Design For Refusal
Breakthrough brands across categories demonstrate refusal to fuel success
I was mentally prepared to be a hater. I was ready.
I thought I knew what I was going to dislike.
And then Kimberly said, absolutely not.
It’s so soft and comfortable. It fits me so well.
When I had first heard the word HEMLIBRA
and I heard about subcutaneous injections, I was a little freaked out….
There was initial concern with the TMA….
But as our experience grew, we understood that TMA was only because of a certain association with the PCC… that were given in addition to HEMLIBRA at a certain dose.
The first quote is from this Skims Instagram ad:
The second is from a hematologist on the HEMLIBRA HCP site:
Hematologists and women looking for dresses have a lot in common. They make decisions the same way. The same way you and I and everyone does.
In narrative structure, this is called “the refusal of the call.” Heroes happen by choice or by chance, but before accepting that call to adventure, they first have to refuse it. When the refusal path doesn’t work, they finally cross the threshold into a special new world with the help of a mentor.
HEMLIBRA isn’t even close to the most clinically effective treatments in Hemophilia. All of those competing treatments tout their clinical advantages.
But HEMLIBRA is the only brand in this category that demonstrates the decision making health professionals do when trying and expanding treatment.
Since launch in 2018, HEMLIBRA has grown to own over half the Hemophilia A market, and the consensus first choice among Hematologists for new patient starts. One doctor told me he couldn’t imagine a scenario in which he would write another medication before HEMLIBRA.
Skims swims in a category with endless cutting edge, high spending competition for shapewear. Yet with videos that demonstrate how people react to something new, dislike it, then finally try and enjoy it, as a part of their marketing mix, Skims is projected to achieve over $750 million in sales this year.
To truly internalize and act on a new idea, product, treatment, (even just what’s for dinner tonight), we have to allow people to first refuse it, and come to terms with that idea in very practical ways that lead to realization.
The brands that put product in the service of their customer using a narrative path consistently outpace their competition in every category. They give people in the market an easy way to act – and ability to socialize that action with the people they make decisions with, and need approval from.
Teams can easily translate product, customer, patient, or HCP journey into a compelling behavioral narrative with The Hero’s Journey Workshop in just a few hours.