Whenever I see an ad for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I'm reminded of the marketing power of color. They consistently make such good use of the color orange and yellow. I know the ad is about Reese's instantly (and I get hungry!). That's powerful use of color to increase brand awareness and recognition. Which ties into colorful in-store promotions. Which sells products. Check out their website and the video below.

Some colors are owned by a broad cause, like green connotes good for the environment across industries. Then within industries, there is the opportunity to increase brand awareness and recognition by "owning" a color. Quick, what color comes to mind when you think Home Depot? Lowe's? Orange and red, right? UPS used to use "brown" as their primary differentiator. Not service quality, not speed, and not safety, but the color brown.

In healthcare, we under-use color as a brand differentiator. Could say, a sky blue incubator stand out from the others that are mostly industrial grey? Sure, why not. In public health, could CDC use its blue color to brand everything it creates and thereby help elected officials, partners and the public quickly attach CDC's credibility to it? Probably.

How is color used in your industry? Who owns which colors? Can you benefit by color marketing?

I just got back from a week in Panama, where I met up with my backpacking daughter Jessa. Besides the incredible beauty of the San Blas islands (below), the peacefulness of El Valle de Anton, and the warmth of the Panamian people, there were of course exciting marketing lessons to be learned (yes, even on vacation!). Here are my top 3 "power" marketing learnings from Panama:

1. The power of a monopoly: There is one and only one waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans - the Panama Canal. The huge cargo ship we saw pass through the "big ditch" paid over $250,000 for the privilege. And that's one of roughly 15,000 vessels that goes through the canal every year. Besides the money, the reality of limited choice and lack of real competition forces the shipping industry (i.e. the customers) to accommodate the canal, vs. the canal accommodating the industry. That's why there are terms like "Panamax," which refers to the size limits for vessels traveling through the Panama Canal. As Wikipedia explains:

The allowable size is limited by the width and length of the available lock chambers, by the depth of the water in the canal and by the height of the Bridge of the Americas. The limits have influenced those constructing cargo ships, giving clear parameters for ships destined to traverse the Panama Canal. "Panamax" has been in effect since the opening of the canal in 1914.

2. The power of social norms: This, I'm embarrassed to admit. We were borrowing bikes at a B&B in the small mountain town of El Valle, to ride to the zoo. And despite our consulting work over the last few years with CDC’s Center for Injury Prevention & Control on road safety, and despite my “role modeling” for my daughter who was with me, I chose to not wear a bike helmet. My rationale? Mostly that no one in the town was wearing a helmet. Also there weren’t that many cars. And it didn’t “feel” risky. All copouts I’m afraid, and testimony to the powerful influence of social norms.

3. The power of brand association: Whenever I saw a toucan (not uncommon in Central America). I immediately thought of… Froot Loops cereal. Then the TV ads with Toucan Sam that I first saw as a kid. In my mind, for better or worse, Kellogg's Froot Loops “owns” toucans. A demonstration of the power of brand association, especially for an uncommon “thing” like the toucan.

Public Health has struggled for years to tell its story- ironically a very worthy story- in a powerful and compelling way. We worked with CDC 10 years ago to help them tackle being misunderstood and to create and communicate their brand identity - with what we called Putting Science into Action for a Safer and Healthier America. Then Washington State's Department of Health (WDOH) engaged us to hep them overcome being "underknown and undervalued" - and therefore underfunded. The WDOH central idea? Always Working for A Safer & Healthier Washington, coupled with three identity themes. In both cases, our research showed it was not just about health, but the more emotional issue of keeping people safer, that resonated across the board. Plus action - public health is about taking action that makes a difference. Here's a one pager I wrote in Government Executive on Building a Brand Identity.

And here are three examples of relatively low budget, high production value videos that do a good job at making public health come to life and personally relevant. They all capture the "safer" aspect of public health and show the value of public health action across its many "touch points." Most importantly, they all convey a message that hits home.

The first one, from American Public Health Association's (APHA) Healthiest Nation in One Generation campaign, shows through sophisticatedly simple word graphics, one person's interactions from birth through adulthood with Public Health (including 4 mentions of Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention, but who's counting!).

This second one, is from the This is Public Health campaign of the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). Along with student voices and simple red stickers, it powerfully SHOWS in fast MTV-like style, the numerous touch points of public health. 

And to tie it all together, this video by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), which is the national organization representing local health departments, goes from showing (again with sophisticated graphics and word art) what a world without Public Health would be, to the good we have here in America, thanks to our everyday heroes (truly!) in our local Public Health Departments. It ends by showcasing a Public Health logo, given that when public health is working best, it's mostly invisible.

Together, these videos shine a light on what may be the most important and valuable (and often invisible!) service our country provides to us: Public Health. And a professional community I am so proud to be a part of.