As the festive season draws to a close and the post-Christmas guilt sets in after a month of heavy eating, drinking and spending, we prepare ourselves for a new year ‘new me’. Arriving at work on the first day back with salads and gym memberships in hand, most of us promise that this year, we really will take better care of ourselves…
While these changes often appear to be very short-term, all this resolution-making provides ample opportunity for healthcare brands to take advantage.
Public Health England (PHE) have been particularly quick off the mark this year, launching a series of campaigns to incite behaviour change for the better.
PHE’s £5m ‘Sugar Smart’ campaign allows parents to keep a watchful eye on their Children’s sugar intake. With this awareness campaign, PHE are helping to increase pressure on the government to impose the sugary drink tax, which has been under much discussion over the past year.
They don’t stop there either. Recycling last year’s anti-smoking campaign, PHE have decided to target people where it matters. Opting for smarter media placement, they aim to capture attention at the moments just before people decide to smoke, making for much more effective communications (hopefully).
Supporting PHE’s ‘Dry for January’ initiative Cancer Research have taken a more light hearted approach to their Dumb Ways To Die-esque campaign. They make a little humour go a long way to convince us staying ‘dry’ for a month really isn’t that hard.
Weight Watchers have also cashed in on the action with their #WomanKind campaign, with Oprah Winfrey as the new brand ambassador. She has also joined the brand’s board of directors. The campaign takes a more emotional approach, focusing on females building strong relationships between others and with themselves.
So, we already have plenty of reminders to help us stick to our new year’s resolutions, and no doubt there will be more to come. Maybe we’ll actually stick to them this year…