Healthy Branding for MedTechs

<div class="p-lr"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h2-style">The main things about branding for B2C MedTech products and services</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr mt-24 mb-32"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">B2C MedTech market is big, but is still in its nascent form, resulting in largely uniform branding. In order to not appear as snake oil salesmen wheeling through town on the way to the next, medtech startups stick to predictable blueish-greenish colors, bland photos, crosses as an obvious and heavy-handed allusion to healthcare. Compassion at arm’s length.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr mb-104"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">For the branding of a medtech product to achieve the desired results, it needs to be empathetic yet not familial. It shouldn’t be too clinical. For example, here’s the website of a dental clinic that largely eschews all the clichés you’ve come to expect in anything dentistry-related:</p></div></div></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr">In our project for <a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/107997033/TL-Dental-Website" class="underline">TL Dental</a>, we focused on taking the edge off dentists visits that we think of as uncomfortable at best, and created a soft and inviting style using a pastel color scheme for comfort</p></div>

<div class="p-lr mb-48"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">What medtechs need right now is to not only show their results, and but to also cultivate their bedside manner.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h2-style">Audience</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr mt-24 mb-104"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">There’s nothing more personal than our health issues. This topic is sensitive and must be broached respectfully yet empathetically. While the B2B medtechs can stick to largely functional brand messages and simplistic websites, a B2C medtech has a complex problem: we don’t trust devices with our health. Put a man in a lab coat and in our eyes, he’ll immediately turn into a bona fide expert on all things medical, but an app needs to do a lot more convincing. At this time, we’re nowhere near used to medtechs in our lives as we are to, say, online banking.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr">Kranus is a German app that’s approved by The German Federal Ministry of Health and is prescribed for erectile dysfunction. It’s a sensitive subject, and for this project we’ve settled on a style that is measured and calm, with photos relatable for German men 30-75</p></div>

<div class="p-lr mb-80"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">Keep in mind that often enough, the audience for a medtech is split: it needs to communicate both to the customers and the medical professionals. The aforementioned Kranus is prescribed by doctors, so the branding needs to be compelling to them as well.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h2-style">Types of MedTechs</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr mt-24 mb-80"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">There are all kinds of medtechs, depending on the technologies they use, what issues they treat and alleviate, their target audience; for branding purposes, we can divide medtechs into two big categories: apps and devices. The branding for medtech devices is more product-centric, whereas apps have a more pressing need to establish both an emotional connection and their medical authority.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h2-style">Types of MedTechs: Apps</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr mt-24 mb-104"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">Under this big umbrella we put telemedicine, self-diagnosis, pharmaceutical provider platforms, and many others. What matters for branding is that we interface with these medtechs through apps — all of these products need to come off as both compassionate and authoritative, which is not an easy balancing act.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr">In its branding <a href="https://www.nurx.com/" class="underline">Nurx</a> is the boldest medtech, empowers us to take agency over our wellbeing</p></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr"><a href="https://www.babylonhealth.com/en-us" class="underline">Babylonhealth</a> right on their first screen shows us a doctor (and a friendly informal one too, not even in a lab coat) and promises more, coupled with colorful and understanding messaging on their Instagram</p></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr"><a href="https://www.headspace.com/" class="underline">Headspace</a>, the app that helps with mindfulness, anxiety, stress, and good night sleep, is comforting and warm</p></div>

<div class="p-lr mb-80"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">Medtech apps aim to become the part of the user’s daily routine — they can’t be too showy, and they have to be user-friendly in both the UX and their presentation.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h2-style">Types of MedTechs: Devices</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr mt-24 mb-104"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">As we’ve mentioned earlier, the branding for medtech devices is more product-centric. The most important thing is to showcase results, and then just a little extra personal touch in branding creates for memorable products.</p></div></div></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr"><a href="https://www.avawomen.com/" class="underline">AvaWomen</a> produces a fertility tracker bracelet. The relatable photos of the actual patients are supported by endearing illustrations and a pleasantly muted color scheme</p></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr"><a href="https://www.ablehumanmotion.com/" class="underline">ABLE</a> is a startup that produces a lightweight exoskeleton that restores the ability to walk. The branding focuses solely on the product and the results it achieves</p></div>

<div class="mt-16 mb-104"><p class="text-gr">In our project for<a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/101630645/Tambua-Health" class="underline">TambuaHealth</a>, a product that helps with diagnosing respiratory diseases, we show sound waves and vibrations that we produce as we breathe, to achieve a tranquil and meditate style</p></div>

<div class="p-lr"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h2-style">Outro</p></div></div></div>

<div class="p-lr mt-24"><div class="g-7-15"><div class="transp-bl"></div><p class="h4-style">Medtechs have to deal with delicate, personal subjects — but detached and matter-of-fact branding is not the best solution. Healthcare products need to be caring, as they, often enough, treat literal pains. A little empathy goes a long way.</p></div></div></div>