Author: gp4design

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Commentary

Tapping into the transformative power of travel for comms pros

Winding down some time in Toronto following an amazing trip to Portugal earlier this summer (follow me on Instagram for visual highlights), I was finally able wrap up this post reflecting on the power of travel and another on how work teams can make it possible for everyone to experience a bit of it.

Communications professionals’ work revolves around connecting with others, telling stories, and shaping narratives. Exploring perspectives beyond our own daily responsibilities and stomping grounds can elevate how we communicate.

Team leaders that support their staff accessing the value of travel to expand their thinking and elevate their communications acumen are investing in their team’s professional development.

Travel offers a unique opportunity for personal growth presenting experiences that can level up our skills as communicators through enhanced:

  1. Cultural sensitivity and diversity: One of the most significant benefits of travel is the exposure to a new culture and perspectives, even if the differences may be subtle. Engaging with different communities, traditions, and belief systems broadens our understanding of the world. As communications professionals, this firsthand experience enables us to cultivate cultural sensitivity, empathy, and the ability to effectively communicate across diverse audiences. It enhances our capacity to connect with individuals from various backgrounds, ensuring that our messages resonate authentically.
  2. Storytelling and narrative development: Travel provides a wealth of captivating stories and experiences that enrich our storytelling abilities. As we explore new destinations, we encounter unique narratives, both uplifting and challenging. These encounters fuel our creativity, enabling us to craft compelling narratives that resonate with authenticity and emotional depth. By immersing ourselves in different cultures and witnessing diverse perspectives, we gain a broader range of stories to draw upon, infusing our communication efforts with richness and authenticity.
  3. Adaptability and problem-solving: Travel often involves navigating unfamiliar environments, overcoming obstacles, and adapting to unexpected situations. These experiences nurture our adaptability and problem-solving skills, essential traits for communications professionals. Whether it’s dealing with language barriers, logistical challenges, or cultural differences, travel hones our ability to think on our feet, remain flexible, and find innovative solutions. These skills transfer directly to our professional lives, allowing us to navigate complex projects and overcome communication hurdles with ease.
  4. Networking and relationship building: Travel provides unique opportunities to forge meaningful connections with people from diverse backgrounds. Engaging with locals, fellow travelers, and industry professionals expands our network and cultivates new relationships. These connections can lead to collaborations, partnerships, and insights that enrich our professional lives. By immersing ourselves in new environments and engaging with others, we build bridges and foster a global network of contacts, opening doors to exciting professional opportunities.
  5. Personal reflection and self-awareness: Travel offers moments of solitude and self-reflection, allowing us to disconnect from our daily routines and immerse ourselves in new environments. Stepping outside our comfort zones sparks self-discovery, enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, our values, and our purpose. By embarking on journeys of self-exploration, we enhance our self-awareness and bring a renewed sense of authenticity and clarity to our professional endeavors.
  6. Resilience and emotional intelligence: Travel, with its unpredictable challenges and unfamiliar situations, fosters resilience and emotional intelligence. It teaches us to navigate uncertainties, manage stress, and adapt to different cultural norms. These experiences strengthen our emotional intelligence, enabling us to empathize, connect, and communicate effectively with diverse audiences. By embracing discomfort and overcoming obstacles, we become more resilient professionals, equipped to handle the complexities of our field.

Travel is more than a leisure activity for communications professionals—it is a catalyst for personal growth and professional development. Through exposure to diverse cultures, immersive storytelling, adaptability, networking, and self-reflection, travel enhances our skills, expands our perspectives, and enriches our lives.

Embrace the transformative power of travel, and allow it to shape your team—and yourself—into a more well-rounded, culturally aware, and effective communicator.

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Commentary

Slaying the summer juggle

Tips for comms teams to manage work during vacation season

I’m on vacation number two of the summer and yes, it’s only while on PTO that I can find a shred of time for my personal writing, it seems, but I know I am very fortunate to take two breaks like this. From Toronto, I put the finishing touches on this post, inspired when I got back from Portugal last month. The team seems to be surviving while I am away, and we can credit that to the mindful, conscientious, and responsive players we have in addition to the processes in place.

