arnoldon: wellness

7/30/2019 ArnoldOn: Wellness

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/arnoldon-wellness 1/22

WELLNESS



ARNOLD ON

EXPLORES CULTURAL, SOCIAL

AND CONSUMER TRENDS THAT ARE

DIRECTLY IMPACTING BUSINESSES TODAY.

THROUGH A COMBINATION OF CULTURAL

OBSERVATION AND PROPRIETARY QUALITATIVE

AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH, WE AIM TO

UNCOVER MEANINGFUL SHIFTS IN CONSUMER

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS AND PROVIDE

MARKETERS WITH WAYS TO HARNESS

THESE TRENDS TO BENEFIT THEIR

BRANDS AND BUSINESSES.



If you have read a newspaper, turned on the television, or visited a gym or grocery

store in the past year, chances are you have heard the word “wellness” more times than

you can count. Yesterday’s wellness referred to the management of chronic disease s and

the absence of sickness. Today, wellness increasingly refers to a broader and more

ambiguous state of physical and mental well-being – a presence of positivity if you will.

For some, wellness evokes the need to eat better, exercise or refrain from harmful habits

such as smoking. For others, wellness is associated with “alternative” pursuits such as

meditation, yoga or massage. The wellness section of any large bookstore today includes

books on such disparate subjects as meditation, new age spirituality, career transitions,

losing weight, social relationships and wealth accrual. With wellness encompassing so

much today, we might well wonder if the term still holds any real meaning at all.

For this issue of Arnold On , we conducted a global study to understand how consumers

think about wellness today. We have also taken a closer look at emerging manifestations

of wellness in the U.S. Based on our research, we have identied several universal themes

around how consumers perceive wellness, a set of requirements for making wellness work

and a number of ways in which marketers can tap into wellness.



n an eort to urther defne wellness and understand what it means today to people around the

world, Arnold under took a global sur vey o 2,400 consumers in t he U.S., UK, Brazil an d China.

While there are dierences as to how wellness is defned, prioritized and achieved across dierent

ountries, there are a ew common themes that can help us thin k about the best ways to approach

wellne ss thro ugh a consu mer lens and th ree consi stent act ors to mak ing wel lness wor k.

While relevant to a good percentage o the population today, wellness’s perceived relevance does

vary across t he globe – rom on ly hal o the UK popu lation seeing it as re levan t to over 80%

o people in Brazil eeling that wellness is a relevant concept in their lives.

HEALTH &

WELLNESS

TODAY

67%

61%

50%

82%

77%



When asked to identify the components of wellness, physical and mental/emotional well-being were

hosen equally as the key aspects comprising wellness. In getting to a specic denition of wellness, we

ound that health and wellness are closely related in people’s minds. When asked to dene wellness as

physical, mental/emotional, spiritual and medical well-being, we found that wellness is most dened

not only by physical well-being, but also mental and emotional well-being and the emotional payouts

of living healthily.

While health is dened very rationally, people have an emotional connection to wellness and see it as a

much more holistic approach to life. On a global basis, people used terms like happiness, relaxation and

balance to describe the emotional side of wellness.

WELLNESSDEFINITION

GLOBAL AVERAGE:MENTAL ANDEMOTIONALWELL-BEING

80%

74% 70% 71% 74% 90% 94%71% 83%TAL/EMOTIONAL

-BEING:

NESS

OM FROM STRESS

ONAL BALANCE

CAL WELL-BEING:

ISE

GY

NG WELL

GLOBAL AVERAGE:PHYSICALWELL-BEING76%

TWOMPONENTSWELLNESS:

WORDSTO

DESCRIBE:BOTH HEALTH AND WELLNESS

ARE EQUATED WITH ELEMENTS OF

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING SUCH AS

FITNESS, EXERCISE AND DIET. BUT

WHERE THE BOUNDARIES OF HEALTH

END, THE DEFINITION OF WELLNESS

CONTINUES TO EXPAND.

HEALTH & WELLNE



n that wellness is dened within both a physical and emotional context, the benets that people

iate with wellness span these areas as well. Our global survey identied seven broad benet

associated with wellness.

WELLNESS ISMULTIFACETED

PHYSICAL HEALTH AND APPEARANCE:

Addresses such impor tant health-re lated benets

as immunity, longevity and disease prevention,

in addition to benets such as beauty.

