8

In partnership with the Health Experience Project, GSW has
expanded its fourth-annual trends report to include a broader
look at the shifts that are changing healthcare marketing.

2014 TRENDS
Consumer
Marketing
Digital
Healthcare
Overview
Do you ever get the feeling that healthcare and people
are just missing each other? Healthcare is full of “do this”
and “take that” directives. And, people… well, people
are full of good intentions, everyday missteps, and hope
that it will get better.
The kinds of experiences we need to build today –
to get people off the sidelines, to change behavior, to
earn commitment – aren’t healthcare-marketing-as-usual.
Instead, they’re innovative approaches that engage
people in new ways.
Here’s the real challenge, though: We live in a world
of rapidly changing expectations. But, our approval
processes aren’t as fast. They’re long and rely more
on insulating risk than innovating experience.
The opportunity is finding the smart risks, the ones
that can truly change our marketplaces. To prepare
for where the world is going – not just respond to
where it’s been.
That’s where trends come in.

We look at trends to understand our customers’ new
expectations for brand interactions. The ones built on
their day-to-day experiences with technology, culture,
and media.
This year, we’ve uncovered actionable trends in
four key areas: consumer, digital, marketing and
healthcare. We’ll use those trends to systematically
point to new opportunities for healthcare marketers
and spur innovation.
We’ll ask, “What Could Be?” for healthcare brands
and customers. And deliver bold new solutions that
change that business-as-usual game.
Leigh Householder
Chief Innovation Officer
GSW
Core Contributors
Abigail Schmelzer
Alex Bragg
Alex Brock
Amanda Joly
Bruce Rooke
Eduardo Menendez
Jason Sankey
Jeffrey Giermek
Joel Gerber
Joy Hart
Kathryn Bernish-Fisher
Mark Stinson
Matt Cash
Michael Donahoe
Nick Bartlett
Rupert Dooley
Ryan Deshazer
Shawn Mullings
Tyler Durbin

1.
YOU’LL
NEVER
BE “NORMAL”
AGAIN
In Short
Today, what’s uber popular in one group is
likely to go virtually unnoticed by others.

1.
YOU’LL
NEVER
BE “NORMAL”
AGAIN
Did you know?
Women represent a greater portion of the
game-playing population (31%) than boys age
17 or younger (19%).
In Short
In Short
Today, what’s uber popular in one group is
Today, what’s uber popular in one group is
likely to go virtually unnoticed by others.
likely to go virtually unnoticed by others.

It’s Time
Familying
With nearly limitless options in
consumption, our individual
experiences of “normal” tend to
diverge dramatically from one
another.
The iconic picture of the traditional American family has been
fading over the last decade due to major population and behavioral
shifts. We’re choosing our own unique definitions of what it means
to “family” (now a verb!).
Figuring out what was popular
used to be easy. We had chart
toppers and Nielsen householders
and #1 best sellers.
But, the proliferation of channels
and media has created a new
reality: we no longer experience
cultures as one big, homogeneous
mass.
Ignoring Milestones
People are increasingly delaying or outright skipping - the traditional
milestones of adulthood.
Married
Multi-Generational
Same Sex
In the last ten years, we’ve seen the number of same sex households
double, a surge in multi-generational families, and a drop in the
number of married households to just 51%.

It’s Time
Familying
With nearly limitless options in
consumption, our individual
experiences of “normal” tend to
diverge dramatically from one
another.
The iconic picture of the traditional American family has been
fading over the last decade due to major population and behavioral
shifts. We’re choosing our own unique definitions of what it means
to “family” (now a verb!).
Married
Ignoring Milestones
Ignoring Milestones
Multi-Generational
Same Sex
In the last ten years, we’ve seen the number of same sex households
From buying a house to getting hitched, double, a surge in multi-generational families, and a drop in the
number of married households to just 51%.
People are increasingly delaying to starting a career, the new normal is
or whateverskipping - the traditional
outright the individual says it is.
milestones of adulthood.

