for consumers was not life changing. Consumers could use the brand’s products and achieve success, but market research showed that few consumers could sustain the weight loss over the long term.
Proven success was the brand claim. I felt challenged with this because I believed that the slogan overpromised. In my experience, the claim was based on short-term results, and using the products did not result in the behavior changes necessary to lead to sustainable weight loss for the consumers. At this moment, I recognized the need for health education—and with that, my educational approach was transformed. I started to recognize that arming consumers with nutrition knowledge was not nearly enough. Consumers simply needed more in order to understand the information and then be able to act upon it to achieve long-term success.
Applying the health education learnings and a theoretical behavior change framework helped me overcome these challenges and changed the outcomes. This change not only affected the consumers in supporting their behavior changes but also helped to grow the brand. Consumers gained the ability to self-recognize and to strategize a personalized approach to dealing with nutrition and weight issues that was sustainable over time. The brand gained heightened perceptions of results that could potentially lead to a larger market share.
Health education made the difference. There are many opportunities to apply this to healthcare products and related consumer goods. To take advantage of these opportunities and make a difference for the consumers of your brand, a health education approach may be key to proven longer-term success.
Laura Catalusci
Specialist, Health Education
Comments