Why are so many health brands so dull?

Bullet points don’t make great marketing. And yet so many health focused brands fire them out all day long. This many milligrams of fibre. That many studies supporting that a daily intake of x leads to y.

When you’re positioning a health brand, or any brand for that matter, you have to establish a bigger world around what you’re offering. Living Things is a ‘better for you’ soda, but it stands out as fun in a category obsessed with functional features.

Porridge on the dumbbells. Those were the four words that suddenly made everything click in a strategy session we ran with Thriva. That was founder Hamish’s articulation of the messy reality of squeezing exercise into a busy modern life, not a Nike ad.

Prior to that insight Thriva’s brand imagery had seemed weirdly perfect. No grazed knees or sweat patches. Aspirational maybe, but a bit lifeless. Sometimes in real life you have to throw a stick for the dog if you want to run.

Tactility can’t be underestimated when it comes to positioning health and care brands. Burt’s Bees make their products with beeswax, and always have. A lot of their competitors use petroleum and other non-natural ingredients.

Our creative platform for Burt’s Bees asks every element to lean tactile and get across the product’s sensation. It’s in the language: “buttery, buildable shades” and everything you see, from a honeycomb mountain to a silky pair of moisturised hands.