Breaking through the box.

I’ve devoted my career to building brands that make the world a healthier place. Five years ago, this path led me to Pivot and the incredible organizations we support. Together, we leverage the power of design to make health more compelling and connect people to life-changing programs and products. It’s been an amazing way to spend my days.

But on a personal level, I didn’t appreciate the true impact of the work I’d chosen until “the box.”

The box from hell.

It came to my home. I was anticipating its arrival, but totally unprepared for its impact. Big. Heavy. Stuffed with medical supplies, sterile wipes, needles, and dozens of treatment doses. Not a single label matched the list from my doctor. The swap of generics for brand names, left to me to sort out. Welcome to IVF.

Here I was, someone who had worked with health systems, physician practices, device manufacturers, and pharma clients every day; in some ways, an insider. And still I was completely overwhelmed by the scene on my dining room table. I freaked out. I cried. Then I got pissed off. What did they expect me to do with all this sh*t?!

Deciphering the contents of the box took the next few days, finally carting it to my doctor’s office so the nurse and I could go through every item (at my request) and reconcile every label. I also asked her to walk me through the administration instructions, a few times, while I wrote down every step. She kindly obliged, but never acknowledged the fundamental miss of not just the box, but also their team. This was how it was done. Patients—no matter how unfamiliar or emotionally underwater they were—would need to figure it out.

The box marked the beginning of a process that would span more than a few years. It was rough. More than once, my husband and I considered giving up. Tired of feeling like a number, we switched to a smaller medical practice. That helped. Happily, our story has the best of endings: healthy twins, boy and girl, now 13. Still, all this time later, the memory of the box is just as vivid. 

Most of us have a version of the box. Personally or with a loved one, we’ve all experienced the need for more information, more support, and more humanity from the products and services we rely on to keep us well. It’s a feeling on an epidemic scale: more than 70% of Americans feel failed by the healthcare system and want stronger relationships with healthcare providers.¹ Perceptions of pharmaceutical companies are among their worst in 20 years. After experiencing a brief uptick during the pandemic, only 18% of Americans today have a positive view of pharma, while a record-high 60% view it negatively.²

Healthcare is deeply personal. Healthcare experiences can be anything but. At Pivot, we believe something profound is missing: soul.

Every great brand has it.

The world’s greatest brands are guided by soul. They prioritize the customer mindset and design everything—everything—in response to it. Brand soul is about connection; an experience that resonates deeply and stirs emotion. You know it when you feel it.

In contrast, many healthcare brands see the world only through their own eyes. But consumers expect to feel seen: 82 percent say listening is a top three driver in earning or keeping their trust.³ Insular healthcare brands run the risk of seeming tone deaf or exacerbating frustration and fear. Like the box.

The box represents much of what’s wrong with many healthcare experiences. The folks behind my box didn’t consider the support I would need to make sense of its contents, or perhaps they assumed my doctor would cover it. Either way, to them I was just a name on a shipping label. It felt like it. 

But healthcare doesn’t need to be this way, and we’re starting to see an exciting shift. When we talk about brand soul with clients and prospects, it resonates. Instantly. Not a single person has challenged us on the need for soul in healthcare, and in their corner of the industry. Disease state education. Patient support programs. Brand launches. Product campaigns. Patient communities. Internal engagement. Soul can transform all of it. And as we continue toward a world of greater automation and AI in healthcare delivery, the need for brand soul is more urgent than ever.

To break through the box.

Pivot Design helps healthcare brands create meaning, connection, and trust. Learn more about our Soul Drivers.

Get in touch at getstarted@pivotdesign.com.