Choose Your Own Success: Redefining Achievement and Cultural Milestones
Authored by Meredydd Hardie
What you’ll learn
Personal definitions and milestones are replacing traditional indicators of success, reflecting shifting societal values.
Generational tensions arise as digital media, especially social media, encourages diverse narratives of success, diverging from traditional norms.
The healthcare and pharmaceutical industries must adopt a holistic, patient-centered approach to align with changing perceptions of success and well-being.
Welcome to the fourth article in our series that explores the cultural forces and trends shaping our world in 2024.
In pharma and healthcare, it’s important to understand the industry-specific forces driving change. It’s also important to understand the larger forces impacting the wider culture. Our industry isn’t immune from these cultural forces; patients, HCPs, payers, and everyone else participate in the wider culture. Understanding cultural forces enables us to predict challenges and identify opportunities early. Our Klick Strategy community always looks for new angles to help us understand the world.
What to Know:
Many traditional markers of success are either irrelevant or out of reach for many people
Individuals are now more focused on defining success and milestones on a personal level rather than adhering to societal norms
What is “Reinventing Success”?
As many traditional milestones of success (e.g., marriage, buying a house, a successful career, children, certain professions, and job titles) become out of reach, consumers are redefining their futures with new milestones. These traditional milestones are still preserved in many aspects of culture as the norm.
We’re in a period of flux where everyone is beginning to define this on a more individual level with minimal collective agreement (see the previous cultural force, “Collective Isolation”). This shift can cause tension between generations as values become misaligned. The tension is most pronounced as the expectations for certain success markers evolve and change—what was once a coveted goal for many can now be seen as undesirable. This includes career paths, working styles, marriage and children, and virtually every traditional marker of “success.”
Reinventing Success is a natural consequence of the one-to-one media landscape created by the internet (among other things) and the drastic economic changes impacting things like homeownership and careers. As consumers, we have limited shared cultural touchpoints and now limited agreement on important milestones.
Navigating this period of flux involves acknowledging and respecting diverse paths to success. It also requires open communication between generations to bridge the gap in understanding and expectations. The search for meaningful milestones becomes a more individualized journey, reflecting each person’s unique values and aspirations.
The Signals
In the introductory article of this series, we introduced the concept of signals as “Leaves” in our model of cultural forces. Signals are the fast-moving trends and fads that represent a moment in time. As a collection, they can indicate the direction in which culture is moving.
Several signals and factors tell us about this cultural force, including:
Signal: Declining homeownership and marriage rates
In 2023, the proportion of households occupied by owners declined to 65.7%
Both homeownership and marriage are traditional markers of adulthood. Economic realities and changing priorities mean that fewer people reach these goals
Signal: Death of the monoculture?
In 2017, many proclaimed that the final episode of the TV show Game of Thrones would mark the end of the monoculture—the last time so many people would watch the same show simultaneously
That may have been overstated to some degree, but we do exist in a fractured media landscape, one that encourages rapid trend cycles and hyper-targeted content
We have fewer shared experiences, not just in success milestones but in the content we consume, reinforcing the differences between generations and groups of people
Source: Vulture
Signal: Not-so-quiet quitting hits healthcare
“Quiet quitting” refers to the intention of employees to fulfill their assigned duties but nothing more—no overtime, no extra projects, and no long-term loyalty or devotion to the employer
This isn’t typically as relevant in healthcare as it is in other professions, but there are signs that the same pressure leading to quiet quitting is present
In many HCP roles, the inability to quit quietly manifests as burnout
Signal: Clearblue pregnancy-test campaign
The key audience for Clearblue pregnancy test is in the middle of the Reinventing Success cultural force. The brand demonstrated their understanding of changing markers of success in a recent TV ad
The ad departs from the most frequent imagery of couples anticipating a child and includes a younger, single woman who is unsure
Clearblue has connected to a new affinity group rather than trying to hold onto the traditional milestones in what can be a very traditional category
Source: The Ringer
What Will It Mean to Reinvent Success in 2024?
Social media plays a significant role in shaping perceptions of success and milestones. Individuals often showcase their unique journeys, creating diverse narratives that can influence others’ perspectives. We are exposed to more possibilities than before
Patients are often prioritizing different aspects of their health and well-being beyond traditional markers, such as mental health, holistic wellness, and quality of life, impacting their openness to some treatment options and long-term adherence
As we adjust to the new realities and develop new individual goals and markers, there can be a sense of an extended adolescence and youth culture well into the 30s and 40s
Lifelong learning and adaptability are becoming essential for all, but particularly for HCPs as they navigate a rapidly changing world and career landscape
The changing landscape is leading to more flexible career paths for healthcare professionals, allowing them to explore alternative models of care, such as telemedicine, concierge medicine, or community-based initiatives
The Impact and Future of Reinventing Success
This shift challenges the conventional narrative of success, emphasizing a more holistic approach that goes beyond career achievements and material possessions. The impact extends to various aspects of life that influences career choices, relationships, and overall lifestyle decisions.
Generational tensions may arise as older generations uphold traditional expectations while younger generations seek non-conventional paths. Bridging this gap will require open communication and understanding, acknowledging each generation’s evolving values and aspirations. Moreover, the digital age is pivotal in this cultural shift, allowing individuals to share their diverse journeys and perspectives globally. As a platform for self-expression, the internet contributes to the decentralization of cultural touchpoints, creating a more individualized yet interconnected society.
How to Leverage This Cultural Force
Recommendations:
Pharmaceutical marketers and brands may need to diversify their messaging to resonate with patients on unique life paths, focusing on the broader concept of health and wellness
The key for all stakeholders is adaptability. Patients, doctors, and pharma marketers will need to navigate this cultural shift collaboratively, understanding and responding to the evolving expectations and values of individuals in a more personalized and diverse healthcare landscape
Overall, the cultural shift towards individualized milestones and well-being is likely to reshape the role of healthcare providers. Embracing a more holistic, patient-centered, and adaptable approach will be essential for healthcare professionals to meet the evolving needs of their patients in this changing cultural landscape (The emerging emphasis on cancer patient digital twins (CPDT) is a signal of this shift in health and pharma)
When we talk about Reinventing Success, we are talking about a huge demographic and cultural shift that has ramifications across all aspects of healthcare and society at large. Applying the thinking from this article means looking beyond one industry or lens and considering the wider world. A good start is to develop scenarios across those multiple lenses and then develop industry- or brand-specific implications that can be incorporated into strategic and tactical planning. Another approach is to challenge assumptions around patients and care partners constantly—we can no longer assume care partners are spouses, for example.
The Klick Health Strategic Futures team and wider Strategic community can be your partners in shaping that future.
Look forward to the final Klick Health cultural force, “Friction Aversion,” coming soon with more perspectives from the Strategy community at Klick.
Author
Meredydd Hardie
VP, Group Director Strategy
Meredydd is passionate about uncovering insights at the intersection of people, culture, and brand. With 15 years of experience, she has honed her skill translating signals into strategic intelligence. Her past roles in marketing involved providing innovative research methodologies and strategic insights for major brands like Coca-Cola and Toyota, enhancing their understanding of audience dynamics. At Klick, Meredydd applies her market research expertise across various healthcare domains, including oncology and mental health. She specializes in integrating diverse signal sources into research outputs from digital to market research, to guide Klick’s teams and clients in navigating the forces shaping the future.
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