InterbrandHealth, a division of brandchannel parent Interbrand, believes that brand is the single most underutilized asset within the health & life sciences industry. Why?

The health and life sciences industry is an IP-driven space — one that is based on significant innovation. As new categories and innovation have slowed drastically over the past 10 years, there has been a proliferation of similar products where brand now has to play a key role.

“Brands have to work harder than ever to gain that trust and engage consumers in a more meaningful way,” notes Wes Wilkes, InterbrandHealth’s Executive Director of Global Strategy.Continue reading...

Sesame Street is lending its clout with kids to the White House, deploying its chief lobbyist to bring the brand's might to the fight on childhood obesity in America. Elmo was dispatched to the White House this week to meet with Chef-in-Chief Sam Kass, to talk up nutritious school meals.

The above video was released today to promote President Obama's signing of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act — legislation that First Lady Michelle Obama has been supporting, including (contentiously) urging the US restaurant industry to step up, and launching the Let's Move campaign earlier this year.

"Positioning" takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to prophylactic brands.

Now the company that created an ad featuring condom-balloon animals getting frisky is making a change to focus on the magic rather than the mechanics.

Durex’s latest ad, released this week in the UK (where the brand is synonymous with "condom"), is part of its Love Sex Durex global shift to marketing “sexual enhancement products,” not just condoms.Continue reading...

The Art of Shaving (yup, that's the brand's name) is a 14-year-old luxury brand sold in its own US stores (over 40 "Shaving Shops," some of which have "Barber Spas") and in such tony retailers as Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus.

Its approach to shaving as an art is decidedly low-tech but it features a high-end product line (shaving brushes sell from $55 to $1,200 each). The company pitches shaving as a four-step process — prepare, lather, shave, moisturize — and sells products for each stage.

Its old school tradition based on "the brotherhood" of shaving (although it does cater to women, too) is a message it's now rolling out across traditional and social media. The brand is embarking on its first-ever advertising campaign, and promoting a pro-social push on social media with a heavy-hitting celeb endorsement (the New York Yankees' Nick Swisher) in support of the Movember movement.Continue reading...

Elmo isn't the only urging Americans to stay healthy this flu season. 

One year after the H1N1 flu epidemic (and panic) turned out to be a relative global yawn, U.S. retailers nevertheless believe they can leverage echoes of influenza anxiety into winning promotions this fall.

Target, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and regional retailers including Jewel-Osco and Duane Reade are promoting themselves as convenient destinations for flu shots and for associated savings on seasonal-fortification products. They're already busy training more personnel in administering vaccinations, holding influenza-prevention clinics, and flocking to the flu-shot marketing theme.Continue reading...

As personal fitness and health care continue to be top of mind, sensor technology adds a valuable component in the battle of the bulge and the quest to stay healthy thanks to a marriage between BodyMedia and Bluetooth.

Body sensors linked to smartphones can now create full-body monitors as BodyMedia’s armbands communicate with Bluetooth-enabled smartphones.

As a small business attempting to build a brand in a space dominated by the likes of Nike, the innovative startup was founded in 1999 by four researchers at Carnegie Mellon University — three from the Mobile and Wearable Computing Lab and the fourth an artificial intelligence expert.Continue reading...

Looks like it's good cop bad cop in the war against fast food brands. First, First Lady Michelle Obama politely insisted that America’s restaurant operators do more for their role in contributing to childhood obesity. Now, a vegetarian group is launching a campaign accusing McDonald's of killing people with its food by causing heart disease. The commercial ends with a McDonald's logo and the tagline pun "I was loving' it." You can watch the commercial above.

Do groups like this really think these kind of commercials ever reach the intended targets? A related and more important question: will McDonald's give them the attention they so clearly desperately want by making a big deal out of it?Continue reading...

As First Lady, Michelle Obama may have learned how to influence people – but she may not have that “making friends” thing down. Just ask America’s restaurant operators. Mrs. Obama addressed the board of the National Restaurant Association on Monday to talk about her childhood-obesity initiative, and her tone was far more provocative than friendly.

Essentially, the First Lady insisted, America’s restaurant operators are contributing far too little to the fight against childhood obesity, with one out of three American kids overweight or obese. And if they need ideas on how to offer healthier menu options, the First Lady has got some.Continue reading...