In the healthcare industry, women have historically been underserved, underrepresented, and often misunderstood. For years, the medical community primarily centered its research, treatments, and public health policies on male bodies, with little regard for the unique healthcare needs of women. While the tides have begun to change in recent years, women’s healthcare brands have faced significant challenges when trying to reach their audiences, educate them on crucial issues, and shift public perceptions.
Public Relations (PR) is one of the key tools that can either make or break a women’s healthcare brand. However, when used ineffectively, PR strategies can worsen existing issues, alienate audiences, or even harm the reputation of a brand. Women’s healthcare PR failures often stem from a combination of ignorance regarding the complexities of women’s health, poor messaging, outdated approaches to traditional gender roles, and a lack of inclusivity.
This essay explores some of the most notable PR missteps within the women’s healthcare industry, analyzing brands that either failed to connect with their target demographic or used flawed marketing strategies that backfired. In examining these failures, we can uncover the lessons that need to be learned in order to successfully communicate with and serve women’s healthcare needs in a way that promotes trust, inclusivity, and empowerment.
The Silent Stigma: When Women’s Health Issues Aren’t Taken Seriously
Before we dive into specific case studies, it’s important to understand the historical backdrop that informs many women’s healthcare PR failures. For decades, health issues that predominantly affect women were often ignored, dismissed, or trivialized. Whether it was endometriosis, postpartum depression, or menopause, women’s health concerns were routinely under-researched and underfunded. This neglect was not only a medical failure but a communications failure as well. Many women’s healthcare brands, in an attempt to appeal to their target market, have resorted to using stereotypes, perpetuating gender biases, or even exploiting these issues for profit, without fully addressing the sensitivity and gravity of the challenges women face.
As women’s healthcare continues to evolve, the PR surrounding it must do more than just “sell” a product or service. It must seek to destigmatize women’s health issues, advocate for social change, and, most importantly, build trust through clear, compassionate, and scientifically sound messaging. When brands fail to accomplish this, they not only harm their own reputations but also hinder the broader movement toward improving women’s healthcare overall.
Case Study 1: Peloton’s Marketing of Postpartum Recovery and Health
Peloton, the well-known fitness brand that gained a massive following during the pandemic, has made some brilliant marketing moves over the years. However, its handling of postpartum recovery in its PR strategy shows a stark example of how even a well-established, seemingly progressive brand can falter in addressing sensitive women’s health issues.
In 2021, Peloton launched a postpartum recovery initiative with a series of fitness classes led by instructors who had recently had children themselves. The concept seemed promising. Peloton’s PR team aimed to speak directly to new mothers by offering accessible and tailored workouts. However, the execution quickly fell flat, and Peloton’s attempt to embrace postpartum health became a PR failure.
Firstly, Peloton’s messaging came across as tone-deaf. Despite the brand’s messaging of empowerment and inclusivity, the PR campaign focused too heavily on “bouncing back” into shape after childbirth. This language was problematic because it perpetuated unrealistic beauty standards and implied that women’s value is tied to how quickly they can return to their pre-pregnancy bodies. In a world where body positivity and mental well-being are central to the discussion around postpartum recovery, this was a missed opportunity to promote a message of health, wellness, and self-care beyond weight loss.
Moreover, the campaign ignored the fact that many women experience significant physical and mental challenges postpartum, including complications such as pelvic floor dysfunction, postpartum depression, and lack of sleep. The PR strategy didn’t adequately address these struggles, opting instead for a one-size-fits-all approach to recovery. This alienated women who felt that their needs were either oversimplified or completely overlooked.
Additionally, Peloton failed to leverage the voices of healthcare professionals or mental health advocates in their campaign. Expert-led initiatives that emphasize holistic well-being would have been far more effective in presenting a compassionate, realistic approach to postpartum recovery. By focusing on fitness in isolation, Peloton missed the opportunity to engage in a more meaningful, inclusive conversation about the full range of postpartum experiences.
Ultimately, Peloton’s postpartum recovery PR campaign fell short of the mark, as it failed to address the complex realities of women’s health and recovery after childbirth. In the process, it also alienated a segment of their target audience and missed a critical opportunity to support women with a more nuanced and empathetic approach.
Case Study 2: Essure’s Product Liability Crisis
Essure, a permanent birth control device developed by Bayer, serves as a stark example of how a lack of transparent and responsible PR can not only damage a product’s reputation but also harm the lives of countless women. Initially marketed as a non-invasive alternative to tubal ligation, Essure was sold as a safer, more effective, and less risky option for women seeking permanent contraception.
However, the PR surrounding Essure was flawed from the start. Bayer’s messaging around the device failed to adequately convey the risks involved with using Essure, and the company was slow to acknowledge the reports of serious side effects, including chronic pain, perforated uteruses, and allergic reactions. While Bayer continued to advertise Essure in a way that downplayed these risks, women began to speak out about their experiences, using social media platforms to share their stories of debilitating side effects.
