As Advertisers, we’ve been taught to look for the right buyers for our products–intersecting the right individuals at the right time with the right claims to convince them to buy.  In today’s health and wellness marketing landscape, brands become relevant not by simply being different but by making a difference—by behaving as Advocates. That means finding a shared purpose with our consumers, proving it through actions and interactions and connecting stakeholders around the purpose. The goal: to create not just buyers, but ambassadors of the brand who will self-multiply.

Many brands today are saying the right things…telling consumers they have a “higher purpose.” What separates the LYSOL effort is how the brand is backing up the words with actions.  LYSOL’s campaign, Mission for Health, is a great example of applying the principles of an Advocate brand.

Like many health and wellness brands, LYSOL has a science-based differentiation: it kills 99% of bacteria.  But through Mission for Health, the brand truth is laddered up to a greater shared purpose with moms.  The campaign easily allows for new products and product improvements that continue to prove Lysol’s mission for health. It uses mass media as a mass invitation to a more involving online and grassroots experience.

How LYSOL Mission for Health puts Advocate principles into practice:

Shared Purpose: Reducing the spread of flu and colds at home and at school.

Action: Along with education around prevention, LYSOL proves its commitment to the purpose through acts of generosity, such as a $5 rebate on flu shots.

Serving: LYSOL is empowering schools, through a program endorsed by a leading pediatrician, to teach healthy habits to children and increase school attendance through the Lysol Blue Ribbon School Attendance Challenge that rewards schools for low absenteeism.

Connecting: LYSOL brings advocates for health together through its efforts in schools, humanitarian efforts and through online forums and community.

Dialogue: On lysol.com/missionforhealth, consumers can join dialogue around the greater purpose of health (including products) or can ask questions of experts from the healthcare and science community.

Citizenship: LYSOL has partnered with Save the Children, a non-profit humanitarian and disaster relief organization to support the needs of children and their families whose health and safety are affected by disasters. The difference between this effort and adjunct cause marketing is that it is directly linked to Mission for Health, so it is meaningful proof of the purpose, not just general goodwill.

Authenticity: First-time moms are provided with educational resources on keeping themselves and their infants healthy with information available at OBGYN offices, pediatrician offices, on www.lysol.com/missionforhealth and other online communities.

Ambassadors: Joining the Mission for Health cause allows moms to review products and get health tips they can pass on to others. Also, the Mission program includes a Community Heroes Contest, with winners judged on improving the health or happiness of a community, and the possible impact of a community improvement effort.

Without these Advocate principles in action, LYSOL’S Mission for Health campaign would just be another pretty Advertising tagline.  Kudos to the Advocate brand builders behind it.

*For more information on health and wellness visit thewellatgsw.com.