Setting your team players up for success involves common-sense (but often overlooked) tactics and follow-through.

Marketing and communications work can be unpredictable and easily take on 24-7 urgency if stakeholder expectations are not well managed. For those working in this space, time off for a bit of relaxation, exploration, and rejuvenation is especially critical and essential to creativity. Data shows that time off supports innovation and enhanced productivity for the longer term.

Team leaders can help ensure their staff can unplug and take well-deserved vacations while maintaining overall team productivity and seamless workflow by prioritizing open communication and collaboration all year round.

Here are some practical tips for effectively managing workloads and maintaining efficiency throughout the summer vacation season.

  1. Plan ahead and share: Encourage team members to calendar their vacation plans well in advance, allowing ample time for adjustments and workload redistribution. By knowing who will be out and when, you can strategically plan project timelines, deadlines, and client deliverables. Clear and transparent communication within the team ensures everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities during absences. If your team is not using a project management tool like Microsoft Planner, a project management app in Google Workspace, monday.com, Asana, or something like that yet, it’s time.
  2. Cross-train and delegate responsibilities: Promote a culture of cross-training and skill-sharing within your team. Encourage team members to develop a diverse skill set, allowing them to step in for their colleagues during vacation periods. Not everyone needs to be an expert in all things, but baseline competence across a range of typical communications-related tasks such as web editing and simple graphic design is key. By sharing knowledge and delegating responsibilities, you can ensure that work continues smoothly, even when team members who normally do the heavy lifting in some areas are away. Foster a collaborative environment that values shared competency and a commitment to quality, enabling seamless transitions between team members.
  3. Prioritize and set realistic expectations: Setting realistic expectations helps manage workloads effectively, ensuring that essential work is completed while allowing flexibility for team members taking time off. Identify critical projects and assignments that must be completed during the summer period and stagger those that have longer lead times accordingly. As always, communicate clear timelines and deliverables to stakeholders and stay accountable.
  4. Leverage technology and automation: Embrace tools that simplify and centralize information, allowing team members to access relevant resources easily and communicate in real time. Project management and tracking applications, info sharing platforms, and automation tools facilitate collaboration and smooth, efficient workflows all year round. Ensuring your team is up to speed when all hands are on deck will make it easier to keeping things running during vacation season with rotating staff members out of the office. Canva is a well-known platform that has democratized the ability to execute passable graphic design. It’s fast and easy for skilled graphic designers to set up branding kits templates that non-designers can edit on the fly when filling in.
  5. Encourage work-life balance and rest: While it’s important to maintain productivity, managers can help their teams prioritize work-life balance and encourage relaxation and recharging during set vacation times. Recognizing that everyone needs time off to relax and rejuvenate, managers can help ensure that team members have adequate coverage during their absence, empowering them to disconnect and truly enjoy their time away. A well-rested and refreshed team will return with renewed energy and creativity, ready to tackle upcoming projects.

The summer vacation season can be a challenge for marketing and communication teams when it comes to managing workloads, but with thoughtful planning, effective communication, and smart resource allocation, it can also present an opportunity for growth and perfecting seamless collaboration that will serve the team well any time.

With smart tactics baked in to your day-to-day operations, your team can skillfully navigate the summer juggle while moving forward its objectives, increasing camaraderie and capacity for the longer term, as well.

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New

Highlights…

Find more at ‘Can’t fail yoga’

I completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training class this spring for personal—and possible eventual professional—development. While still very active in my marketing and communications role professionally, I balance that activity with the physical and additionally creative and spiritual outlet of yoga—done my way. Learn more and see how yoga might enhance your life, because you can’t fail at yoga.

An old favorite:
Sustainability is driving consumer product choices

The new “Sustainability and the Consumer” report from IRI (now Circana) and the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business is out. Now more than ever, sustainability is driving consumer product choices—but are companies ready to meet requirements proposed by state legislatures to increase sustainability? Previously, I reported on how the natural products industry is uniquely positioned to set the bar for sustainability. Consumers are rightly demanding it—and willing to pay.

