Changing mind-set: Improving Healthcare

A change in focus for the OTC Training Academy

The disappointing growth of the OTC industry has been a frustration to all of us given the positive trends of self-care, prevention and wellness. As an industry, we have been too focused on the product, our pills in bottles, and our creams in tubes and so have almost completely ignored the holistic view of the people who we seek to engage and whose lives we support to improve.

For this reason, we have decided to position our change of mind-set within the Consumer Healthcare Training Academy, from an OTC focus, to a Consumer Healthcare focus. Showing that all our programmes will address the whole person, not just the problem, disease and pharmacological solutions. For us, the best drug is an inspired and well informed individual so we seek to inform, develop and inspire individuals within the Industry to create holistic solutions for better healthcare outcomes.

We believe this is not just a change of title, but addresses a new direction that we, in the industry must take if we are going to realise the true potential within our Brands and organisations and more importantly better improve the healthcare of our communities. Because ultimately that is what we are here to do..

Key messages from the Workshop on Deep Dive on the Consumer (2025)

To begin our journey as The Consumer Healthcare Training Academy, Steve Sowerby and Trevor Gore joined Nicholas Hall in Barcelona to ‘Deep Dive on the Consumer’ with a group of 50 delegates. Using a case study, we worked through elements of connecting with our consumers in the future. We immersed ourselves into Health Literacy, Adherence, Market Research Techniques and Consumer Profiling, using tools that can be used in our daily roles.

Here are our conclusions from the day:

• As an Industry; we are calling ourselves CHC but still not really connecting with the consumer – We must connect at an emotional level to ensure we build strong Brands
• Impact of AI will be huge on how we communicate and how we research – How do we leverage this technology for our Brands?
• Millennials reject the ‘big’ corporate message – How do we can get closer to them and have dialogue that does not ‘preach’?
• Health Literacy and Adherence
  • We did not realise how big of an issue these are today.
  • We do not realise how big an impact it has on us
  • We have to find solutions to solve them “now”.
• The challenges of current trend of Regulatory Changes: Brand names vs Ingredient on packaging!
  • We need to manage packaging attributes logo, colour, shapes and benefits
  • Develop lifestyle solutions not just product around the Brand