The Weekly Minute - May 3, 2024
Anthony Edwards. My favorite basketball player in the world (on my Minnesota Timberwolves) is only 22 years old and taking the league (err, Association) by storm. Super excited to see our Wolves in the second round of the Playoffs.
Tomorrow is the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby! I hope you enjoy the horses and the mint juleps.
Now, onto what I’ve been thinking about this week:
Healthcare’s challenge
Healthcare is a difficult challenge.
Walmart, grappling with costs, has shut down its 51 primary care clinics and Telehealth arm. This comes merely two months after their planned doubling of clinical operations.
Retail's healthcare transformation attempt thrills me.
Yet, healthcare on a large scale is complex, arguably broken.
We face a formidable issue that urgently needs resolution. Someone has to solve for this, right?
How to explain an idea
If you do creative work or have a creative soul, then ideas are your oxygen. This article wants you to breathe. In it, Mark Pollard covers:
The differences between ideas and thoughts
The types of ideas we encounter in advertising
How strategy and ideas work together and how they’re different
Simple techniques to help you explain an idea
From sports to healthcare
Stepping into the healthcare industry felt like charting unknown waters after a decade-plus in the fast-paced world of sports marketing. The transition was not just a shift in sectors but a whole new approach to brand and organizational strategy -- and the customer experience
In sports, our playbook was clear: energize the fan base, leverage moments of glory, and create a sense of belonging. But healthcare? It's a different ballgame. Here, the focus shifts from entertainment to empathy, from spectators to patients — real people facing real challenges.
The complexity of this industry, with its regulations and the critical importance of trust and reliability, demands a nuanced strategy.
This pivot forced me to rethink everything I knew about brand building. In healthcare, we're not just selling a product or an experience; we're part of someone's health journey. It’s about creating meaningful connections, offering genuine support, and ensuring that every interaction adds value to their lives.
Embracing this new arena has been both challenging and rewarding. It’s pushed me to be more creative, more empathetic, and more focused on impact than ever before. And it’s reminded me that at the heart of any successful strategy is understanding your audience deeply and caring genuinely about their well-being.
The leap from sports to healthcare is a testament to the power of transferable skills — creativity, adaptability, and strategic thinking — and the universal importance of building authentic connections.
As we continue to navigate these waters, it's clear that while the industries may change, the core principles of effective branding remain constant.
Here's to showing that no matter the industry, great work is about understanding human needs and meeting them where they are.
Two parting thoughts for the weekend
Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points.
The most effective people simplify the most complex things.
