What is the spirit of these times? Being able to pinpoint the emerging Zeitgeist can have a powerful impact on brands and media channels. Current predictions include: mobile is everything; the quantified self; transparency (as I pointed out in my book “Tell the Truth, Honesty is your most Powerful Marketing Tool”); personalisation (see recent blog); content is king and distribution is queen.
All of these have merit. There is also an all-encompassing trend in the West and in emerging nations that is redefining the economy and re-expressing what morality means in modern society. It will have long term impact on legislation and government planning. Brands that address it will experience success, and indeed many of the world’s great brands are beginning to do so.
This is the new Health Trend. We are used to the idea that medicine is getting better, our expectations over the last five decades for recovery from illness have risen considerably. However since the decoding of the human genome in 2001 healthcare has become personal, and is set to become even more so. The availability of a personal genome profile means that we can and should be in the position of being able to take care of ourselves more than our parents and grandparents could. An understanding of the likelihood that we might fall prey to one disease or another will become part of our upbringing and education. The responsibility for our own lifespan and health will be our own first rather than that of the state. There will be a new class structure to society – those who take care of themselves and those who don’t. There will be a revolution in insurance services and personalised healthcare. There will be a new moral code. How we behave, how much we eat or drink, exercise or take drugs, will be based on personal responsibility for caring for our genome structure, not on the rights and wrongs imposed by society, relationships or religion.
The health industry is one of the greatest stimulants to the worldwide economy. Futurology expert Leo Nefiodow has identified this as the next powerful “long wave”. He says: “The health cycle isn’t really about health care, it’s just called this. More than 97% of financial capital is spent on research into, and diagnosis, therapy and management of, diseases. It is in fact an illness cycle.”
Either way, can any other industry match Health/Illness in stimulating jobs and investment?
Technology for the quantified self, mindfulness, exercise, biotechnology, diet, genealogy research, cosmeceuticals, therapies, care for the elderly, policy for education and sports at school, home testing kits and new medicines. All developing from the Health Wave. The new morality; the new social imperative.
Should every brand seek to find a fit with the Health Zeitgeist? Well, while shops selling fried chicken and chips remain one of the most popular retail outlets on some high streets then there is no need to shoehorn immediate healthy meaningfulness into every single brand. Every brand needs to prioritise authenticity over the sheen of an intoxicating but irrelevant shell of meaning. But as the Zeitgeist of this era the Health (or Illness) Wave needs to be considered for marketing and communication strategy.
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Looking after yourself is right on trend
All of these have merit. There is also an all-encompassing trend in the West and in emerging nations that is redefining the economy and re-expressing what morality means in modern society. It will have long term impact on legislation and government planning. Brands that address it will experience success, and indeed many of the world’s great brands are beginning to do so.
This is the new Health Trend. We are used to the idea that medicine is getting better, our expectations over the last five decades for recovery from illness have risen considerably. However since the decoding of the human genome in 2001 healthcare has become personal, and is set to become even more so. The availability of a personal genome profile means that we can and should be in the position of being able to take care of ourselves more than our parents and grandparents could. An understanding of the likelihood that we might fall prey to one disease or another will become part of our upbringing and education. The responsibility for our own lifespan and health will be our own first rather than that of the state. There will be a new class structure to society – those who take care of themselves and those who don’t. There will be a revolution in insurance services and personalised healthcare. There will be a new moral code. How we behave, how much we eat or drink, exercise or take drugs, will be based on personal responsibility for caring for our genome structure, not on the rights and wrongs imposed by society, relationships or religion.
The health industry is one of the greatest stimulants to the worldwide economy. Futurology expert Leo Nefiodow has identified this as the next powerful “long wave”. He says: “The health cycle isn’t really about health care, it’s just called this. More than 97% of financial capital is spent on research into, and diagnosis, therapy and management of, diseases. It is in fact an illness cycle.”
Either way, can any other industry match Health/Illness in stimulating jobs and investment?
Technology for the quantified self, mindfulness, exercise, biotechnology, diet, genealogy research, cosmeceuticals, therapies, care for the elderly, policy for education and sports at school, home testing kits and new medicines. All developing from the Health Wave. The new morality; the new social imperative.
Should every brand seek to find a fit with the Health Zeitgeist? Well, while shops selling fried chicken and chips remain one of the most popular retail outlets on some high streets then there is no need to shoehorn immediate healthy meaningfulness into every single brand. Every brand needs to prioritise authenticity over the sheen of an intoxicating but irrelevant shell of meaning. But as the Zeitgeist of this era the Health (or Illness) Wave needs to be considered for marketing and communication strategy.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2015 at 12:05 pm and is filed under MediaComment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.