87%

HAPPINESS:

Provides a sense of hope, optimism and positive living. 83%

STRESS REDUCTION AND RELAXATION:

Speaks to achieving balance in one’s life and carving

out time for oneself.81%

PRODUCTIVITY AND CREATIVITY:

Helps to inspire and builds a can-do mentality. 74%

ENERGY:

Speaks to feeling alive and a sense of vibrancy. 56%

CONTROL AND FOCUS:

Drives a sense of personal control

and contributes to a feeling of intelligence.43%

SPIRITUALITY:

Speaks to a connection to a higher power and

doing good in the world.40%



BRAZIL

In Brazil, we found that people were much more

inclined to state that wellness beneted them in some

way compared to the populations of other countries.

We believe this may be due to the broad usage of

the term “wellness” in Brazil. According to Alberto

Ogata, M.D., and Sâmia Aguiar Brandão Simurro,

two Brazilian wellness experts,

“…THE TERMS WELLNESS AND QUALITY

OF LIFE ARE APPLIED TO NEARLYEVERYTHING (BUYING CARS, HOUSES,

AND OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES).

THE WORDS ARE OVERLY FAMILIAR AND

BROAD – AND THUS A BIT WORN OUT!”

As “wellness” may be so amorphous that it has become

meaningless, developing a more focused and relevant

way to communicate wellness will be important.

Source: Trusted.MD Network, Brazilian Perspectives on Wellness.

UK and USA

Within the UK and U.S., we found that respondents

were much more inclined to think about wel lness

from a physical well-being point of view than in

the developing countries (i.e., Brazil and China).

People in both these countries were more likely to

emphasize staying physically t and regular

exercise as key ways to achieve wellness.

CHINA

Interestingly, the word “ wellness” does no

in Chinese. In China, we asked people abo

wellness using the term “well-being.” Additi

China was more likely than other countrie

dene wellness as a concept that incorpora

only physical and mental well-being, but m

and spiritual well-being as well.

BEM-ESTAR

=

WELLNESS IN

PORTUGUESE

=

WELL-BEING

When trying to search for a global denition of wellness we found that wellness has a slightly

different meaning in every country. The benets emphasized by each culture also varied.

Because a set denition of wellness does not exist in the cultural lexicon today, people are free to

hink about wellness and its benets in whatever terms are most relevant to them. But there are both

advantages and disadvantages to this. On the one hand, a brand that talks about wellness in general

an have broad appeal as consumers can dene the benets for themselves, creating relevance. On the

other hand, without clearly dening how the brand thi nks about wellness, a brand risks alienating a

onsumer by failing to connect or meet expectations.

WELLNESS

ACROSSTHE WORLD



RELEVANT – 67% ENGAGED – 52% IS DOABLE – 42%

“Currently I am struggling to fnd a good

balance between my job and my lie and

just fnd mysel too busy. I can’t seem to

fnd the time to work on this.” –U.S. Respondent

While two-thirds of people globally consider wellness relevant to their lives, only half of people are

eally engaged with wellness. This is because approximately 60% of people feel that wellness

behaviors are challenging to adopt.

The biggest challenges people face are time and money. 47% of people globally cite lack of time as

a key barrier to achieving wellness and 45% cite lack of money. Wellness requires a commitment.

But in today’s fast-paced world, where time is a luxury and people are still feeling the effects of the

global recession, people are often unable to prioritize an investment in wellness. In fact, across six

key components of people’s lives – family, money, jobs, health, wellness and spirituality – people

pend the least amount of ti me thinking about wellness, along with spirituality. Given that wellness

s relevant and provides substantial, broad benets, there is an opportunity to help make it easier for

people to engage in wellness.

WELLNESS

CHALLENGES

WELLNESS RELEVANCE

ENGAGEMEN

AND ADOPTION



DESPITE THESE

CHALLENGES, THERE

ARE 3 FACTORS THAT

ARE KEY TO MAKINGWELLNESS WORK TODAY

#1 #3#2

WELLNESSREQUIRES

STRUCTURE

TECHNOLOGY’SROLE IN

“WELLNESS”

WELLNESS

REQUIRESPHYSICAL &

EMOTIONAL

SUPPORT



For those people who are successfully engaging in wellness behaviors, formalized structure and routine are

ritical. These people make the time and investment to prioritize wellness and infuse it into their daily lives.

nterestingly, the activities that people nd most effective in maintaining wellness require a time commitment.