It’s Time
Familying
With nearly limitless options in
consumption, our individual
experiences of “normal” tend to
diverge dramatically from one
another.
The iconic picture of the traditional American family has been
fading over the last decade due to major population and behavioral
shifts. We’re choosing our own unique definitions of what it means
to “family” (now a verb!).
Figuring out what was popular
used to be easy. We had chart
toppers and Nielsen householders
and #1 best sellers.
34
%
But, the proliferation of channels
and media has created a new
reality: we no longer experience
cultures as one big, homogeneous
mass.
Ignoring Milestones
People are increasingly delaying or outright skipping - the traditional
milestones of adulthood.
34% of millennials (18 to 32)
are still living at home.
Married
Multi-Generational
Same Sex
In the last ten years, we’ve seen the number of same sex households
double, a surge in multi-generational families, and a drop in the
number of married households to just 51%.

2.
AND,
NOT
INSTEAD
In Short
Twenty-four-seven entertainment on as
many screens as we can hold.

All You Can See
Second Screen
Our headline in the history books
just might be “The Great Media
Binge.” Advances in technology have
created so many new things to enjoy
– without actually reducing our love
of the old ones.
The vast majority of consumers are
using a device to augment or distract
from traditional media. They call it a
“second screen.
That’s left us doubling and tripling
up on our media preferences, even
doubling and tripling up on the
media we’re actually consuming at
any one moment.
”It’s a small glowing screen in your
hand used in front of the large
glowing screen on your wall. Over
80% of mobile users do it.“
The interesting trend is in their
convergence: one-sixth of viewers are
engaging with each other on the web
around TV content.

All You Can See
All You Can See
Our headline in the history books
Our headline in the history books
just might be “The Great Media
just might be “The Great Media
Binge.” Advances in technology have
Binge.” Advances in technology have
created so many new things to enjoy
created so many new things to enjoy
– without actually reducing our love
– without actually reducing our love
of the old ones.
of the old ones.
Which Book?
That’s left us doubling and tripling
That’s left of e-book readers continue to
Nearly 90%us doubling and tripling
up on our media preferences, even
up physical volumes.
media preferences, forms seem
read on ourand tripling Theon the
two even
doubling
up
doubling and tripling up on the
to serve we’re actually consuming at
media different purposes.
media we’re actually consuming at
any one moment.
Second Screen
The vast majority of consumers are
using a device to augment or distract
from traditional media. They call it a
“second screen.
”It’s a small glowing screen in your
hand used in front of the large
glowing screen on your wall. Over
80% of mobile users do it.”
The interesting trend is in their
convergence: one-sixth of viewers are
engaging with each other on the web
around TV content.

All You Can See
Second Screen
Our headline in the history books
just might be “The Great Media
Binge.” Advances in technology have
created so many new things to enjoy
– without actually reducing our love
of the old ones.
The vast majority of consumers are
using a device to augment or distract
from traditional media. They call it a
“second screen.
That’s left us doubling and tripling
up on our media preferences, even
doubling and tripling up on the
media we’re actually consuming at
any one moment.
”It’s a small glowing screen in your
hand used in front of the large
glowing screen on your wall. Over
80% of mobile
Convergence users do it.
The interesting trend is in their convergence:
The interesting trend is in their
one-sixth of viewers are engaging with each
convergence: one-sixth of viewers are
other on the web around TV content. Among
engaging with each other on the web
those under 35, more than half do so.
around TV content.

40
%
As many as 40% of
all tweets at peak time
are about programs on
TV at the time, behavior
which is actively
promoted by programs
like #HIGNFY, #BBCQT
or #XFACTOR.
Behind the Scenes
The new cocktail party question–“What are you binge watching?” Netflix,
Amazon.com, Hulu and others have given viewers the chance to catch up
on shows they may have missed the first time around.
Add in the number of homes that have digital video recorders, almost
half (up from 19% is 2008) and you have an audience completely
untethered from a linear television schedule, but still addicted to the
magic of television drama.
In the lull after Breaking Bad and Orange is the New Black, Netflix addicts
are going old school, dialing up Twin Peaks and Dr. Who while waiting for
new seasons of House of Cards and Downton Abbey.

3.
SHARING
IS THE
NEW
SATISFACTION
In Short
You’re a narcissist. You’re a luddite. Look at my baby.
I’m tired of your baby. Oooh, the great debate of
privacy, sharing, and attention is heating up.

