We believe there are two key tests of meaningful marketing. The first is that it must be marketing that consumers choose to engage with. The second is that the marketing itself improves consumers’ lives. In this blog’s past several posts I believe I’ve covered the former pretty well; but I want to spend more time hitting the latter more often.

“Marketing itself improves consumers’ lives” is a pretty big test. It essentially says that the consumer can benefit from the brand without actually repaying it with a purchase. This can be a pretty big mental leap for marketers and their advertising agencies. An even bigger test, however, is when a brand uses marketing to improve consumers’ lives in such a way that it could decrease sales at the same time. Nutty, huh? Well, tell the Tylenol brand.

You have most likely noticed a flurry of marketing by Tylenol as part of its Feel Better campaign. It is appearing in TV, online,  print, and outdoor. While the reach of the campaign has probably hit your eyeballs dozens of times, you probably engaged attention because of its fairly revolutionary messages. You see, Tylenol’s advertising is telling consumers how to avoid headaches - in other words, how to avoid needing to take Tylenol at all.

A few examples are in the photo above. Bus stop ad headlines include: “Pass breakfast. You may go straight to a headache” and “Skipping meals can cause headaches.” A trip to Tylenol.com leads to articles about other triggers of headaches, such as excessive noise, bright lights, and certain foods. Other Tylenol line extensions have followed the same path. Tylenol Cold formula advises that “Popsicles can soothe a sore throat.” Tylenol Arthritis Pain formula suggests that “Arthritic joints need strong muscles to protect them.”

I think Tylenol is in the lead of a new trend. Another brand that I’ve seen make progress on this line of meaning is Bank of America, which is featuring a campaign that teaches its customers how to avoid banking fees. Both brands realize that they are much better off by looking out for the customer first, and doing it in an obvious way that builds trust.

Long term (and all marketers should be in it for the long term), I believe this kind of investment in meaning will pay off. Tylenol knows that people will still have headaches or otherwise need pain relief, and since its active ingredient is exactly the same as the store brand but at a much higher price, this goodwill should translate to “loyalty beyond reason.” And Bank of America knows that it can make a lot more money by winning long-term, cross-sell business from its customers rather than screwing them on a $20 fee. Both brands are also using the programs to invite customers into a long-term relationship marketing program. By giving valuable information in this way, they will keep people coming back.

We may need to change our second meaningful marketing test to: “the marketing itself improves consumers’ lives - even at the expense of sales.“

I need to purge myself from the decadence of Cannes and its endless flow of both wine and drumming gorilla videos. So it’s a great time to dive into the healthcare category. Healthcare is one of our favorite industries because our clients’ products and services themselves significantly improve lives. And we find that marketing in healthcare is fertile ground for marketing that itself can improve lives.

One of our favorite clients is Align, a new brand at Procter & Gamble that is in a pretty unique category. Align is a entrant into the growing probiotic category. Probiotics are digestive supplements that introduce helpful bacteria into your system. They are gaining acceptance and acclaim for a wide range of benefits - from preventing colon cancer to lowering blood pressure.

Align specifically helps build and maintain a healthy, balanced digestive system. It is made with a probiotic called Bifantis. Both are getting some very positive reviews from consumers whose lives have been upended by digestive issues. Moms are missing kids’ soccer games because they are stuck in the bathroom. Dads have to know where the closest public bathrooms are at all times.

As you might imagine, the key consumer and business challenges for Align are the fact that it is a pill that must be taken daily, and it can take a month for the full benefits to come into effect. And as a business school marketing professor warned me on the first day of class: “Habit change is really hard.” Further, the daily supplement is not covered by insurance, and it costs about $1 per day. People who try Align desperately want to adopt the habit, but they need help to ensure that they experience the desired results. Otherwise, it can be a frustrating loss of time and money with nothing to show for it. We saw an opportunity for marketing with meaning.

Based on our years of work in healthcare, we know that people are actively seeking online tips and advice that will help them start a new medication habit or make a significant lifestyle change. So several months ago we brought our client team the idea of creating “My Align Advisor” - a relationship marketing program that would help people adopt the Align habit and ensure that they get the maximum benefits of their investment in the product. Here are a few of the ways we help build the habit:

• Invite consumers into the program at the time that they first buy the product.
• Offer a “digestive tracker” that they can use to measure their progress and results.
• Send weekly emails that explain what people are likely feeling and experiencing at every stage of the process. This helps encourage them when they may feel frustrated.
• Request that they share their results with others through a “Tell Us Your Story” program.

We know that by engaging people with reminders, journal entries, and social reinforcement, we can significantly improve compliance. And the My Align Advisor program test showed real results. In terms of meaning, our survey of users showed that a majority agreed that the program “added to the overall value of Align” and that “Align allows them to enjoy life again.” As for the business, I cannot share results here, but suffice to say that the program continues and our clients are happy. The best news for all of us - including consumers - is that Align has expanded from an online-only test and is now available in select cities as well.

The My Align Advisor program is a model of meaningful marketing that many brands could follow. Other daily prescription and OTC medications are a natural, but I could see similar models anywhere a frequent habit needs to be created. It could be Scotts helping people get their new yards off to a good start, or Toyota helping Prius buyers get used to hybrid driving.

At the end of the day, habit change IS hard. But marketing that helps people adopt the habit can be extremely meaningful for both consumers and businesses.