Getting enough sleep, staying mentally t, exercising, spending more time with friends and family,

and maintaining a proper work/life balance all require an individual to make trade-offs and prioritize

how their time is spent. Furthermore, with the exception of exercising, each of these activities speaks to

maintaining mental and emotional well-being. To maintain wellness, people must transcend the physical

and prioritize emotional well-being.

Brands can add value for consumers by helping to simplify wellness, breaking it down into manageable

actions, and making it easy to integrate into one’s life. But brands also have a tremendous opportunity in

lling the need for emotional well-being by creating a routine that promotes mental tness, relaxation

and stress reduction.

WELLNESSREQUIRES

STRUCTURE

#1



Given the highly personal nature of health and wellness, people turn to trusted advisors to help them

maintain wellness in their lives. And just as people dene wellness in terms of physical and emotional

well-being and b enets, the resour ces that people consult about we llness fall a long these lines a s well.

Over half of people turn to their friends and family to help them maintain their well-being, with one-third

of people turning to physicians. Friends and family are critical to delivering emotional support. Physicians,

on the other hand, can deliver a rational perspective and act as credentialed advisors/experts around one’s

physical well-being.

nterestingly, people are much more likely to turn to friends and family than their physician regarding

wellness. Wh ile physicians can del iver a foundation of healt h and play a role in mainta ining the physical

aspects of wellness, friends and family help provide the emotional aspects of wellness such as community

and enjoyment. Both of these roles are integral to how wellness is dened.

WELLNESS

REQUIRES PHYSICAL &

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

#2

While physicians and friends and family are viewed as important wellness resources in

China, the Chinese are more likely than other populations to see the value of alternative

experts. Specically, 40% of Chinese turn to alternative medicine practitioners, 37% turn

to nutritionists, and 34% turn to tness instructors to learn about wellness.



There has been a great deal of debate recently about whether technology is a blessing or a curse. Whether

t helps us stay connected, or whether it isolates us. Whether it helps us manage our lives, or forces us to be

always on. Our survey found that technology is a valued contributor to wellness. Three-quarters of people

ee technology as helping to enable them to achieve a sense of wellness and reduce stress in their lives,

by giving them outlets for information, entertainment, creativity and connection.

Moreover, people identied technology brands, including Apple, Facebook, Sony and Dell, as key

ontributors to a wellness lifestyle. These brands each provide key benets that directly support people’s

mental and emotional well-being. While technology brands do not position themselves as being core to

wellness, the re is a clear opport unity for them to more clearly claim a role in t his space.

There are some people, however, who are starting to feel that too much technology can also detract from

wellness. The se smaller groups bel ieve that tak ing a break from te chnology, from time to ti me, can help

hem re-energize and recharge.

TECHNOLOGY’SROLE IN

WELLNESS

#3

CR EATIVIT Y CONNECTI ON PRODUCTIVIT Y R EL AX ATI ON



To better understand how to connect with people about wellness, we segmented the

market based on how they approach wellness in their lives. To define these mindsets

we loo ked at sever al fac tors, i ncludi ng:

• THEIR DEFINITION OF WELLNESS

• RELEVANCE OF WELLNESS TO THEIR LIVES

• THEIR LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH WELLNESS

• ACTIONS THEY TAKE TO ACHIEVE WELLNESS

• CORE BENEFITS THEY SEEK FROM WELLNESS

Our survey found that there are seven segments and wellness plays a different role in

the lives of each. For some segments, wellness is comprehensive and is woven into their

everyday lives, while for others wellness plays a much more limited role in their lives.

Wellness is viewed as a balance of physical, mental and emotional benets for some,

while it i s much more focus ed, for inst ance on spirit ual or physical benets, for ot hers.

As th is segment ation was co nducted acr oss four m arkets – U. S., UK, Bra zil an d China –

we also looked at how the segment makeup of each country differs. We saw concentrations

of certain segments in different countries and trends, such as how engaged people are

in wellness, in developing vs. developed countries.

We believe that by understanding how each segment denes wellness, what they prioritize

in order to achieve it and how they engage with the concept, we can more effectively

start a conversation with them regarding wellness.

N

S

E

G

M

E

LLEW E S S

T

A

T

I

O

N



Place a high priority

on wellness and

believe it’s important

to weave into their

daily activities. For

them, wellness is

achieved through a

sense o spiritual

well-being.

