Prevention Planks.
I’ve been thinking a good deal about prevention this morning. There’s an exciting article in the NYT on some Medicare trials to prevent diabetes among at risk populations. Another article on the bombings in Brussels had be wondering how we can prevent the kind of hatred that causes people to blow themselves taking fellow citizens with them.
Much of what modern societies do when faced with ills, illness and hatred focuses on curative or after-the-fact action. Not root cause prevention.
Yesterday’s What’s the Idea? blog post was about articulating positive “care-abouts” and “good-ats.” By highlighting positives, the logic went, one can trump positioning around negatives. So I’m asking myself today if I should be thinking about including a preventative plank in my strategies; rather than trump an existing brand or category negative, what if we look at ways to prevent them?
It may be a poor example but in a brand strategy I wrote a few years ago for a “healthier-for-you cookie,” I realized most cookies in the space were perceived as “dry.” Rather than build a plank around moisture, which I did, perhaps I should have taken a preventative approach — highlighting the use of coconut oil as a key product additive. Coconut oil smacks of moisture.
As you can see, it’s not a full baked idea but you have to start somewhere. And my gut tells me prevention and the education around it, is a def worth a strong look.
Peace.
