From Neall Currie, VP, Creative Director, Palio

Everyone in the Pleasant Meadows neighborhood wants the same thing: a nice green lawn. But do they really have the same need?

Ed on the corner works hard all day at his job, and wants to come home to a freshly mown lawn. He pays his 15-year-old neighbor Jimmy $20 per mowing and looks forward to playing in the grass with his own kids, not mowing it himself.

Walt, who lives next door to Ed, thinks Ed is missing out. Since retiring 3 years ago, Walt has taken pride in having the finest lawn in the neighborhood. The grass is always between 2 and 3 inches long – he mows based on the grass, not on the calendar. The edges are razor-straight. The clippings are composted in a shed. He sharpens the mower blade himself. And lately he’s been reading about soil chemistry.

Across the street from Walt, Marie savors the hour each week she gets to spend on her lawn tractor. With country music coming through her headphones and the engine drowning out everything else, mowing the lawn gives her a welcome escape.

Two doors down, Larry has the yard he’s always dreamed of. He sits in the shade of his covered porch, sipping lemonade and admiring whichever plants are in bloom. The landscaping crew he pays for a weekly visit keeps everything in order; all Larry has to do is write the check. He does so gladly, each week, right after making the crew a fresh pitcher of homemade lemonade.

Byron lives between Marie and Larry, across from Walt. Byron’s passion is model trains; he has a 3-level layout taking up half his basement. He likes his neighbors and doesn’t want to be the oddball with the shaggy lawn, so he generally mows it a day or two after Marie does hers. Once a year he puts down whatever fertilizer Walt recommends. Green? Check. Short? Check. Back to the trains.

To Ed, a green lawn is one element of a nice home. To Walt, it is accomplishment and pride. To Marie, it’s a diversion. For Larry, it satisfies a longing. To Byron, it’s an obligation, but not an obsession.

In pharma, we often hear that patients, and even doctors, all want the same thing from our brands. When you start with that mindset, there’s only one answer: efficacy. Just like all the neighbors in Pleasant Meadows want to have nice green lawns.

A homeowner’s lawn is personal; it reflects his or her values, attitudes, and goals. If a few square yards of nondescript groundcover can become so intimate, imagine how intense a connection people can develop to a life-changing medicine. When you can identify the personal, emotional need your brand can satisfy, you can help customers make that connection. When you don’t, well, that’s when the neighbor’s grass looks greener.

Palio is a full-spectrum global pharmaceutical and consumer advertising, marketing, and communications agency that excels in brand creation and specializes in brand strategy, product launches, global marketing, and digital and integrated media.