This segment

believes that wellness

oers a host o benefts

that can best be

realized through

spiritual practice.

They go to places o

worship and speak

with their spiritual

advisors as a way to

maintain balance and

achieve wellness.

They use meditation

and retreats to center

themselves and turn

to amily, riends and

community to energize

and eel a larger sense

o connectedness.

See themselves as

being at their best

when they have a

positive state o mind

and are at their

physical best. They

are highly engaged

with wellness.

They value balance in

their lives and believe

that achieving a state

o wellness helps them

be more creative and

dynamic, giving them

a sense o positive

living and happiness.

They maintain wellness

by taking specifc time

to slow down, reecting

on lie and seeking

out simplicity.

They use alternative

medicine, yoga and

nutritionists to help

them in their journey

toward balance.

Actively engage in

wellness by seeking

out as many dierent

resources as they

can to help achieve

well-being.

Feeling inormed

and having an active

conversation around

wellness helps them

reduce stress and

create structure to

bring wellness into

their lives.

They have a network

o dierent advisors,

rom physicians and

pharmacists to amily

and riends.

The resources they

use are expansive

and they enjoy gaining

inormation rom

traditional mediums

as well as digital

platorms.

Believe in wellness

and are moderately

engaged, but are

seeking out aordable

ways to achieve it.

They believe that

wellness does not

have to be expensive to

maintain, and look or

simpler and economical

ways to integrate it into

their lives.

They see wellness

as an important

way to bring some

personal control and

physical well-being

into their lives.

They rely on places

like the grocery store

and general websites

to help keep them

inormed on what

they can be doing.

Not concerned with

the concept o wellne

and do not prioritize

it in their lives.

They don’t see many

benefts associated

with wellness, nor

make much eort to

maintain it.

Wellness is usually

achieved through qui

fxes such as taking

a spa aternoon or a

vitamin once in a whi

They don’t have

consistent routines

around wellness.

Though disengaged,

they do seek to have

others, e.g., their

employer or governme

help bring wellness to

their lives.

See wellness as

somewhat relevant,

but are not engaged

due to time constraints.

For them, stress

reduction and mental

well-being are how

they defne wellness.

They want balance and

control over their lives

and believe that any

sort o stress reduction

is going to help them

achieve wellness.

Maintain wellness by

creating order through

organization, carving

out “me-time” and

ocusing on their

physical appearance.

They appreciate

resources they can

consult on their own

time such as health

websites, books,

magazines and DVDs.

Prioritize physical

health over wellness.

When asked to defne

wellness, think o it as

mainly physical and

medical well-being

and engage only with

these components.

Mainly seek disease

prevention, immunity

and energy through

a ocus on physical

well-being.

For them, achieving

wellness is taking

vitamins and

medications regularly,

staying physically ft,

getting enough sleep

and eating good oods.

They turn to physicians

and pharmacists or

advice and hospitals,

drugstores and health

websites as resources.

WELLNESS

MINDSET

SEGMENTS:

WHO THEY ARE

PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION

15% 16% 5%5% 10%25% 24%

SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED MIND/BODY BALANCERS WELLNESS INFO SEEKERS WELLNESS ON A BUDGET THE DISINTERESTEDPRAGMATIC WELLNESSPHYSICAL WELLNESS



HIGH SOMEWHAT LOWMEDIUM

HIGH MEDIUMMEDIUM

PHYSICAL PHYSICALPHYSICALMENTAL MENTALMENTALPHYSICAL PHYSICAL

SPIRITUAL SPIRITUAL

SPIRITUALITYPHYSICAL HEALTH

AND APPEARANCE

PHYSICAL HEALTH

AND APPEARANCE

PRODUCTIVITY AND CREATIVITY ENERGYSTRESS REDUCTION

AND RELAXATION

CONTROL AND FOCUS CONTROL AND FOCUS

- Go to places

o worship

- Spend time with

amily and riends

- Maintain work/

lie balance

- Take regular vacations

- Stay physically ft

- Regularly take

medications

- Take daily vitamins

- Eat oods that are

good or them

- Get enough sleep

- Don’t want to spend

too much money

on wellness

- Seek out lower

cost, aordable

wellness solutions

at places like the

grocery store

(213) (170) (190)(120)

EVANCY OF WELLNESS

AGEMENT IN WELLNESS

ELLNESS DEFINITION

NEFITS OF WELLNESSPERCENTAGE AND HIGH INDEX)

