Self care turning selfless
When the pandemic first hit, our nation’s prognosis felt beyond our control. We were told the cure for this public health crisis lay in locking down, masking up and standing back. Many followed Fauci’s orders, keen to help the greater good.
We were shocked. Powerless. Hopeless. What else could we do?
7 months later: Momentum for quarantine & self-isolation is on the downas Americans find healing in their regained freedom. With this shift comes a seismic movement and momentum for self-care. Formerly perceived as a luxury or something we do only in our spare time, self-care is now a necessity & prioritized as people are now unmistakably aware of the huge impact personal wellness (physical and mental) can have on public health.Not to mention the freedoms of in-person school, travel, on-premise dining, celebrations and a healthy economy that we all hold so dear.
Prioritizing personal well-being with simple habits and solutions is the new Covid remedy. We are regaining control by taking our mental & physical health into your own hands.
The Decode
ON THE UP: Prioritizing Self Care
Here’s how self care is hitting all 5 Drivers of Momentum:
DISRUPTION: Ever since that fateful March day, many of our long practiced habits for maintaining healthy minds & bodies have been turned upside down alongside our worlds. Brands are leaning in, disrupting their own industries by shifting to prioritizing unexpectedly healthy habits with their offerings.
In response to the 59% of Americans choosing better-for-you snacksand meals post-pandemic and the 70% of Americans wishing healthy grab and go items were easier to find, CVS is flipping the script on convenience store snack shelves. Think affordable, healthy snacks and food staples at the ready, turning that trip to the drugstore into a safer one stop shop.
Home-baked bread and other forbidden carbs made a comeback in quarantine as comfort foods and snacks supplied the good mental feels. In their “The New Comfort Food” campaign, Foster Farms shows consumers they can cook up all their favorite comfort meals with healthier, guilt-free ingredients.
Costco is ready and waiting to help as Americans feel prepared as they start stockpiling again. Stockpiling gives Americans a sense of security and control in these uncertain times. It also impacts what we eat — stockpiling means more shelf stable comfort foods: pastas, rice, canned fruits & veggies.
INNOVATION: Momentum for Telemedicine peaked in April when screens were the only way we could be seen. The benefits were obvious: we could get medical advice without fear of COVID infection. Now that the telemedicine practice has been proven & accepted, it has a renewed purpose: empowering people to proactively care for their own health. No longer an innovation to lean into, the next wave of telemedicine will be led by differentiation, with smart brands offering welcome alternatives to the in-person experience.
Wearables: Data points are power. Enter: the Internet of Medical Things.Wearable fitness devices that sync health / activity data with phones are gaining popularity because they empower individuals to constantly have a pulse on their physical well being: monitoring sleep, electrocardiogram (ECG) readings, blood glucose levels, blood pressure measurements, etc. Wearables & the IoMT lead to people proactively taking more preventative measures rather than waiting to see a medical professional when they know something is wrong.
Tasso: Dubbed the “Netflix of blood collection,” Tasso revolutionized blood collection by creating OnDemand, a simple device patients can use to draw their blood at home with an easy process to return your samples to the lab for analysis. They make Blood tests from home simple & less confusing (even looks like Staple’s famous “that was easy” button) to ensure we can take care of ourselves.
POLARIZATION: To get a COVID-19 vaccine or not? That is the 2020 question under hot debate. Yet another way our nation is increasingly divided: adults who would “definitely” or “probably” get the vaccine fell from 72% in May to 51% in September. Many lack trust in authorities advising us. Others fear misinformation and want to wait for hard data. On top of that, there’s debate over how and when to move forward in the absence of a certain vaccine arrival date: socializing, returning to offices, traveling, attending concerts & sporting events are all waiting with bated breath.
Instead, Americans are taking control over what they feel more certain about: the flu. More people are getting flu shots than usual. Cities are seeing a flu shot shortage as people race to avoid the “twindemic.”
STICKINESS: Whether or not you’ve been infected by COVID-19, we’ve all been affected by it and the resulting mental health crisis. Among other things, this time will be marked as the moment when we’ve all been caught in the cycle of isolation, monotony, uncertainty and fear. One silver lining is that because we are all going through it together, there’s finally momentum for destigmatizing mental health.
Brands and businesses are leaning in to help us break the cycle & take control of our mental health. Chillhouse introduced “Find Your Chill,” an interactive digital guide to building an ideal self-care journey” to help us “regain our chill.” Intended to make self-care simple, Chillhouse’s 50-page guide helps you discover your best form of self-care so that you can more effectively cope.
SOCIAL IMPACT: For this October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, brands are getting creative with how they engage consumers through digital and social media campaigns & activations.
Estée Lauder Companies’ annual Breast Cancer Campaign launched a social media call-to-action to rally support & funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. For every in-feed Facebook or Instagram post using both #TimeToEndBreastCancer and #ELCdonates, ELC will donate $25 to BCRF up to $100,000.
Kit Undergarments will donate $1 to the Women’s Cancer Research Fund (part of BCRF) for every person that posts a photo in their undergarments using #kitstokickcancer. Kate Hudson, Zoe Saldana, Behati Prinsloo, Katy Perry & Dakota Fanning have kicked off the campaign with undiegrams on Instagram.
ON THE DOWN: QUARANTINE
Momentum for quarantine life is on the down because we’re all sick of our four walls. What will really make us feel better is a way to return to regain control over our lives & the return to a healthy economy.
Takeaway
While so much feels out of control right now… personal momentum is within your control.
And prioritizing self care is powerful medicine.