What's Next, Now: April 2024
This month, our crystal ball predicts cracks in the healthcare system starting to affect personal health, a new era of sports sponsorships, and more.
We’ve been keeping a close eye on the months-long (and still ongoing) development of the Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident, cited as “the most significant and consequential cyberattack on the U.S. healthcare system in American history.” The initial breach of the UnitedHealth-owned company occurred on February 12, days before the attack was executed, and the effects continue to reverberate. Claims processing and operations have only just been restored, medical providers aren’t receiving payments, lawmakers are considering the effects of healthcare mergers, and hackers claim to be selling sensitive data accessed in the cyberattack.
While this cyberattack highlights some significant shortcomings of the American healthcare system, other symptoms are also emerging. The number of medications actively in shortage broke records this month. Producers of GLP-1 weight loss medications like Ozempic aren’t able to meet demand, pushing patients to pursue alternative — and potentially unsafe — means to acquire them. Pharmacies are struggling to retain staff. (And we won’t even get into the avian flu situation…)
With an election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration is taking steps to improve drug costs and access to care. But do these steps go deep enough to address the deep, systemic challenges facing healthcare?
Healthcare touches everyone, and these disruptions have significant effects on perception of the institution and individual access to necessary care. The longer and more frequently these weaknesses appear in the everyday lives of the public, the more likely that trust in our healthcare system will continue to degrade. Notably, these shifts in trust have the potential to exacerbate health misinformation.
From a business perspective, bolstering your crisis plan and response process could help you avoid the social and financial outcomes UnitedHealthcare is facing. Brands have already begun strengthening their existing communications staff, but keep an eye out for an increase in companies hiring for specialized crisis management roles, especially in the healthcare field.
*Data from UnitedHealth, CBS News, and the American Hospital Association
No, sports sponsorship is not a new trend. But outside the major players, brand sponsorship in sports is starting to expand — both in what is getting sponsorship dollars and who is spending them.
Women’s sports has demonstrated its legitimacy time and time again. But the groundbreaking success of this year’s women’s March Madness felt like a defining moment in a years-long journey. The championship final racked up an average 18.7 million viewers, an 89% increase from last year’s game and 4 million more than the men’s final. The WNBA draft, which followed a week later, drew triple the viewership of last season’s, and stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese came decked out in Prada and Louboutin. The show out of fans for women’s sports drew the eyes of major investors, including Reddit co-founder (and tennis trophy husband) Alexis Ohanian, who announced his plan to expand a popular Portland women’s sports bar across the country.
Now, other, smaller sports are getting their chance to make a case — even professional bull riding.
While the playing field for sports to sponsor is expanding, so are the brands doing the sponsoring — including B2B organizations. The Olympics are proving to be a hot spot for B2B investment, as the traditional B2B marketing playbook evolves and distinctions between consumer and business audiences dissolve.
For many businesses, sports feels like a safe bet right now when it comes to sponsorships. In addition to drawing in a large, diverse, and devoted audience, it also offers somewhat of a respite from the dangers of political polarization during a U.S. election year.
But as more brands rush to join the action, we can expect to see some sponsorship fatigue as the market grows. And, it’s likely that sports sponsorships will get more expensive. For the brands who are just getting in on it for the sake of getting in on it, we predict those sponsorships will be fleeting — brands will realize they’re not reaching their target audience, or consumers will see through the inauthenticity of the investment. For organizations who want the most out of their sports sponsorships, getting in early and authentically is key.
It’s official — ByteDance has nine months to sell TikTok or it will be banned in U.S. app stores. We expect to see legal pushback before any talks of a sale.
Is retail’s pandemic era finally over? After a pandemic boost, beauty sales are finally starting to slow, and the entire ghost kitchen industry might be in trouble.
Gen Z loves to play games, but they don’t necessarily care who wins. (Should we blame participation trophies?)
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