WELLNESS ACTIVITIES

KEY COUNTRIES

HIGH INDEX TO GLOBAL

AVERAGE BY COUNTRY)

HIGH SOMEWHAT LOW

SOMEWHAT HIGH LOW

MENTAL

SPIRITUAL

PRODUCTIVITY AND CREATIVITYSTRESS REDUCTION

AND RELAXATION

HAPPINESS ENERGY

- Stay mentally ft

- Slow down and take

time or themselves

- Maintain work/

lie balance

- Exercise

- Choose natural

products

- Seek out

simpler oods

- Clean up clutter

around them

- Take care o

personal appearance

- Take regular vacations

- Spend time with

amily and riends

(306) (116) (132) (114)

SOMEWHAT HIGH LOW

HIGH LOW

PHYSICAL NO STRONG DEFIMENTAL

SPIRITUAL MEDICAL

PRODUCTIVITY AND CREATIVITY NO STRONG BEN

PHYSICAL HEALTH

AND APPEARANCE

CONTROL AND FOCUS

- Rely on a large variety

o wellness resources

and advisors to

maintain wellness

- Stay mentally ft

- Eat oods that are

good or them

- Choose naturalproducts

- Go to a spa

- Disengage rom

technology

- Occasionally

take vitamins

(200) (142)

ELLNESS MINDSET

GMENTS:

OW THEY INTERACT

TH WELLNESS

SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED MIND/BODY BALANCERS WELLNESS INFO SEEKERS WELLNESS ON A BUDGET THE DISINTEREPRAGMATIC WELLNESSPHYSICAL WELLNESS



FOUR ROLES BRANDS CANPLAY FOR WELLNESS SEGMENTS:

BRANDS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY DIFFERENT

ROLES TO MORE STRONGLY ALIGN THEMSELVES

WITH THE DIFFERENT SEGMENTS

WELLNESS GURU WELLNESS COACHWELLNESS WIKI WELLNESS ECONOMIZ

CORE SEGMENTS: CORE SEGMENTS:CORE SEGMENTS: CORE SEGMENTS:

Leads by example by sourcing socially

esponsible products. They partner

with their shoppers by promoting

mental, physical and emotional

wellness through their natural

product oerings and by involving

hem in their social campaigns.

Sanof-Aventis’s diabetes drug has

an online resource and community

or those living with diabetes.

It aggregates health inormation as

well as day-to-day wellness tips like

recipes and un ways to exercise.

The community lets members interact

with each other, share their knowledge

and provide each other support.

Oers wellness resources like yoga

classes, gym memberships and spa

packages, which are typically high

priced and not aordable to everyon

or a raction o the regular cost so

that more people can have access

to these services.

Spiritually Connected Spiritually ConnectedSpiritually Connected Spiritually Connected

Wellness Ino Seekers Wellness Ino SeekersWellness Ino Seekers Wellness Ino Seekers

Physical Wellness Physical WellnessPhysical Wellness Physical Wellness

The Disinterested The DisinterestedThe Disinterested The Disinterested

Mind/Body Balancers Mind/Body BalancersMind/Body Balancers Mind/Body Balanc

Wellness on a Budget Wellness on a BudgetWellness on a Budget Wellness on a Bud

Pragmatic Wellness Pragmatic WellnessPragmatic Wellness Pragmatic Wellne

Their “Stop Dieting, Start Living”

campaign provides detailed schedules

and structure around weight loss

through e-tools, live coaches and online

communities to create a road map or

better living. Their plans motivate

consumers to lose weight by ocusing

on the specifc wellness benefts that

come rom weight loss.



WELLNESS &STRESS AROUNDTHE GLOBE:OPPORTUNITIESFOR MARKETERS

As we have d iscussed thus f ar, well ness ha s multiple meani ngs in multiple geographie s

today. It is Arnold’s belief that as life continues to become more uncertain and more

complex, one of the facets of wellness that will matter most is the ability to manage

stress. Indeed, amid the prolonged economic slump, we are seeing the eternal problem

of stress taking on greater resonance as a part of wellness culture around the world.