In response to the growing backlash, Bayer’s PR strategy was slow and defensive, focusing more on protecting the brand than engaging with the real concerns of consumers. The company’s delayed response and lack of accountability amplified the outrage, and many women felt that they were being ignored by a company more concerned with profits than the well-being of its patients.
Ultimately, the public relations failure around Essure wasn’t just about a misleading product; it was about the failure of Bayer to engage with women’s healthcare concerns in an empathetic and proactive manner. Instead of prioritizing patient education, offering transparent information, and responding swiftly to reports of complications, Bayer allowed the conversation to spiral into a major public relations disaster. The fallout included multiple lawsuits, investigations, and an eventual decision to discontinue the product.
Bayer’s failure to effectively address these issues through proper PR management left a significant stain on its reputation and highlighted the importance of transparency and responsiveness when dealing with women’s healthcare. The Essure debacle serves as a cautionary tale about the dire consequences of mishandling public relations in a sensitive and high-stakes healthcare sector.
Case Study 3: Pink Tax and Feminine Care Products
The concept of the “pink tax,” the practice of charging women more for similar or identical products marketed towards men, has been an ongoing issue across various industries. In the healthcare sector, this tax is often evident in the pricing of feminine hygiene products. A variety of studies have shown that women tend to pay more for products such as tampons, pads, and other personal care items, which are often marketed with a “premium” label because they are designed specifically for women.
PR campaigns for these products are often laden with stereotypes, reinforcing the idea that women’s hygiene and health needs are an extra cost to bear. Not only does this contribute to the perpetuation of gender inequality in healthcare pricing, but it also leads to a loss of trust in the companies that practice this. Feminine hygiene product brands have often failed to address this issue directly or explain why their products are priced at a premium.
Take Tampax, for instance. The brand has been a market leader for many years, but its PR around menstruation has failed to truly modernize. While they have made significant strides in the inclusivity of advertising—featuring diverse bodies and using less stigmatizing language—Tampax still struggles with making the conversation around menstruation fully inclusive of trans men, non-binary individuals, and individuals from lower-income groups.
Additionally, brands like Always and Kotex have similarly faced backlash when they failed to properly address the pink tax, sometimes making their products seem needlessly expensive, without offering clear explanations for the price disparity. In failing to tackle the root causes of pricing inequality or to openly discuss menstruation with the full spectrum of gender identities, these brands missed out on the opportunity to lead a more inclusive and price-transparent conversation.
The failure here is not just about the lack of price transparency, but about how brands have failed to build meaningful PR strategies around issues of gender equality, inclusivity, and accessibility. By continuing to shy away from discussing the “pink tax” and not advocating for fair pricing practices, these brands are missing a chance to be truly progressive in the women’s healthcare space.
Case Study 4: The Misrepresentation of Women’s Health by Fitness Brands
Fitness brands like Tone It Up and FitTea have also had their share of PR mishaps related to women’s health. While their primary focus is on fitness and weight loss, these brands have often been criticized for promoting unrealistic body standards, using products that promise rapid weight loss or “detoxing,” and offering dubious health claims without scientific backing.
Tone It Up, a fitness brand that gained significant popularity through Instagram and social media platforms, built its empire by promoting an idealized version of women’s health and fitness. Unfortunately, the company has faced backlash for perpetuating disordered eating habits and promoting an overemphasis on appearance rather than holistic health. Tone It Up’s PR campaigns often involved fitness challenges and “detox” plans, which were criticized for promoting dangerous health practices that target young women.
The fitness influencer-led brand has also been accused of encouraging harmful body image issues by pushing unrealistic beauty standards. Their PR messaging rarely addressed mental well-being, the importance of balanced nutrition, or the diversity of women’s bodies. Instead, the focus was mainly on “getting your body ready” for some idealized version of health, which lacked nuance and realness.
Similarly, FitTea, a brand selling detox teas marketed as a quick solution for weight loss, was criticized for making unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of their products. These types of products are often marketed in ways that disregard the complexities of women’s health and create unrealistic expectations for those who are trying to manage their health. The PR surrounding FitTea was heavily influenced by influencers and celebrities, but lacked scientific validation, leaving consumers skeptical about the company’s true intentions.
The failures discussed in this essay reveal the critical role that public relations plays in shaping perceptions around women’s health. To succeed in the women’s healthcare space, PR strategies must go beyond promoting products and services; they need to emphasize empathy, inclusivity, transparency, and scientific integrity.
Women’s healthcare PR done well requires listening to the needs of diverse communities, promoting realistic and empowering narratives, and prioritizing transparency and authenticity over profit-driven messaging. Brands that fail to address these issues directly or alienate their audiences with tone-deaf campaigns risk not only losing their credibility but also perpetuating harmful stereotypes and practices within the healthcare industry.
The key takeaway is that women’s health is complex, diverse, and multifaceted, and brands need to reflect this in their public relations strategies. By fostering inclusivity, offering educational resources, and championing genuine care and concern for women’s health, healthcare brands can rebuild trust, ensure that women feel heard, and continue to contribute to positive, long-lasting changes in the healthcare landscape.