Context Matters – Look at Gas Prices

As I saw gas prices locally fall below $1.80 yesterday, I thought about how different that context is versus having gas closer to $5.00 per gallon.  We all saw how quickly the auto companies moved to emphasize miles per gallon in their advertising.  [You could argue that they (and the public) should have been focused on this for years.]  I wonder if that will disappear and return to the more traditional advertising.

In another example, I noticed the Wal-Mart slogan the other day which is “Save Money.  Live Better.”  I don’t know if this is new, but it caught my attention in today’s economy.  They are trying to position themselves as improving your life through cost savings. 

I haven’t seen a lot of examples in healthcare where companies are seizing on this economic focus to change their messaging.  It should be a healthcare company with the Wal-Mart slogan helping drive Information Therapy (Ix) out to members to help them understand how to optimize their out-of-pocket spending.

I think it is so important both to understand messaging and how that varies across segments of the population, but to also understand the need to change that messaging to reflect the macro-forces which are present in society.