Fertility has long been a delicate topic and one not openly discussed. Support networks available for fertility issues vary greatly from individual to individual, from friends and family members to medical professionals and online communities. But brands can also play a meaningful role in creating safe spaces for people to discuss, reflect and seek support.
And there are a growing number of brands emerging to fill the chasm between the clinical heritage of fertility treatment and the mainstream dialogue which needs to take place. US-based Kindbody is one such pioneer. Valued at over $600 million, the “full-service” fertility and gynaecological company is dedicated to removing barriers to care and improving the patient experience and counts the likes of Goop-founder Gwyneth Paltrow and the original “Girlboss” Sophie Amoruso amongst its strategic investors.
Kindbody’s ambition for breaking down barriers to fertility care is reflected in its branding, which is welcoming and professional but also creates the feeling of being in safe hands through its warm yellow hues. The brand’s target audience are women who seek a similar type of experience from their fertility treatment as they might from a wellness spa – bespoke, empowering and seamlessly integrated into the lives they have created for themselves, as opposed to being hidden behind a faceless door in a long, sterile hallway.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that the Kindbody was founded in the US – the established social norm of American women having a dedicated gynaecologist means there is a slightly larger captive market than in the UK, for instance, where most people access fertility care through the NHS.
That said, there is a growing appetite for female health support in the UK as well. The Evewell clinic similarly offer the assurance of a proactive approach to fertility, where those seeking treatment or advice can do so in a space designed to offer calm and serenity during potentially one of the most testing times in their life. When The Evewell approached us they were keen to avoid this narrative and really build a lasting relationship with each customer from the moment they searched for the brand to the moment they entered the doors for the first time.
Brands like Kindbody are also striving to build a wider community for their audience to tap into as a supplementary resource. Other brands, like motherhood forum Peanut have taken the inverse approach – identifying that fertility was a topic its existing community was interested in, and building out its services accordingly.
An authentic extension of its original mission to offer a safe space for women to meet and find support, Peanut’s platform facilitates the discussion of fertility in an open forum with warm branding that eradicates the feeling of it being a medical topic. The simplicity of the logo and pink hues in the colour scheme create an easy looking brand that comfortably sits amongst other apps on their home screens. Hanx is another brand that has also expanded beyond their remit to explore other ways they can engage and support their audience, through providing a platform for open discussion to creating new products and tools for consumers to easily access, helping them take their fertility and sexual health care into their own hands.
Language is one of the often-overlooked elements when it comes to the fertility space, with existing medical jargon creating a negative dialogue with patients. This jargon has bled into conversations outside the medical sphere, and voices in the fertility space such as author and podcast host Elizabeth Day have been vocal in criticising terms such as ‘geriatric pregnancy’, ‘hostile uterus’ and ‘lazy ovary’. To combat this, Peanut has created a tone of voice that speaks positively to their community, clearly explaining either diagnosis or conditions and taking the fear and stigma out of the discussion. By creating a meaningful dialogue with patients and careful use of language and typography, brands can initiate and maintain lasting relationships with their customers.
Brands are only just starting to scratch the surface of creating better ways for women to discuss gynaecology and communicate with medical professionals, but we can expect to see this space rapidly expanding within the coming years.