See case studies and navigate other content highlights with the links below.

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Reporting

‘Beauty from within’ on-trend in supplement space, from new formulations to the basics

This is an article I wrote for the CRN Daily Supplement member newsletter, connecting timely external content to the association’s annual survey as part of our content marketing tactics—additional stories here.

J&J Consumer Health’s Neutrogena brand’s personalized 3-D printed skin care supplements made news at CES 2023last week. Consumers can scan their face through an app, answer a questionnaire, and receive a recommendation for a “skin stack” gummy—providing the personalization consumers seek with the kind of products they are looking for.

“Skin, hair and nails” is reported as a reason for taking dietary supplements by 29% of supplement users, according to the latest edition of the CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements—37% among female supplement users. 

“Healthy aging” is another top reason cited among supplement users, with 27% of females and 21% of males seeking these benefits from their dietary supplements, according to the CRN survey.

  • InStyle magazine recently highlighted Unilever’s brand Nutrafol, noting its formulation with biotin, vitamin A, vitamin C, and L-lysine.

  • Nestlé Health Science’s Vital Proteins collagen brand is broadening the benefits message beyond beauty with its “For Everybody with a Body” campaign aimed at educating people about the many parts of the human body that can benefit from collagen, “from skin, hair and nails to the left knee, right knee or tendon in your elbow.”

Vitamin D never goes out of style, and was recently spotlighted in Vogue magazine, which noted supplements can be “key to preventing deficiency.” 

What they’re saying: In the U.S. and Canada, the RDA is 600 IU per day for adults and 800 IU per day for individuals over 70 years old, while in the UK, the RDA is 400 IU. The article advised consumers to opt for D3 paired with vitamin K2 “to optimize calcium metabolism.” 

A newly published study from the University of Finland reported fewer cases of melanoma among people taking vitamin D supplements. The study included nearly 500 people with an increased risk of skin cancer. Those who took vitamin D supplements regularly also had a lower risk of skin cancer, according to estimates by experienced dermatologists. 

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Commentary

Nothing is important

This morning in yoga class, I cried over nothing. Before we got into our flow, the instructor led us in a bit of a meditation as she read from a post byMorgan Harper Nichols about the importance of doing nothing.

…

In this space,
I hope you know this is true:
any little space you create
to do nothing at all right now
matters more than you know.
Even if it’s just for a few minutes.

…

There’s more leading into that and more following. Go see it all on Instagram.

These words touched me deeply in a tender place. I have worked so many hours for so many years and have gotten to a place where it’s just become the norm that I don’t have enough time to do everything I want or need to, between always being short-staffed at the office and new, unexpected demands popping up, and then the home responsibilities, the messes, the needs of everybody.

Everybody? My everybody is two people. One a teenager. One a grown man. How hard can it be? I mean, they are who they are, and sure, other people might have it easier, but still others have it harder. My job is demanding, but it’s not brain surgery or air traffic control. What’s wrong with me anyway, that everything seems so hard? Of course, there’s more than that, but like so many other working moms, I feel like I should be doing better at all of it.

I sometimes get anxiety about whether I’d be able to face a harder life, or even a life like I had before now—not a salaried employee, for example, but waiting tables. Who knows what else. And it’s a different world than it was in the 90s. And I am soooo much older. And tireder. I have been working in some capacity or another since I was 10 years old babysitting. 

In the space of the holiday break leading up to the class, I mostly let myself do nothing in my own way, but it wasn’t really intentional. It was more of a crash that comes from finally taking a real day off. I didn’t go through all my stuff and clean. I scaled back my cooking plans for the family. I didn’t use the time to “catch up” on work (not too much, anyway, maybe a little). I looked back and wondered what kept me so harried and why I completely failed in my 2022 resolution “to have more fun.” I come up with a few reasons that swirl around—objectively, there was too much work for one person—but what stands out is why I thought I had to do it all and that is anxiety.

