The Heathcare Bump: adding a white-coat endorsement to your brand

Imagine people in a doctor’s office, asking questions like: What brand of sunglasses should I wear?  What shoes should I buy for my newborn?  Which brand of green tea has the most health benefits?  Is there a brand of makeup that’s better for my skin?  The fact of the matter is that such interactions happen all the time, and your brand could be the answer that a healthcare professional gives when such questions are asked.  All you need to embrace is The Healthcare Bump.

In the late 80s and throughout the remainder of the last millennium, many brands took full advantage of what was then called ‘the white-coat endorsement’—layering in a “health” value for a brand so that it differentiates itself as a better lifestyle choice.  And with all the success those brands found, I’m shocked that more consumer goods brands don’t avail themselves of this strategy more often.  You see it today, in claims by breakfast cereals that announce they help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease because they are made from whole grains.  Or from eggs and other products touting the benefits of enrichment with Omega-3 fatty acids.  But this is really only the tip of what’s possible.

For the longest time, Dove beauty bar (it’s technically not soap) was the number one selling brand for healthy skin.  Why?  Because Unilever, Dove’s parent brand, spent a sufficient amount of time and money explaining to Dermatologists that the ingredients in Dove not only effectively cleaned away dirt and oil from skin, but it also did not interfere with the topical medications that the Derms were prescribing.  Derms learned about the chemistry behind Dove; they received pamphlets and coupons and free samples from Unilever to give to their patients.  And when patients visited their Derm’s office, they saw Dove soap in the washroom, stood on a white fluffy Dove floor mat near the sink, and were educated on health cleansing rituals via Dove posters in the treatment rooms.  Were there other facial cleansers equally up to the task of being part of a healthy skin routine?  Sure.  Olay, Cetaphil and Neutrogena were all readily available.  But none of these had The Healthcare Bump—the added value of health layered into the brand by enlisting the endorsement of medical professionals.

The data were indisputable.  Unilever discovered that 24% of its Dove sales was linked to a professional recommendation.  Further, customers were three times as likely to remain brand loyal and stay committed due to a doctor’s recommendation than to an ad in print or on television.  And because one doctor sees hundreds of patients per week, promoting to them was much more efficient than promoting to the masses: for every $1.00 spent on marketing, promotion to healthcare professionals yielded a return of $9.40, compared to $5.60 for mass marketing.  Eventually, other cleansers caught on, Dove shifted its money into other areas, and its healthcare bump deflated.

Why would a marketer not take advantage of a white-coat endorsement under such circumstances?  The reasons are astoundingly short sighted.  Advertising to healthcare professionals lacks the glamor of running spots on TV, creating buzz campaigns on line, or perhaps securing an endorsement from a celebrity, one who looks great standing next to you and smiling in a framed photo on the wall of your cubicle.  Further, consumer goods companies—many of which are proud of their innovation and ambition—somehow get shy and nervous about pioneering in a way that nobody else seems to be doing when it comes to harnessing the power of The Healthcare Bump.  Still others are afraid that getting too close to an office environment associated with illness and disease will create negative equity, perhaps impart too “clinical” an image for a brand that enjoys more mainstream values.  (Despite the fact that it has never happened, it would be a good argument.)

While the esteem of healthcare professionals in the eyes of the general public has dimmed somewhat from the Mount Olympus perspective people had of them in the last millennium, their opinion on lifestyle matters still carries a lot of weight.  In general, experience has shown that for every 10 people who receive a doctor’s recommendation for a consumer brand to a question they have, seven will make a purchase and try it out.

Now doctors are not in the business of hawking goods, so let’s not get carried away.  Healthcare professionals will make a branded recommendation only if framed in a clinical context.  Here are some examples: Clinical support about health and wellness; if the recommendation reduces adverse events and/or boosts the course of treatment being recommended; if the brand is also endorsed by a third-party healthcare society (e.g. The American Cancer Society); and if the brand has a reputation for high quality and responsible marketing.  And it is a two-way street: having a ready recommendation to give patients seeking their advice elevates the doctor’s standing in patients’ eyes as a valued mentor, and further cements the doctor-patient partnership.

If you market a brand that you feel could benefit from The Healthcare Bump, seriously consider building in more of a healthcare rationale than a call-out on your label.  The benefits are considerable: Significantly expand your customer base, dramatically enhance brand loyalty, and if experience follows history, enjoy a premium price.  There have been plenty of jokes about ‘4-out-of-5 dentists recommend,’ but Trident is laughing all the way to the bank as the healthiest brand for people who chew gum.  The other gums are just, well, gum.