June 30, 2020
When marketers sell products and services, they tend to succeed most readily when these items are framed as solutions or lifestyles. This is especially true in health and wellness marketing, which prompts consumers to latch onto a vision of themselves that reflects the person they hope to become.
But what to do when the long-term commitment– either in time, energy, or money– appears greater than the reward? That’s the primary challenge behavior change marketing (BCM) must overcome.
As anyone who ever attempted to quit smoking can attest, behavior change is a big undertaking. In fact, it's the perceived size of the challenge that keeps many people from ever even attempting to quit. The nicotine gum brand Nicorette knows this as well as anyone, which informs the underlying theme of its outreach. Take this recent commercial. The central message? Starting small leads to big change.
Real behavior change is hard, which means it's hard to get people started. Ambitious goals, like adopting a healthier diet to fight Type 2 Diabetes, take consistent effort. It must work in little nudges, which means your marketing must do the same. But while starting small sounds great in theory, in practice the same general principles that have always guided marketers still apply.
Here are ways you can scale correctly and take a more pragmatic approach to behavior change marketing.
1) Get granular when defining your audiences.
Any individual’s behavior grows from a complex mix of factors — personal beliefs, attitudes, experiences, education, and the sociocultural matrix in which they’re embedded. To succeed, a BCM campaign must identify the factors most relevant for engaging distinct audiences, and these may vary from group to group. Parents, for example, may be motivated to quit smoking for far different reasons than young, single adults.
Develop personas for each of these sub-segments as defined by the most important factors that will cause them to change behavior (or keep them from trying), and let these serve as the launching pads for your message strategy.
2) Minimize assumptions about the people you want to reach.
“Just say no.” For members of Generation X, these words are more of a punchline than a mantra. Although broadcast for over a decade and amplified by powerful figures such as Nancy Reagan, the message never translated into a significant decrease in teen drug use. So what went wrong?
Dozens of studies have sought to determine why the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program of the 1980s and 1990s proved ineffective. It was determined that while “just say no” may seem like an empowering message, it carried within it a dangerous assumption: that its target audience had already developed the interpersonal skills needed to refuse offers of illicit substances.
Whereas D.A.R.E. preached “just say no,” the more successful "Above the Influence" campaign asks, “If you’re not in control, who is?” This campaign uses jarring videos to help children discern the influences on their behavior while playing to the psychological need for autonomy and self-determination. "Above the Influence" flips the perception that using drugs or engaging in other risky behavior is an act of rebellion. Instead, it sends the message that real individualists will not compromise their true selves, health, or future by bowing to peer pressure.
To combat assumptions, take the time to build psychographic insights into your audience personas, making concrete what might otherwise be abstract notions of values, interests, and habits.
3) Symbols and iconography can change perceptions.
Starting small can also entail compressing a big idea down to a single image. Just as a brand logo instantly brings to mind an organization’s core principles and values, the symbols and iconography associated with successful BCM campaigns shape perceptions by first commanding attention.
In the 1980s, The Partnership for a Drug Free America used this tactic to great success in the now legendary frying egg commercial. A generation of children grew up equating a frying egg with what drugs do to the human brain. This image rose to iconic stature in the culture. Why? It was simple. It was easy to understand. And the elements were familiar to anyone.
The weight loss industry has long relied on symbols as well, in the form of celebrity endorsements. Spokespersons have included sports figures with appeal to men, and icons of female strength like Oprah Winfrey to connect with women. When celebrities appear on-camera in their new bodies, they provide consumers with a vision of their own possible transformation, something that might be difficult for them to imagine otherwise.
4) Provide quick wins.
Mountain climbers don't just focus on the summit. Instead, they take time to acknowledge every crest and vista they reach along the way. That because nothing inspires success like success.
It's important for behavior change marketers to create "wins" all along the path that people are taking. From day one, people should feel like they are accomplishing something meaningful. And for most people, that first step towards substantive change will be the hardest of all, so you need to be there to recognize it.
When your audience reaches any milestone, celebrate it with them. Reward them for their efforts. Make them feel proud of who they are and what they're doing. The more they see results in every the smallest accomplishments, the more likely they are to keep going.
5) Engagement is everything.
Successful BCM brands know how to keep people in the fold when their resolve wanes. Through successes and stumbles, they maintain a constant, motivating presence. Weight Watchers and Alcoholics Anonymous have longed recognized the need for routine interaction to help people stay focused on their goals. Peloton, meanwhile, helps sustain motivation (and reduce churn) through leaderboards and connected, community workouts.
Success or failure, a great behavior change brand knows how to respond with the right messaging to keep people moving.
This is a long game. When we refer to "behavior change," what we're really talking about is the replacement of habits, and those new habits need time and repetition to form and take root. The best behavior change brands know that it's their burden, and not the burden of their audience, to provide the right framework for making it happen.