Accordin g to t he 2010 find ings of “Stress in Ame rica,” an annua l sur vey conduc ted

by the American Psychological Association, three-fourths of Americans suffer from

unhealthy levels of stress. And scientific research continues to affirm the lin k between

high stress and any number of physical and psychological ailments. Across the globe,

in China, a survey released by Regus Group revealed that nearly 86% of Chinese

respondents reported “higher” or “much higher” stress levels since 2007, a percentage

greater than any of the 11 countries surveyed. In addition, the suicide rate in Turkey,

especially among youth ages 15–24, has increased 440% in the last three decades,

with exper ts citi ng depres sion and uncert ainty for the futur e as m ain cau ses, per a

2010 report from the Psychiatric Association of Turkey. Similar examples abound in

countries around the world.

So, what more can marketers do to take advantage of both a strong consumer desire to

combat stress and mounting scientific research linking stress management to physical

well-bei ng? We see a v ariety of ways to help consume rs combat st ress by c reating

structure and routine, building physical and emotional support, and leveraging the

power of technology. We will explore 3 areas: providing consumers with a greater

sense of personal control, helping consumers safeguard personal space, and tapping

into and amplifying the power of community to create wellness.



gain a better understanding of health-related issues. The Mayo Clinic has taken a

step in that direction, releasing The Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies as a way of

providing consumers with the knowledge and power to care for themselves. When it

comes to nutrition, 70% of global consumers surveyed by Yankelovich agreed that “there

is so much information about nutrition these days that it is confusing to know what you

should and should not eat.” Research by Mi ntel found that 44% of A merican respondents

actually supported government intervention to make menus more transparent. A blog that

was started to help baffled consumers, saltandfat.com, has created Unwrapper, a database

that helps consumers decipher marketing jargon. That’s a good star t, but there is clearly

more work to be done in this area.

Consumers’ difficulty with emotional stress doesn’t merely reflect a sense of life running

“out of control,” but also a sense of reduced psychological and personal space. The 24/7

accessibility of email, social media and smartphones has decreased our sense of personal time

and space, such that most people are feeling the need to carve out more moments of calm,

happiness and well-being. Our time for reflection and renewal is increasingly compressed,

whether it’s lunch breaks taken at our desks or vacation days not taken at all. According to recent

surveys, 2 in 3 Americans agree that “no matter how hard I try, I never seem to have enough

time to do all the things I need to do” (Yankelovich) and 9 in 10 “view work/life balance as a

significant problem, especially during the recession.” While particularly notable in the U.S., work/

life balance is an issue that’s permeating the global workforce, and companies are responding.

According to Buck Consultants’ fourth annual wellness survey, 66% of organizations across 47

countries have instituted a formal wellness strategy, up from 49% in 2007.

PROVIDING MOMENTS OF RENEWAL

In this context, wellness brands could gain traction by helping consumers place some

boundaries around their personal space and time, so they can reduce stress and live better.

Brands that currently emphasize prevention and chronic disease management could

place more emphasis on spiritual wellness practices (e.g., meditation, yoga,

nature walks) that encourage slowing down and setting up sacred time and space. Fitness

brands could likewise tailor their marketing to emphasize the value of an exercise ritual as

a means of carving out f un “me time” and alleviating stress. Many retail and travel brands

could provide experiences that allow consumers to slow down and take time

out. The temporary walk-in gardens visible this past year on the streets of Paris are a good

example. These were not only beautiful but leveraged the power of f loral scents, which

have been shown scientifically to reduce stress and improve performance.

2. HELP CONSUMERS PROTECT PERSONAL SPACE AND TIME

1. HELP CONSUMERS GAIN MORE INDIVIDUAL CONTROL

Of late, a lot of the global conversation around wellness, especially that coming from the

medical field, has involved urging consumers to take more “responsibility” for their own

health. World Heart Day 2010, for instance, embraced as its main theme t he following

rather stern message: “You alone must take responsibility for your heart health and

maintain workplace wellness.” Yet talking primarily about “responsibility” often only

enhances consumers’ feelings of stress. Wellness becomes one more thing to worry about,

in addition to one’s job or family responsibilities. To increase relevance and the ability to

engage, marketing can work harder to temper “responsibility” messaging with

an emphasis on personal control, something that has become increasingly important

to consumers in an increasingly unpredictable and unreliable world. In 2010, 66% of global

consumers said that they made “living a healthy life” a top priority. Additionally, 56%

see their bodies as something they should nurture and believe in an ongoing holistic

approach to managing health.

