How are you?

It’s a question you probably ask, and are asked, several times a day. What would happen if you got or gave the REAL answer? Let’s face it, there are a lot of mediocre (or worse) days happening right now. But how many times have you heard or answered “fine” when really, things aren’t?

In month nine of this global pandemic, it seems there are still more questions than answers. So we challenge you this month to give the real answer to how you’re doing, and to give others space to share their real answers with you, too.

Welcome to the November edition of MarketWell. MarketWell is a monthly newsletter for marketers in the wellbeing space, by Felicity. While we’ve included some good questions you can ask yourself to up your marketing game, we’ve also shared some great answers, inspiration and the latest wellbeing marketing trends.

 

Wellbeing from around the web

Campbell’s shares the warmth in a new masterbrand campaign
Campbell’s dishes out warmth, comfort and hope in their new ad campaign. Their aim: to show that the Campbell’s product lineup is about more than function and convenience. How can you build an emotional connection with your consumers?

What is Health At Every Size and what are its origins?
Health At Every Size, a trademark of the Association for Size Diversity and Health, supports inclusive health care and promotes a weight-neutral approach to health. The key message: “It is possible to be healthy or to pursue better health without changing the size of your body.” Rethinking what wellness looks like is a key part of the Felicity Rx for marketing well—and it’s based on fact.

Geena Davis Educational Series ‘Mission Unstoppable’ Returns to CBS For Season 2
The Geena Davis-produced show “Mission Unstoppable” is an Emmy-nominated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) show for kids that shows women in science—and not just any women. The show focuses on a diverse cast of scientists, including Fig O’Reilly, a NASA Datanaut and the first mixed race woman to hold the Miss Universe Ireland title. The show not only reflects the diverse reality within the scientific community but also serves as an inspiration for future generations. Is your brand leading by example?

Image: @MichelleJobin on Instagram

MarketWell shout out: World Kindness Day

The KIND x Felicity team developed and executed a targeted media and influencer campaign for World Kindness Day on November 13. The campaign profiled the “Kindest Canadians”—everyday people who donate blood on a regular basis, supporting Canadian Blood Services; Canada’s Lifeline. Felicity brought these stories to life and engaged media and influencers to amplify and drive awareness through media relations, influencer partnerships and seeding. KIND brand messaging was naturally weaved through all touchpoints, creating an emotional connection to the brand.

 

Marketer tool of the month: Feedly

Information overload is real. Particularly in pandemic times. Feedly is basically an upgraded RSS feed (a feed showing publications you have subscribed to online), with an Artificial Intelligence bot named Leo that learns from your feedback about the content you see.

Add topics, keywords, Twitter feeds and more to your feed and let Leo help you find the news and articles you actually want to see.

 

MarketWell voices: How Willful tackles the taboos around end-of-life planning

This month, we interviewed Erin Bury, CEO and co-founder of Willful, an online platform that makes it affordable, convenient, and easy for Canadians to create a legal will online. She shared with us the thinking that built Willful’s empathetic approach, and her observations of the ways in which we prepare for death and celebrate life are changing.

Below is an excerpt. Read the full interview.

Wills and end-of-life planning are topics people generally try to avoid thinking about. How do you drive a sense of immediacy and priority, or even, make this a pleasant experience?

It would be very easy to build an online will company that focused on fear and anxiety—”you might die tomorrow, get your will done now”—but that’s just antithetical to our core values at Willful. We launched the company because we had a family member pass away unexpectedly, and when that happens, you’re navigating grieving while trying to honour a loved one, and you’re trying to answer the questions about their end-of-life wishes that they may not have answered while they’re alive.

Our goal has always been to empower families and give them peace of mind, and our values are empathy, purpose, and empowerment—not fear. We know that many of our customers create their will because they’ve lost a loved one, or they’ve been diagnosed with a disease, or they are scared about COVID-19—but we never use that underlying fear or anxiety in our marketing; rather we highlight the accessibility, affordability, and ease of use, and motivate people through the promise of peace of mind and a weight lifted off their shoulders.

Does it always work to stop procrastination and encourage action? Definitely not. Human nature is to put things off unless there’s a deadline; and while there is a deadline to create your will, you don’t know what it is—and you hope it’s years, if not decades down the road.

What have you learned about Willful consumers that would apply to other areas of wellbeing marketing?

I’ve learned that people naturally procrastinate on the things they *should* do, even if they know they’re important, unless there’s a deadline or a very clear sense of urgency (for example, a nagging spouse). I would imagine that’s true for many other areas of wellbeing.

For example, we know we *should* eat healthy, meditate, and get enough sleep, but we often don’t because we either put it off or don’t prioritize it. While I don’t think we’ll ever solve procrastination, I think as wellbeing marketers we have to either create urgency (for us that’s been through things like time-limited offers), or pair it with activities they have to do (for example we’ve explored partnerships where you can get your will done when filing your taxes).

 

“I don’t think you have to sacrifice your values to build a successful company—in fact, I think you only succeed if you have a clearly-defined set of values—and you stick to them no matter what.”

– Erin Bury, CEO and co-founder of Willful

 

Feeling inspired?