Reset: theme 10 – wellbeing
2020 marks the dawn of a new decade. Rachel Bevans of the Healthy Brand Company explores theme ten of ten themes driving brands into the next decade.
I’ve had a passion for wellbeing in its broadest sense for many years so have always monitored what’s happening closely. As such, it sits in the centre of The Healthy Brand Company’s brand alignment model along with purpose, values and idea, identity and culture.
Anecdotally this year seems to have come to a tipping point where it has gone beyond innovators and early adopters and will soon be considered and threaded through everything we do.
One of the most significant moves was in May this year, when PM Jacinda Ahern launched NZ’s Wellbeing Budget. Who knows, with the ASX Corporate Guidelines’ shift to recognise a broader stakeholder audience and monitor values and behaviour, perhaps we could see more explicit guidelines for a Wellbeing Budget for Corporate Australia in the next revisions?
If we look at wellbeing in this broader context, it can be seen across industries and markets: from the rise in non-alcoholic drinks and vegetarian eating to government programmes to “Find your 30” and ban sugary drinks advertising in Singapore to improve physical wellbeing; from Facebook and Instagram’s removal of likes and Beyond the Blue’s small business owners campaign to positively impact mental wellbeing; to Westpac’s new brand promise of “Helping in the moments that matter” that goes beyond financial wellbeing to emotional wellbeing.
Wellbeing in the workplace has also been a focus this year, with the World Health Organisation officially redefining burnout as a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress”, not to be confused with experiences in other areas of life. This has significant implications on employer brand, employee experience and culture.
Wellbeing is providing a path and inspiration for innovation, delivering “more human” experiences and creating long-term value for all stakeholders of an organisation.
I wish you and your business well for 2020 and Beyond.
Rachel Bevans is strategist, researcher and business director, with over 28 years’ experience helping organisations become brand-driven, customer-centric and employee-engaged. Rachel founded The Healthy Brand Company in 2012 to unite her brand experience, passion for health and wellbeing and curiosity about what motivates people.