USING TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR/TRACK

Already, a number of marketers offer products and services that provide consumers with

a means of achieving personal, individualized control over their weight, chronic conditions

or mental health. According to our global study, over 25% of consumers worldwide currently

use digital resources to learn about wellness. iPhone applications such as a “sleep log” allow

consumers to keep track of and analyze their sleep habits, while sites such as yogatailor.com

allow consumers to create “custom fit yoga videos” that are tailored to their abilities,

available time and restrictions. Google Health lets users “organize, track, monitor, and act”

upon their personal health information. mHealth’s mobile application Text4Baby sends new

mothers weekly texts about baby’s health, and a mobile app called Morsel sends consumers

small daily tasks designed to improve their health. Today, consumers are able to learn

emergency-room wait times via their smartphone, research pharmaceuticals, organize

meditation sessions, research food choices, and much more. Yet companies could provide

even more innovation and value in this area by offering more online/mobile

tools designed to help monitor wellness progress and delivering morecustomized programs and wellness offerings.

SIMPLIFYING THE COMPLEX

Another area where companies could fur ther reduce consumers’ stress and enh ance their

personal sense of control is by offering better, simpler, more authoritative

information. As Iconoculture has noted, retailers like Whole Foods, CVS, Target and others

are unveiling more in-store brochures, classes and informational displays to help consumers



PROVIDING WAYS TO DISCONNECT

Finally, brands can help consumers clear space for themselves by providing them

with more tools to rein in their online lives. Iconoculture recently identified “Tech

help” as “a viable wellness space” based on research that uncovered a technology paradox.

Consumers appreciate the benefits of technology but, realizing its negative impact on

their physical health and social well-being, are seeking more balance and self-control.

So, what to do? Help them unplug. For several years now, Sheraton’s Chicago hotel has

allowed guests to enjoy time without their cell phones by offering a “BlackBerry check-in,”

a service t hat has been adopted by an increasing number of hotels and extended to include

all digital devices. The Freedom app available for Macintosh computers allows users to turn

off wireless networking for up to six hours, while another app, SelfControl, prevents users

from consulting tempting websites. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Research has long borne out the health benefits of social relationships and a sense of

community, specifically their contribution to a sense of well-being, peace and calm.

As one press arti cle ha s poi nted out, “the most s atisfi ed, cont ented mot hers are t he

ones who spend the most time each week connecting with friends. Social and emotional

support are linked in numerous studies to better health and lower rates of disability,

depression and anxiety.” In Britain, research has found that younger, more tech-involved

consumers “are lonelier than any other age group,” with almost 30% reporting that

“loneliness was making them unhappy” and over 25% revealing that “they turned

to alcohol for comfort.” Early, spiritual notions of wellness tended to emphasize

connectedness, not merely in the sense of the “whole body,” but between individuals,

their societies and the planet. And recent books, articles and studies of happiness have

emphasized the important role that personal relationships play in creating happiness

and well-being. Thus, a third and final way that marketers might get in front of the

“wellness as stress management” trend is by offering consumers new chances to

connect with one another in a wellness context.

3. HELP CONSUMERS BETTER CONNECT WITH COMMUNITIES

CONNECTING TO SUPPORT A COMMON PURPOSE

Linking community, wellness and relaxation is a trend that’s already taking root in

communities across the U.S. and, indeed, the world. Community gardens are springing

up, offering consumers a welcome respite, amid nature, f rom life stresses both physical

and emotional. “There are more and more community gardens, and that becomes

a social and lifestyle activity,” remarked the Chairman of Slow Food Australia.

Other examples include bike-sharing programs, playgrounds for senior citizens and

supanovaslom.com (a website by a hip-hop artist who seeks to get the “hip-hop

generation” thinking about wealth, wellness and the “wholistic planet”).

LEVERAGING THE POWER OF MANY TO ACHIEVE PERSONAL GOALS

Other ways of creating and fostering connections include local initiatives that focus

on involving a geographic community. The Wegmans supermarket chain has partnered

with local orga niza tion s in weste rn New Yor k st ate f or it s “Ea t Wel l. Li ve Wel l.”

challenge to encourage consumers to monitor their diets. By September 2010,

“over 350 employers and over 155,000 employees” had taken the company’s challenge.

