Rx for Healthcare Marketing to Women: Focus on What Really Matters

“Rather than simply selling products, or building brand loyalty, healthcare marketers need to help women get to healthier outcomes,” says Kate Caldwell, Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning at Draftfcb Chicago.

According to Caldwell, women have, on average, 2.5 health conditions. “The woman next to you may well be overweight, have related cardiac problems, doesn’t exercise and could be depressed. Simple facts and education about the product are not enough,” Caldwell stated. “How can she be expected to change and sustain that change all on her own?”

“Women clearly struggle with health behavior changes and we healthcare marketers need to be commitment catalysts’ that inspire and empower women to commit to living longer and healthier lives,” Caldwell said in her speech today at the Conference for Marketing Healthcare to Women (M2W-HC) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Draftfcb conducted a proprietary research survey (using a national sample of more than 200 women, 21–74, with at least one health condition, augmented by several in-depth interviews) to determine current behaviors, success and failure around medications, diet and exercise. Caldwell noted that women must be committed to changing behavior—and sustaining it—whether the commitment be to a medication, a diet, a workout, a supplement or other health remedies.

“Fifty percent of women don’t take their medication on a regular basis—or at all; 61 percent know they need to lose weight; and 87 percent agree they should exercise more than they do,” Caldwell stated. “In addition, one out of five admits they don’t always fill their doctor’s prescription, take the prescribed dose or refill the prescription on time.”

“We healthcare marketers must go beyond brand marketing and look at women’s holistic lifestyle and overall health, focusing on what really matters to them to bring about the motivation, change and commitment needed. Holistic, patient-centric marketing rather than brand-centric marketing is the key,” Caldwell noted. “Healthier outcomes will also result in healthier bottom lines.”

According to the survey, the leading reasons women are successful in making behavior changes are related to seeing and feeling results, readiness and believing strongly in the benefits of change.

Leading reasons women are not successful relate to lack of commitment, getting tired of working so hard at it, failing in previous attempts, finding it too hard to sustain change and a lack of belief in their own ability to do it.

Caldwell said that every healthcare marketer needs to understand, activate, and support all three major drivers of commitment, i.e., a belief in the diagnosis, a belief in the product and a belief by the woman in herself.

“Anticipate what matters to her at every touchpoint and create and help sustain her commitment all along the way,” Caldwell said. “Understand her goal and commitment drivers, foresee the roadblocks and detours she might encounter, select and prioritize timing and messages and develop commitment metrics to track her success.

“Help her with her commitment from start to finish. Be part of her success because when she succeeds, you’ll also succeed,” Caldwell concluded.

About Draftfcb
Draftfcb is the first global, behavior-based, holistic marketing communications organization to operate against a single P&L. In delivering its clients a high Return on Ideas, the agency is driven by The 6.5 Seconds That Matter, a creative expression recognizing the brief period of time marketers have to capture consumers’ attention and motivate them to act. With nearly 140 years of combined expertise, Draftfcb has roots in both consumer advertising and behavioral, data-driven direct marketing and firmly believes there is no way to separate creativity from accountability. Part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG), the Draftfcb network spans 96 countries with more than 9,500 employees. The agency’s corporate leadership team includes Howard Draft, executive chairman; Laurence Boschetto, CEO and president; Jonathan Harries, vice chairman and global chief creative officer; and Neil Miller, chief financial officer. For more information, visit www.draftfcb.com.

Primary Contact:
Michelle McGowan
Draftfcb
(312) 425-6013
[email protected]