HBG Health

An Apple a day.

Take a bow Apple...If there is an end to the marketing and branding genius of Apple, I have yet to see it. For me, they embody the notion of brand-led innovation in a truly inspiring way. For anyone who wishes to be on the cutting edge of their industry, for any leader who gets up in the morning thinking about tomorrow rather than today, I hope each any every one of you is following Apple like a hawk follows, well, the fastest mouse in the field.

While some consumer brands seem to be faltering in their quest for what we would call a “Health Position,” their lack of strategy coming back to sting them with negative customer response or appreciation, Apple is embracing the opportunity to merge innovative technology with cutting-edge health care.

For consumers, this true brand-led innovation is visible through apps that help with everything from understanding your daily caloric intake to diagnosing illness, like the H1N1 flu virus (and even finding a clinic to treat it). Through a well-timed and superbly executed strategy, the iPhone has begun to build itself as the ultimate gateway into the confusing world of consumer-driven health care. 

For providers, like Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, the iphone is quickly becoming akin to a medical device – serving the monitoring and diagnostic needs of doctors who, today more than ever, are treating on-the-go. Apps now do everything from tracking labor contractions and fetal heart rates, to providing access to medication histories and admitting records.

So has Apple developed a Health Position? Perhaps not quite – but their innovative partnership with industries and resources outside their more obvious product channels gives me hope – hope that they will illuminate the opportunity for brands across the marketplace to step up and embrace health as part of their inherent brand offering. 

 

Posted by Jeffrey A. Nemetz - Founder

Inspiration, ingenuity and innovation.

There is, as there always is in the big bold world of marketing, a virtual menagerie of opinions on branding. For some it is a logo. For others (yours truly included) it is the very DNA of your organization. But for everyone, your brand is your introduction to the marketplace. It is, whether you like it or not, the sum total of all the expectations and experiences associated with your value proposition.

So, when you decide that your brand has more to say, or you realize that it simply needs to be refreshed to be noticed and relevant again, there is a delicate cocktail of inspiration, ingenuity and, most importantly innovation that needs to be concocted in order to push the kind of focused call-to-action that truly sets you apart.

Here, we believe wholeheartedly in brand innovation – the unrestrained, enthusiastic and sometimes chaotic process by which vision, strategy and brand are connected in a new and exciting way. It is not a process for the weary or faint-hearted. It is not a task for those looking for new fonts and catchy jingles. Rather, it is a journey that can, and should, force your entire organization to re-think who they are, and who they want to be.

After twenty years of focusing our energy within the healthcare sector, this is the foundation that sets our thinking and our standards apart. If you have challenges that keep you up at night - we want to meet you. 

Are you up for it?  

 

Posted by Jeffrey A. Nemetz - Founder

What (healthy idea) does your brand stand for?

Let’s face it. Health is a big word. It means everything from getting well to being well, from caring for the person to caring for the planet. With this in mind, clearly health should be on the mind of every organization, and on the agenda of leaders across the marketplace. Developing a “Health Position™” for your brand does something that traditionally only a new product line was able to accomplish: It elevates you to a new and refreshed position in the minds of potential consumers.

Of course, this strategy has, in fact, been in play for quite some time. The “greening” of American consumer products – from hybrid cars (Toyota, et al) to organic cleansers (Clorox) – is nothing less than each of those organizations reinventing their products in order to respond in kind to the growing passion for health in our country. True, my neighbor’s hybrid car is keeping the air just a bit more pollutant-free. But in doing so, it is creating a healthier environment for me and my family to live in.

HBG Health has just put forth its latest white paper demonstrating the inherent connection between sustainability and healthcare, and how that connection can be a powerful champion for your brand. Of course, the connection is not exclusive to healthcare. The symbiosis between sustainability and HEALTH is a natural and obvious one.

So, how is your brand taking a stand in the health of the world?

 

Posted by Jeffrey A. Nemetz - Founder