Like
Unlike
We’re increasingly experiencing our lives
through the lenses of our outstretched
camera phones. Not to save it – but to
share it. It’s more than a habit, it’s a new
kind of satisfaction. For many, an
experience just isn’t complete without
sharing what we saw, heard, learned, or
tasted. There’s passion in that pass along.
If you’ve seen one baby / back-to-school /
engagement photo, you’ve seen them all.
Everything from fears about privacy to a
feeling of overexposure, to angst about
whether their own lives measure up to the
Facebook Dream, to just plain boredom is
causing a big backlash against the
share-everything social world.
40
%
Forty percent of adult internet
users surveyed manage multiple
social networking profiles
50
%
50 percent of users surveyed have either
taken or have considered taking a break
from social networking

Like
Unlike
We’re increasingly experiencing our lives
through the lenses of our outstretched
camera phones. Not to save it – but to
share it. It’s more than a habit, it’s a new
kind of satisfaction. For many, an
experience just isn’t complete without
sharing what we saw, heard, learned, or
tasted. There’s passion in that pass
If you’ve seen one baby / back-to-school /
engagement photo, you’ve seen them all.
Everything from fears about privacy to a
feeling of overexposure, to angst about
whether their own lives measure up to the
Facebook Dream, to just plain boredom is
causing a big backlash against the
share-everything social world.
40
%
Social Clash
50
%
The debate really heats up when super sharers and
real timers are together, the sharers want to instagram
Forty percent of adultlive tweet from the concert, and instantly review of users surveyed have either
50 percent
dinner, internet
users surveyedthe movie.
manage multiple
taken or have considered taking a break
social networking profiles
from social networking
And, the real timers want to have a real conversation and
a great meal without the ubiquitous typing and texting.

4.
TALK
TO
THE
HANDHELD
In Short
The best way to end an argument?
Google it.

Impatience Culture
Debate Ender
Our smartphones have set an expectation for
instant gratification. We can get sports scores,
dinner reservations, and answers to almost any
question with a few touches.
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American
Life Project found that the hyper-connected
lives of people under the age of 35 are
suffering from a “need for instant gratification
and loss of patience.” Ouch.
What was the name of that movie with that
guy? Our impatience culture is increasingly
turning to our life augmenting screen to
answer just that question.
More and more, we’re turning those little
screens around to make them a personal
presentation tool, one that uncovers answers
our memories cannot and proves once and
for all that “I’m right and you’re wrong.”
Life Augmented
It’s not just remembering. A savvy user can
digitally enhance her experience of almost
anything. She can pull up a map, find an
out-of-the-way restaurant, and identify the
architect who designed the building at the
corner. And, she can definitely explain how
the chef is preparing that rare dish her
father just ordered.
1 in 4 Americans already report using
their cell phones to win arguments

Impatience Culture
Debate Ender
Our smartphones have set an expectation for
instant gratification. We can get sports scores,
dinner reservations, and answers to almost any
Prediction
question with a few touches.
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American
The percent of Americans using
Life Project found that the hyper-connected
their cell phones to win arguments
lives of people under the age of 35 are 2014.
will double in the year
suffering from a “need for instant gratification
and loss of patience.” Ouch.
What was the name of that movie with that
guy? Our impatience culture is increasingly
turning to our life augmenting screen to
answer just that question.
More and more, we’re turning those little
screens around to make them a personal
presentation tool, one that uncovers answers
our memories cannot and proves once and
for all that “I’m right and you’re wrong.”
Life Augmented
It’s not just remembering. A savvy user can
digitally enhance her experience of almost
anything. She can pull up a map, find an
out-of-the-way restaurant, and identify the
architect who designed the building at the
corner. And, she can definitely explain how
the chef is preparing that rare dish her
father just ordered.
1 in 4 Americans already report using
their cell phones to win arguments

5.
GET
WITH
THE
WABI-SABI
In Short
In this new age of sincerity, people expect companies
to get real.

Sincerely Yours
Wabi-sabi
(noun) : [Japanese]
A philosophy of aesthetics that
emphasizes the beauty of the
imperfect, impermanent, and
incomplete
It’s difficult to disappoint a cynic. They already expect the worst in
people and situations, so reality rarely lets them down. But we’re at a
new transition point in culture, one that swings away from the
decades of post-Vietnam, Cold War irony to a new kind of sincerity.
Authenticity Now
People are looking for more real, honest connections with other
people and communities. It’s that same spirit that’s leading them to
expect a new level of authenticity from brands. It’s not enough for
companies to say they have nothing to hide, today’s consumers expect
them to prove it with their actions and openness.
68
%
68% of consumers trust
reviews more when they see
both good and bad scores
30
%
30% suspect censorship or
faked reviews if there aren’t
any negative comments