Anxiety is so common now, I sometimes wonder if I think I have it just by the power of suggestion. But more likely, I just finally have been able to diagnose what it is that makes me feel almost constantly like I have something to be worried about. A therapist diagnosed me a few years ago, so it’s official, but I’ve been working on it.

I really don’t like identifying with it and it’s a little embarrassing to talk about. My family would be surprised, perhaps, to hear this, since they have become well aware of my struggle and might say I talk about it too much. A lot of that, at home, is cries for help—a little more help with keeping the house up, someone to acknowledge what victories I have had in a meaningful way. 

But they don’t live in my head and could never really understand how my whole life history has stacked up to right now and then whatever’s ahead. But that’s one of my key learnings for the year and why being in the present is so important.

In recent years, ruminating over my past, trying to figure out “where things went wrong” and seeing lots of social media memes around psychology and self-help these days perpetuated my struggle with anxiety and to some extent depression. Things like, “Five signs you had a narcissistic parent” (I didn’t) or “How to tell you’ve been gaslighted” (I was) and so many others that, for me, just kept me treading water in victim mode.

Never give 100% is something I say to myself a lot but never do in a thorough enough way. I got it from the Eckhart Tolle book, The Power of Now. (There’s that all-important call to be present again.)

…

Now let your spiritual practice be this: As you go about your life, don’t give 100% of your attention to the external world and to your mind. Keep some within.

…

I’ve gotten so caught up in proving myself at work in recent years that I gave more than 100% to just that part of my life for too long because of anxiety about losing my position—not only my actual job position, but position in life, and just losing in general—and it really became a self-perpetuating problem. I allowed treatment I shouldn’t have. I didn’t stand up for my own well being when I should have. My relationships have suffered and my physical health, too.

When you know better, you do better, as the well-known quote from Maya Angelou goes. That’s all you can do. And it doesn’t pay to beat yourself up over the past.

Just yesterday, I spent at least a few hours of my paid time off day I needed to use by year’s end to complete my self-evaluation for work, keeping on trend, of course, and bringing me to this Christmas Eve yoga class where I cried when given the permission to “do nothing.” I was able to contain myself enough to keep things quiet and appropriate for the class and went on through the day’s asanas.

I knew things would need to change going forward, that I was the only one who could drive that change for myself, and there is nothing more important than owning that.

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Commentary

The most meaningful moments are not always what you’d think

Sparks from the bonfire at our destination. The journey there and back left me feeling much warmer, though.

Driving to and from “Fields of Fear” with my 15-year-old daughter, I experienced some of the most meaningful moments of the year. Trying to recapture the exhilaration we felt previously at the scary-ish Halloween farm festival, but getting a later start than we wanted after a busy day of catching up on work and chores, we were tired, and not quite going all-in to the experience.

Looking back, I see now the destination itself was a flop for us that day. We’d kind of “been there, done that” and grown out of it. It was just OK—so “meh” that I’d say we don’t need to go again, at least not for a while. Pay $35 each for the privilege of paying $15 more for nachos—no meat, please! And cider? The hayride was alright. 

What was really magical was the drive there and back. My daughter and I sang together. We sang Taylor Swift songs. We breathed in to sustain our voices. We breathed out the familiar melodies, practicing phrasing, emoting vocally, catching our favorite parts of the songs in that special place where you feel pure joy.

The act of singing together with someone else and the breathwork that comes with that—it was at once intoxicating and energizing to me. 

The road was dark and winding, making me low-key anxious at first, but I was soothed by the singing and felt a certain clarity from the increased oxygen intake from the breaths I took to project my voice.

I felt inspired and in sync with my daughter, connected in the satisfying feeling of sharing a pleasure. Inspired—the word’s origins trace back to the Latin inspirare “breathe or blow into.” The word was originally used in reference to a divine or supernatural being, in the sense of “imparting a truth or idea to someone.”

Being present with a loved one and breathing are some pretty basic things—and yet so often overlooked. I’ve struggled in recent years with sometimes feeling disconnected from what matters most. I am grateful for the gift of this experience that lingers at the top of my most memorable moments of 2022, a year that included a promotion, a trip to Italy, and turning 50.

