Health professional marketing has evolved—has your brand kept up?

Three years ago Ben Jacobson in Marketing Land argued that there is no more effective way to get a brand message out into the world than to forge “real, mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with people who have engaged, relevant audiences.”  He referenced Linquia’s The State of Influencer Marketing 2017 survey which reports that 81 percent of marketers see engagement metrics as their top success indicators.

If you represent a healthy brand and are still on the fence about engaging with health and wellness professionals—the most trusted source of nutrition guidance—and their captivated audiences, then you might want to know about the recent Benchmarking Study by Pulse Health & Wellness and FoodWell Strategies.

In our many years in the business, we have heard stories from healthy food brands’ marketing teams and nutrition teams about what works and what does not.  We wanted to compile their lessons learned in order to build a clear picture of what makes some companies highly effective at leveraging health professionals to market their brands—and why other companies struggle.

Knowing that teams can be wary about how to integrate such a program into a larger marketing plan, and about how to garner support from within the company, we interviewed a variety of CPG companies.  We examined several key areas: types of health & wellness professionals targeted, budgeting, organizational structure and responsibilities, decision making and execution, and preferred tactics. 

We asked the very questions that might be at the top of mind for you and your team:

• Do healthy food brands know when to use social media influencers versus healthcare professionals to find new consumers?

• How important is it to have support from the top?

• How can you—and should you—integrate with larger marketing team?

• How do you earn your marketing budget every year?

• Have you found a way to report ROI metrics that satisfy your CFO?

Our findings might be especially relevant to your brand as you make your 2021 marketing plans.  If you have been wanting to include a focus on health and wellness professionals in your team’s marketing, and want to know some time-saving tips, we would be happy to share the findings of our recent Benchmarking Study. You can request a short report or a presentation for your team.

For more information contact or Annie O’Leary at annieo@pulsehw.com or Stacey Krawczyk at stacey@foodwellstrategies.com.