Wabi-sabi
(noun) : [Japanese]
People will be more attracted
and loyal to brands that have
a little wabi-sabi.
It’s the flaws that make something desirable. The authenticity of imperfection.
McDonald’s
P&G
McDonalds developed a YouTube
video featuring the Director of
Marketing for Canada, Hope
Bagozzi, that places an actual,
store-bought quarter pounder
side-by-side with a “hero” quarter
pounder used in a McDonald’s
photo shoot to explain why the two
look different and, as importantly,
how they’re the same.
P&G actively recruits moms to
moderate their individual facebook
pages for brands such as Tide and
Downy, even giving them latitude
to share some details of their
personal lives and carry on
genuine , unscripted, dialog with
others who have liked the brand
page and have it in their stream.
View >

6.
IT’S ALL
ABOUT
BEATING THE
JONESES
In Short
Comparative data is the new context that drives our
sense of failure or accomplishment.

Expectation Explosion
People Proof
Adult life, it turns out, is full of lots of things
you should do. But what do people like you
actually do?
Social scientists have found that seeing comparative
data is a more effective route to behavior change than
making more rules. It’s called social proof.
When people are uncertain about a course of action,
they tend to look outside of themselves and to other
people around them to guide their decisions & actions.
Fitting In
That’s where comparative data comes in.
An electric bill might show your home’s power
usage vs. the neighbors. An app might display
your relative time on a run around the park.
We’re desiring more and more of these clues
that show us where we fit in and what counts as
good (enough) behavior. After all, the goal isn’t
to be perfect, it’s just to better than most.
In one experiment, a simple sign telling people
that “most people in this hotel reuse their towels
at least once during their stay” increased reuse
rates by 26%.
+
Without Sign
26
%
With Sign

Expectation Explosion
People Proof
Adult life, it turns out, is full of lots of things
you should do. But what do people like you
actually do?
Social scientists have found that seeing comparative
data is a more effective route to behavior change than
making more rules. It’s called social proof.
When people are uncertain about a course of action,
they tend to look outside of themselves and to other
people around them to guide their decisions & actions.
Fitting In
That’s where comparative data comes in.
An electric bill might show your home’s power
usage vs. the neighbors. An app might display
your relative time on a run around the park.
We’re desiring more and more of these clues
that show us where we fit in and what counts as
good (enough) behavior. After all, the goal isn’t
to be perfect, it’s just to better than most.
In one experiment, a simple sign telling people
that “most people in this hotel reuse their towels
Expectations
at least once during their stay” increased reuse
Work out 30 (now 60??) minutes/day.
rates by 26%.
Save 10%. Eat dark, leafy greens.
+
Without Sign
26
%
With Sign

7.
THE
END OF
EYE
CONTACT
In Short
In the world of constant partial attention, eye contact
is the next human connection to be left behind.

The Stare
F.O.M.O
Between staring at computers during the work day
and regularly gazing down at our phones, people
are spending more time with their eyes glued to
their screens than ever before.
Do you have it? We might. It’s fear of missing out.
And, it drives constant checking of the little screen.
For Millenials – the most effected – it’s become
culturally acceptable to answer the phone during
dinner or to glance down at texts.
There are two groups particularly who are making
even less eye contact: doctors (because electronic
health records demand so much of their in-exam
attention), and Millennials (because of FOMO).
The Stare
That lack of eye
contact is having a
big impact on human
connections.
It’s way more than a habit. These hyper-connected
twenty- and thirty somethings feel compelled to
check mobile gadgets repeatedly to see what social
opportunities they are missing.
Typical
Required

The Stare
F.O.M.O
Between staring at computers during the work day
and regularly gazing down at our phones, people
are spending more time with their eyes glued to
their screens than ever before.
Do you have it? We might. It’s fear of missing out.
And, it drives constant checking of the little screen.
For Millenials – the most effected – it’s become
culturally acceptable to answer the phone during
dinner or to glance down at texts.
There are two groups particularly who are making
even less eye contact: doctors (because electronic
health records demand so much of their in-exam
attention) and Millennials (because of FOMO).
It’s way more than a habit. These hyper-connected
twenty- and thirty somethings feel compelled to
check mobile gadgets repeatedly to see what social
opportunities they are missing.
Emotional Disconnect
Today, adults make eye contact between
30-60% of the time in a typical conversation,
The Stare
but emotional connection is built when eye
contact eye
That lack ofis made during 60-70% percent
of a is having a
contact conversation.
big impact on human
connections.
Typical
Required

8.
MORTAR
OR
MASTERY
In Short
Traditional education is being challenged by
people who believe what you know is way more
important than how you learned it.

