Healthcare, It's a Lifestyle (Brand)

Blog Post 4- 4/28/2020

Healthcare, It’s a Lifestyle (Brand)

Over the past 2 months of quarantine, we’ve witnessed quite a lot of change in behavior, social practices and other normal protocols. One practice that I think has become more normalized is telemedicine. I was recently able to have a quick video check-in with my neurologist and not hike all the way to the Upper East Side. To me, this was pretty revolutionary—I saved so much time and sanity! Prior to quarantine times, this may not have been an option but now it seems that telemedicine is one of the safest and most efficient ways to receive healthcare. 

This got me thinking about some targeted ads I’ve recently seen on Instagram. I’ve been served multiple ads for Cove, a direct-to-consumer company that offers “Personalized treatment and ongoing care to help you gain control over your migraines.” I did a bit of research on the company and found its parent company is Thirty Madison, has a few other subsidiary brands: Keeps focused on hair loss and evens focuses on acid reflux. Thirty Madison describes themself as “the human-first health company bringing specialized care and treatment to everyone.” Cove not only offers prescription migraine treatment, but also their own brand of supplements that definitely give off a Goop-vibe. The premise is you answer some questions and they assign you a physician who will conduct an appointment via phone/video call and work with you on a treatment plan. What I find interesting is that they are a D2C telemedicine brand yet their instagram is filled with a Millennial-aesthetic featuring facts, testimonials and lifestyle imagery—not something we have seen before or would expect of a medical company. Their brand identity appears as more of a lifestyle brand vs. what we’ve seen of traditional medical brands.      

After some deeper thought, I’ve noticed a trend of hybrid wellness/lifestyle/medical companies. Some top of mind examples include hims/hers, Thirty Madison and Ro. From a beauty perspective, I always try to keep my eye on the larger wellness category and I’m intrigued by a few things: 

• The perception I have of these telemedicine brands, as a lifestyle brand and how they balance their appealing aesthetic with ability to gain consumer trust. 

• How they balance their medical and non-medical products and services they actually offer i.e. offering prescription birth control but also offering OTC supplements.  

• What do they offer, beyond convenience, that’s more attractive or appealing than physically going to see a physician? Are people falling for or attracted by the lifestyle-vibe of the company? 

When I first came across hers, for example, it looked and sounded like Glossier. Most notably tapping into a similar effortlessly-cool-it-girl lifestyle. Before knowing anything about the brand hers, I quickly discovered there was a medical consultation aspect of the company that you had to undergo in order to be able to purchase some of their products like birth control and acne treatment. Hers assigns you a licensed physician based on your personal information and health needs who works with you on a treatment plan. The cool-girl vibe the company portrays in their ads immediately grabbed my attention, but I had to wonder would I trust this company for medical issues? My pre-quarantine self would say probably not. But as telemedicine becomes the new-norm and the ultimate convenience, are these new, niche, Millennial-friendly telemedicine companies going to become more commonplace and accepted? 

I think our notion of what’s acceptable for how a medical company should look, think, speak, etc. is about to drastically change. Up until now, most medical companies look, think, speak and conduct themselves with a level of decorum that we’ve been conditioned to trust and respect. But imagine if the Mayo Clinic re-branded with a Glossier-style aesthetic. Would we still have that same trust and respect? Probably not. Or imagine if Glossier decided to double-down and offer prescription skincare. Would consumers trust that? Probably but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.  

Final thoughts: 

• Are Millennial-targeted telemedicine companies worthy of our trust, especially now as telemedicine becomes the new normal? 

• If a telemedicine brand came at you with all the makings of your most desired lifestyle, would you buy in? Is the future of healthcare brands going to be ones that fit into your lifestyle?  

• Imagine if healthcare was made up of brands in the same way the beauty industry is—what does that world look like? Would we Instagram our daily medication? Would we “unbox” a beautifully packaged prescription?  

• What does the future of the healthcare space look like online? Is it branded in a way that attracts Millennials, Gen Z and Alphas?