By Pauline Critch-Gilfillan

When change occurs, the way people see and listen to the world shifts. This is what makes media so powerful. It has the ability to control the narrative about what’s happening in the world, thereby impacting how people move, buy and interact.

With new realities come new expectations. People are now viewing brands through three distinctions: “safe or unsafe,” “helpful or unhelpful,” “courageous or cowardly."      

This wave of new distinctions has not spared the paradigms of health and wellness. Moving far beyond face masks and spin bikes, the definition of wellness is expanding to include mental health, social connection, and frankly — anything that makes you and your circle feel good. 

“Health is not just the absence of disease” - Dr. Vivien Brown at Mosaic OneEighty

Michelob ULTRA has taken a new role in home life, bringing virtual workouts to the nation, in support of local gyms and studios. HBO’s latest campaign “It’s OK to not be OK” used faces of their past and present TV series to promote mental health during quarantine.

“Wellness is no longer just about the individual anymore. It's about the greater collective, and that includes the earth.” - Lana Pawziuk, Digital Director at Canopy Growth, at Mosaic OneEighty

All of this change may sound intimidating to us as we sit cozily in our comfort zone. However, there’s great opportunity at hand to move beyond this way of thinking. Brands now have the chance to solidify their purpose in the world, with clarity and freedom.

The knowledge that you can go far beyond traditional silos is a notion that could change the future of your P&L — and the world. At a time where nothing is “normal,” why not flip the script?

4 Takeaways from Mosaic OneEighty’s “The Wellness Pandemic” Panel

1. Listen and then provide value

• Apply this everywhere in your business - and your life, while you’re at it. Active listening will tell you how you can be valuable to your target. Take keen interest in the culture of your audience, listen like a therapist, and naturally become a valuable member of that community.

2. Take advantage of the definitions being rewritten during this time

• So consider, who do you want your brand to be? Use this time to evaluate if the way your brand shows up in the world is really working for you and think through a rebranding strategy. If your brand could do anything, what would it be? How could you serve your audience more powerfully?

3. Expand the narrative that wellness is a luxury, expand your audience

• Images of costly facials and high-priced gym memberships have perpetuated the idea that wellness is only for the wealthy. Malcolm X once said “when ‘I’ is replaced with ‘we’, even illness becomes wellness.” In our reckoning of an interconnected world post COVID-19, society will be faced with the glaring disparities in our health system. How can your brand foster well-being and belonging through wellness branding, without a hefty price tag?

4. Strategize with an occasion-based approach

• Humans are creatures moving through moments. Success comes when a brand weaves itself into the fabric of those moments, naturally. Look at the occasions that mean the most to your audience and craft your story around them.

Like this thinking? Head to the OneEighty section of our website to register for our next discussion, taking place on Wednesday, June 24.