Information Everywhere
MOOC-ing
In our changing economy where
you can get information anywhere,
a person’s degree of mastery for a
subject is becoming more valuable
than his master’s degree.
MOOCs, or massive open online courses, are part of that major
disruption to how we think about what it means to be educated.
That trend becomes even more
prevalent in industries that are in
rapid transformation, where it’s
critical to have access to the latest
ideas and approaches.
MOOCs put lecture videos and interactive course work on the web
making it possible for education to reach more students and allow for
different styles of learning.
Top-notch universities like Stanford and Harvard and leading employers
like AT&T and Google are creating their own “degree of mastery” online
programs to let self-motivated learners learn for little or no cost.
50
%
50.2% of schools
are adding a MOOC
37
%
37% of schools
already have a MOOC

Information Everywhere
MOOC-ing
In our changing economy where Khan Academy or massive open online courses, are part of that major
MOOCs,
you can get information anywhere,
disruption to how we think about what it means to be educated.
a person’s degree of mastery for a Salman Khan has delivered over 240 million
subject is becoming more valuable lessons on Khan Academy. Hisvideos and interactive course work on the web
MOOCs put lecture memorable, short
videos include more than 4,000 education to reach more students and allow for
than his master’s degree.
making it possible for micro lectures in
mathematics, history, healthcare, medicine, finance,
different styles of learning.
physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, economics,
That trend becomes even more
prevalent in industries that are in cosmology, organic chemistry, American civics, artHarvard and leading employers
Top-notch universities like Stanford and
history, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and own “degree of mastery” online
rapid transformation, where it’s
like AT&T and Google are creating their
science.
critical to have access to the latest computerprograms to let self-motivated learners learn for little or no cost.
ideas and approaches.
50
%
50.2% of schools
are adding a MOOC
37
%
37% of schools
already have a MOOC

Information Everywhere
MOOC-ing
In our changing economy where
you can get information anywhere,
a person’s degree of mastery for a
subject is becoming more valuable
than his master’s degree.
MOOCs, or massive open online courses, are part of that major
disruption to how we think about what it means to be educated.
That trend becomes even more
prevalent in industries that are in
rapid transformation, where it’s
critical to have access to the latest
ideas and approaches.
MOOCs put lecture videos and interactive course work on the web
making it possible for education to reach more students and allow for
different styles of learning.
Top-notch universities like Stanford and Harvard and leading employers
like AT&T and Google are creating their own “degree of mastery” online
programs to let self-motivated learners learn for little or no cost.
$63,000 to $0
50
37
Cost% tuition and expenses for one
of
person to attend one year at Harvard:
$63,000.
%
Cost to the almost 5 million people
who’ve attended the famous “Justice”schools
50.2% of schools
37% of
course at Harvard online: $0. already have a MOOC
are adding a MOOC

Voluntary Homework
2.5 million have participated in a MOOC since 2011. They’ve taken on the voluntary homework for learning
without limitations. The latest platforms have created an opportunity for a classroom community – connecting
thousands of people around the world with one syllabus and one big conversation.
In 2011, nearly 7 million students had taken at least one online course.
2011
2002
Number of Students Taking at Least One Online Course

Voluntary Homework
2.5 million have participated in a MOOC since 2011. They’ve taken on the voluntary homework for learning
without limitations. The latest platforms have created an opportunity for a classroom community – connecting
thousands of people around the world with one syllabus and one big conversation.
In 2011, nearly 7 million students had taken at least one online course.
2011
2002
Number of Students Taking at Least One Online Course
6,714,792

To discuss this report live, request another module, or
schedule a presentation of trends, please contact Leigh Householder
at 614-543-6496 or leigh.householder@gsw-w.com
Sources
U.S. Census, 2010, ESA, 2013, Pew Research 2013, Motorola, 2013,
Reevoo.com, January 2012, MyLife.com 2013, Quantified Impressions,
Changing Course, 2013