Taking some time as 2022 closes to imprint the feeling of this energy brought by such a simple and impromptu experience reminds me I can go back to these actions and generate this magic again in a time of need—and reminds me to stay open to joy everywhere and actively engage in firing up the sparks.

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Case studies

FDA educational content on dietary supplements biased, misses opportunity to promote public health

This is an article I wrote for the CRN Daily Supplement member newsletter, covering a project I led—providing feedback to FDA on its mischaracterization of dietary supplements.

Pushing back on a lack of balance and overemphasis of potential risk, CRN last week wrote to FDA identifying concerns with the agency’s “Supplement Your Knowledge” educational content released earlier this year. In addition, CRN’s comments to FDA addressed the mischaracterization of dietary supplements throughout its website content in general.

CRN’s recommendations, highlighted in a presentation to the association’s board of directors, address ways that FDA’s content:

  • Overstates the potential risks of taking supplements, while downplaying their benefits
  • Fails to convey the robust regulatory framework that gives the agency authority over dietary supplements—downplaying areas of existing authority and drawing attention to ways FDA lacks authority
  • Misses opportunities to address public health issues like nutrition gaps, shortfalls in nutrients of concern, and nutritional needs of specific populations
  • Could be enhanced by collaboration with the dietary supplement industry

CRN’s Communications and Media Outreach Committee received a detailed update on FDA’s campaign following a CRN staff meeting with FDA Office of Dietary Supplements Director Cara Welch, Ph.D., and a team of CRN staff representing regulatory, government relations, and communications perspectives collaborated on the association’s feedback.

“This feedback is just one part of CRN’s long-term, ongoing effort to engage the FDA and be an active participant in the regulatory process. CRN regularly comments to the agency on technical matters in proposed regulations,” said Gretchen Powers, CRN VP, marketing and member experience, who curated CRN’s recommendations, in coverage from Nutrition Insight. “For example, CRN petitioned FDA on NAC (n-acetyl cysteine) and CBD and has commented every step of the way on New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notifications.”

“Our recent letter on FDA’s communications is unique in that the agency did not publicly solicit the comments,” explained Powers. “CRN and its members found the educational content so problematic, and the process behind its development so non-transparent, that we felt it was our duty to push back.”

“CRN hopes that by sharing this feedback with FDA, we put the agency on notice that dietary supplement stakeholders, such as our responsible member companies, have seen this content and won’t allow negative bias to stand,” said Powers.

Categories
Reporting

Self-empowerment, social mission resonate with new generation of supplement users

This is an article I wrote for the CRN Daily Supplement member newsletter, connecting timely external content to the association’s annual survey as part of our content marketing tactics—additional stories here.

“With our social mission focused on mental health, we are weaving more ‘real talk’ into our content to help consumers feel seen,” said Jessica Heitz, chief marketing officer of Olly, in a Fast Company article exploring how to sell health and wellness when consumers are sick and tired of hearing about it. “Gen Z cares about brands that make a difference and we amplify our social mission in our marketing.”

“Many millennial-minded consumers didn’t find the vitamin and supplement category was relevant to them,” Heitz explained. “While traditional vitamin brands talk about the problems people face, Olly focuses on the benefit—and that approach brought an entirely new consumer into the vitamin aisle who had never shopped there before.”

By the numbers: According to the 2021 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, among U.S. adults 18–34 years old:

  • 14% do not take supplements and have never taken supplements
  • 13% have taken supplements in the past but no longer consider themselves a supplement user
  • 11% consider themselves a seasonal user of supplements, taking supplements only during part of the year such as the winter cold and flu season or the spring allergy season
  • 15% consider themselves an occasional user of supplements, taking them throughout the year when they think of it or when the need arises
  • 18% take a supplement regularly, but take only a multivitamin
  • 29% take supplements regularly and take a variety of vitamins, minerals and/or herbal products or specialty supplements

Older adults are more likely to regularly take multiple supplements, with:

  • 42% of 35–54 year olds and
  • 57% of adults 55 and older in this category.

