The barriers to changing cultural narratives about women’s health and the menstrual cycle are as high as they are vast, with more diverse marketing and addressing the long-standing data gap between men and women. It extends up to
Nick Lisher, CMO of period and ovulation tracker Flo Health, and Anka Bedineishvili, director of strategy at marketing consultancy TwentyFirstCenturyBrand, have spent the past 18 months addressing the lack of understanding and misinformation on the issue. We have developed a solution to eliminate Digiday asked both marketers how to do it.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Changing the cultural narrative about the female menstrual cycle and women’s health is a complex task. where do i start?
Bedinshvili: It’s incredibly nuanced and vast, but the overarching goal is the same. We need to help people understand the immense potential of having a more open, positive and positive relationship with women’s health. It means being eager to engage with the widest possible audience, including investors in the industry, scientists and doctors, and society at large.
For example, our cultural goal is to banish this myth that menstrual health is a burden, shameful, and flawed. For employers, it could be a story about how supporting female employees can lead to a productive and resilient workplace. not. and so on.
Changing the cultural narrative begins with such a cultural awakening.
As a marketer, what inspired you to start thinking about ways to change the wider narrative around women’s cycles and women’s health?
Bedinshvili: There were pressing business and social imperatives. At a business level, if people don’t understand the value of working on their own cycle, they will never understand the true value of Flo. At the societal level, lack of engagement means gaps in gender data and misdiagnosis that threaten the health and well-being of women and menstruating people around the world. , reinforced the urgency of this occasion. Flo users consistently said they felt unsupported in their pursuit of their health and a more positive relationship with themselves. I was in a good position.
Richer: This quote from a focus group study by the University of York really surprised me. I was having a really bad week then…and all he had to say was, “you should get used to it, how long was your period?”. Understand how important your symptoms are and how knowledge can help you manage them. We need to do better than just “you should be used to it” and I strongly believe we can do that with Flo.
Based on the research you’ve done, what’s the key to making sure these messages get through? Are you doing it?
Bedinshvili: That momentum lies in the fact that we are working together to build a better future for women’s health. We want them to know that their participation will drive change. lead to breakthroughs.
Richer: With 50 million monthly active members from all over the world, we feel we can make a difference by starting with the Flo community. For example, we recently made Flo’s premium his subscription product free in countries that need it most, and by communicating directly with our audience, we were able to raise awareness about poor health literacy. In Malawi, for example, only 18% of girls know what menstruation is before menarche.
How do we avoid a return to standard for apps with cute unicorns and pretty pink flowers so we can focus on the task at hand: providing services and technology that can radically improve health and well-being? mosquito?
Bedinshvili: This is about taking Flo beyond period trackers and showing that we take women’s health seriously. As such, our overriding ambitions included:
Designed to gather input from diverse groups of people, providing customized insights rather than a one-size-fits-all approach: To avoid defaulting to sexist tropes, our assumptions is always questioned, and when it does so, it invites feedback and criticism: Builds complete trust Transparency and unmatched privacy in a previously compromised category: Partners with research institutions and medical professionals to ensure that Flo is always the most current and reliable source of health information.
How important is the power of the community surrounding your brand to achieve some of these goals?
Bedinshvili: You mentioned rallying around a single vision and designing for diverse groups so everyone can participate. Second, it will feature stories of real change in the lives of everyday people. So how is Flo helping women with PCOS gain more control over their health? Are gay couples navigating fertility options? POCs that require double effort in clinics? Just
Richer: Flo’s “Secret Chats” community is completely anonymous and a safe place to discuss women’s health issues without fear of being labeled, gaslighted, or disrespected. We’ve been getting feedback that there is. As a veteran of her community online, I am proud that in a world where online abuse is heard all too often, this kind of connection is still strong, useful, and emotionally positive.
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