Dear Balanced:

The amount of nutrition information, much of it from suspect, non-scientific sources, is huge and growing. It can indeed be hard to click on a popular website or flip through a favorite magazine without being bombarded by conflicting “facts” and claims made by the purveyors of the latest dietary fad.

As a marketing agency, our job is to promote our clients’ brands. Our clients’ job isn’t just to sell more medications; it’s to educate the consumer on the best way to manage his or her health, even when dealing with a chronic condition. When it comes to the “battle of the nutrition trends,” pharma can be the voice of reason, offering proven, scientific evidence supporting a healthy diet that’s rooted in facts, not fads.

Here are a few strategies you can use to combat the array of misinformation your patients receive each day regarding diet and nutrition:

1. Reinforce correct nutritional info: Make sure patients get the message from your brand regarding the partnership between medication and a healthy, balanced diet in managing their diabetes.
2. Mine trends for useful data: Some trends can provide “teachable moments” for you to use with patients—for example, the Paleo Diet can spark a discussion of the importance of healthy proteins in a non-paleo, diabetes-friendly diet.
3. Use a gimmick: You can increase your web traffic or click-through rates by offering tools patients can use, such as this “Create Your Plate” tool from the American Diabetes Association.

Effective marketing is always in style. Be sure to partner with an expert agency such as Xavier Creative House. We aren’t ruled by trends but by the strategic messaging needs of our clients.