Overall, Heitz noted, “We’ve found that benefit-driven ads (e.g., sleep) and the feeling (e.g., well-rested), as opposed to ingredient-led messaging (e.g., melatonin) resonate best with consumers.”

Categories
Reporting

State plastics packaging requirements going into effect—are companies ready?

This is an article I wrote for the CRN Daily Supplement member newsletter, covering a topic that is of great personal interest to me—protecting the environment by making sustainability a priority.

Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content requirements are going into effect for a market that isn’t ready.

Why it matters: Three states are quickly moving forward with PCR requirements. California’s Plastic Minimum Content Standards law (AB 793) went into effect this year, and new PCR standards are coming in 2023 for Washington state—with New Jersey following closely behind.

What they’re saying: “The difficulty has to do with logistics and the market—these laws are essentially trying to create a market for post-consumer recycled material that does not currently exist,” observed Samuel Butler of CRN associate member Lathrop GMP LLP in a recent NutraIngredients-USA article.

Mike Meirovitz, director of government relations at CRN, told NutraIngredients-USA that CRN is working with “federal and state policymakers to find solutions that incentivize progress in these areas” but is staying “mindful that any new compliance requirements should not be unduly burdensome, impractical, or unachievable for this industry.”

CRN associate member IRI Worldwide noted in a newly published report:

  • 77% of consumers believe sustainability is important when selecting products to buy, up from 69% in 2021.
  • The top reason consumers say they buy sustainable products is for their environmental impact (44% of those surveyed), followed by the availability of more sustainable options (40%).
  • Marketing sustainable products can command premiums over their conventional counterparts that can range from 8% to 130%.

Go deeper: See the full “Sustainability and the Consumer” report for research by IRI and the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business examining how sustainability drives consumer product choices.

Categories
Reporting

Early filing essential for GRAS, ‘no objection’ letters limited, say experts

This is an article I wrote for the CRN Daily Supplement member newsletter, covering a member guest presentation, demonstrating the distillation of technical information to provide additional opportunities for the audience to learn from the content—additional stories here.

Companies seeking to establish GRAS—or “generally recognized as safe”— status for a dietary ingredient face a different regulatory landscape than in recent years, explained Rayetta Henderson and Don Schmitt of ToxStrategies, Inc., in a recent guest presentation to CRN’s Regulatory Affairs Committee.

A company might consider whether a GRAS evaluation is proper to establish compliant use and safety as a strategy while waiting for updated New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) guidance.

Longer timelines and more detailed scrutiny of submissions mean companies should plan for a process that will take 15 to 18 months, warned Schmitt.

FDA response time for GRAS notices was delayed prior to the pandemic following a government shutdown and has only been lagging longer and longer. Schmitt explained:

  • FDA has changed its process, now doing much more in-depth reviews of GRAS notices. Previously, FDA took four to six weeks to file a GRAS notice following receipt of a submission, explained Schmitt. This included assignment of a GRAS notice number and listing on the agency’s website followed by a six-month review.
  • Once filed, the review period is now taking six to 12 months, up from six months. “That’s the review period up until receipt of a letter of no objection,” explained Schmitt.

Firms can do GRAS self-determination and not submit to FDA, Schmitt pointed out.

Yes, but: Many clients prefer to notify the agency to satisfy their customers’ expectations. “Some customers want to see that an ingredient has been reviewed by FDA and has received a letter of no objection,” noted Schmitt.

And that’s if a letter of no objection is issued at all. Schmitt explained, “Previously, FDA would always review GRAS notifications and if they had no objection, they’d issue a letter of no objection. Now they do a pre-filing review and indicate if they’re not going to file it because they consider it to be too similar—the same ingredient that already has received a letter of no objection.”

Schmitt had advice for both industry and FDA:

  • “You need to consider really talking to your customers about the need for a letter of no objection,” advised Schmitt.
  • “FDA has to be more vocal and educate industry…that when you demand a letter of no objection from a company, they just don’t have the time to do it,” he added.

The bottom line: Companies have to adjust expectations of what FDA is able to handle given their new processes because the agency has definitely slowed down—and they’ve admitted this.