Companies like Weight Watchers have created communities – both physical and online –

to help people tap into the support of others as they try to better their health. In Brazil,

people of all ages are joining running groups to stay healthy and socialize, a trend that

is seeing worldwide adoption thanks to platforms like Nike+, an online experience

that connects runners around the world and charts running performance. As marketers,

we a lso see incr easi ng nu mber s of commu nit y ban ks, insu rance compan ies a nd

restaurants focusing on connecting people within their communities and helping

people come together for common causes. Much more could be done here.

CONCLUSION: RECONFIGURING WELLNESS

Wellness is a complex and increasingly ill-defined space, yet when defined in terms

of stress management, it is one that is more relevant than ever. A wealth of evidence

suggests that consumers are under emotional and physical strain, off balance, and eager

for more calm and control. The challenge in the next phase of wellness is to translate

stress management into compelling consumer offerings. Orienting wellness offeringstoward the management of stress does not limit marketers to offering generic benefits

such as “relaxation” or the “soothing” of weary minds and bodies. There is considerable

room for innovative thinking, and many ways to create the structure and routine that

are essential to wellness, to create the physical and emotional support consumers need,

and to make it all easier and more manageable by leveraging the power of technology.



SEGMENT YOUR

AUDIENCE

Wellness means different things

o different segments of people.

Understand who is the primary

egment or segments that make up

your target audience to better

ailor your conversation. Focus

messaging and tactics to speak

o each segment’s denition and

benets around wellness and

esources and activities that are

elevant to them. When talking to

a more global audience, align your

wellness messaging to the values of

he key segments for each country.

SPEAK TO

PHYSICAL AND

EMOTIONAL

WELLNESS

Wellness is equal parts physical

well-being and mental/emotional

well-being. Speak to happiness,

stress reduction, relaxation

and balance in addition to

physical health benets to deliver

a holistic wellness message

and connect emotionally with

consumers.

MAKE IT A

PRIORITY

To effectively engage in wellness,

people need to safeguard

their personal space and time,

prioritize achieving a sense of

well-being and make conscious

changes in favor of wellness.

Help people understand the

value a nd import ance of

wellne ss. Gain tractio n by

helping customers place boundaries

around their personal time

and space so they can reduce stress

and live better. Provide experiences

that allow people to slow down

and focus on wellness.

MAKE

IT EASY

Time and money are the two

biggest barriers to achieving

wellness. Create we llness

routines that t people’s lives

and let them build wellness

into every day. Leverage or

create local initiatives to

integrate wellness seamlessly

into the fabric of the

community.

ENABLE WITH

TECHNOLOGY

Leverage technology to provide

opportunities to achieve some

of the benets of wellness –

stress reduction, happiness

and “me-time.” Build or provide

technology applications, both

online and mobile, to help people

track, monitor and build a

customized wellness program.

INFLUENCE

INFLUENCERS

Friends and family and

physicians provide the

cornerstone of support around

emotional and physical welln

Become part of the conversat

around wellness by partneri

with tr usted adv isors and

promoting discussions aroun

wellness both online and ofi

BRAND CHEAT SHEET

STARTINGTHE WELLNESSCONVERSATION

AS WE HAVE SEEN, WELLNESS IS MULTIFACETED

AND MEANS MANY DIFFERENT THINGS TO

DIFFERENT PEOPLE. MARKETERS NEED TO

UNDERSTAND THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF

WELLNESS AND HOW DIFFERENT CONSUMER

SEGMENTS DEFINE THE CONCEPT IN ORDER TO

ENGAGE WITH THEM IN A MEANINGFUL WAY.



ARNOLDSTRATEGICINSIGHTS

GROUPArnold On is brought to you by the Arnold Strategic Insights Group. This edition is based on

he results of a global online survey of 2,400 adults conducted in March 2011 on general attitudes

and behavior as well as secondary research.

The Arnold On series provides analysis and consumer insights across a variety of topics

and their relevant impact on how marketers communicate with consumers.

The content of this edition of Arnold On was developed by Lisa Borden, EVP, Global Director

of Human Nature; Anne Mercogliano, Manager, Business Strategy; Sean O’Neill, VP, Associate

Director, Business Strategy; Neela Pal, Managing Partner, Global Director of Brand and Business

Strategy; and Seth Schulman, Trend Analyst, Human Nature.

f interested in further discussion or a workshop, please contact us:

Lisa Unsworth

Chie Marketing Ofcer

[email protected]

617.587.8242

S T R A T E G

I C I NSI G H T

S G

R O U P

arnoldon: wellness

Documents