Health boom - to be considered by strategists, says Mark Pollard

On the interesting Facebook page "Life. Then strategy" where communication strategists from different companies share their thoughts, Mark Pollard today writes about "10 strategies for a strategists career" http://www.markpollard.net/10-strategies-for-a-strategists-career-right-now/. Inspiring read, as always. One of the strategies mentioned was to focus on health, which is interesting idea not just for strategists, but for everyone who does marketing. He writes:

"Health is going to be a massive topic in the coming years. Obesity epidemics everywhere, Walmart changing some of its food practices with a push from Michelle Obama, sustainability issues growing and growing, the cost of healthcare and hospitals, huge pharmaceutical industry patents ending in the coming years… there is a perfect storm brewing.

From an advertising point of view, I don’t find much of the health-related communications very insightful or creative. Talking heads, Getty Images, former actors, ‘dial now for this incredible deal’, snake oil stuff and so on.


So, not only is there this perfect storm brewing but there are few really strong communicators in this space.

Further, health is pretty broad. Sure, you have pharma, alternative health, fitness, food, supplements, government but there will be a growing trend in the corporate world of trying to make companies healthier for their employees (so that they’re more productive and stick around longer).


Big opportunities here."

I remember ten years ago, when we started writing about health as a trend back in Sweden, so to say this topic is new is to be a bit narrow-minded :) but I guess it is getting more diverse. It´s not just about fat-free and going to the gym anymore. Health is about taking a holistic view, looking into learnings from Caroline Myss, Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay - wise people who see health as a mindset rather than a physicl issue. Sickness is a result of emotional issues, they say, and every negative thought gets stuck in your cells, genes and blood. This is why you can cure your body by forcing your mind to re-think.

Einstein taught us that everything is energy, hence we are all one... Still we get stuck in the thought of materialistic individualism and us being separated entities. We are not. Life is more magical than that. I read in New Scientist last week that DNA can travel through water. It´s almost like beeming!!!

I welcome this trend, because I thin it will set people free. Thoughts are powerful and contagious - they move from our brains to our words to our bodies, from human to human, from soul to soul. This is how I see it: