the value of a trusted brand - webmd health...

The Value of a Trusted Brand

In well-being program interest and awareness.

We appreciate the value of the WebMD

brand—after all, the WebMD Health Network

generated an average of 179.4 million unique

visits per month* in the second quarter of 2014

alone. There is a lot of awareness and trust tied

up in numbers that big. What we didn’t know for

sure was how that brand value might impact our

WebMD Health Services clients.

BLUE RESEARCH® STUDY

IndependentresearchfirmBlueResearch

performedastudytohelpusunderstandthe

perceptionandimpactoftheWebMDbrandas

itrelatestoemployer-andhealthplan-sponsored

wellnessprogramsprovidedbyWebMDHealth

Services(WHS).Wefoundtheresultseye-opening.

We’resharingthembecauseweknowthey’llspark

newideasforimprovingawarenessofandinterest

inwell-beingprograms.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

MeasurethevalueoftheWebMDbrandamong

eligibleendusersofsponsoredwell-beingprograms

andrelativetoalternativesintermsof:

• Perceptionofquality.

• Generationofinterest.

• Encouragementofuse.

SO WE ASKED

* “WebMDAnnouncesSecondQuarterFinancialResults,”Aug5,2014, http://investor.shareholder.com/wbmd/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=864359&CompanyID=WBMD

THE VALUE OF BRAND IN WELL-BEING PROGRAM INTEREST AND AWARENESS | 2WebMD Health Services | webmdhealthservices.com

**Study Panel Breakdown

HEALTH PLAN CLIENT


BlueResearchrecruitedapanelofnearly600

individualswhoareeligibletouseawell-being

programthroughtheirownortheirspouse’s/

partner’semployerorhealthplan.Abouthalfof

thestudyparticipantshadaccesstoaprogram

providedbyWebMDHealthServices;therest

hadaccesstoaprogramprovidedbyanother

vendor.Someparticipantsfellintomorethan

onecategory,sothetotalisgreaterthan100%.**

Bothrecruitmentandtheonlinesurveywere

conductedinadoubleblindmannersothatneither

therecruiternorparticipantsknewthatWebMD

HealthServicessponsoredtheresearch.

Acustomdesignedonlinesurvey

wascompletedby165participants

betweenMarch4andMarch17,2014.

Respondentsreceiveda$5incentivefor

surveycompletion.

Thereliabilityofthissurveydesignatthe

95%confidenceintervalis±6.6%.This

meansthatifthestudywererepeated

100times,in95ofthose100timeswe’d

expectthesameresultswithin6.6%in

eitherdirection.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

EMPLOYER CLIENT

25%NON-WHS

37%WEBMD

HEALTH SERVICES

26%NON-WHS

27%WEBMD

HEALTH SERVICES

Total greater than 100% as some participants fall into more than one category

AccordingtoBlueResearch,WebMDis

unquestionablytheleaderinbothunaided

awarenessforhealth-relatedwebsitesandin

preferencefortypicaluse.Morethantwo-thirds

(68%)ofparticipantsnamedWebMD.com,

unaided,asthefirstwebsitetheythinkoffor

healthinformation.Thenextmostcommonbrand

mentionedwasMayoclinic.comatonly4%.Nineout

oftenparticipantswhousehealth-relatedwebsites

forhealthquestionsarealreadyusingWebMD.com.

WebMD.com

Mayoclinic.com

68%

Google

4%

Medmd.com

4%

Don’tKnow/Unsure

2%

22%

7%

Other (responses <2%)

What is the first website that comes

to mind when you think of health

information websites?

WHOM DO CONSUMERS TRUST FOR HEALTH INFORMATION?


WebMDleadsinunaided awareness and preferenceforuse.

Which of the following health-related

websites do you typically use?


90%

44%

32%

WebMD.com

Mayoclinic.com

Health.com

Condition-specificsites

Healthline.com

Sharecare.com

Other

26%18%

14%1%

Whenpresentedwithalistofcompetitorsand

askedaboutspecificbrandattributes,participants

consistentlyrankedWebMD.comasthe#1brand

whenselectedfromalistofcompetitors.Allother

brandsrankedatleast10pointsbelowWebMD.com.

52% 38%Best Privacy

ProtectionMost

Accurate

56%56%Most

TrustedEasiest Accessto Information

WebMDleadsinalltestedattributes.

WebMd Health Services brand is most

attractive online solution.


How Does That Reflect on Sponsored Health Management Solutions?

KnowingthevalueoftheWebMDbrandasit

relatestoconsumertrustandaccessisinteresting.

Butforourpurposes,itwasonlyhelpfulifwealso

understood how it affects the sponsored health and

well-beingresourcesthatWebMDHealthServices

offerstoouremployerandhealthplanclients.

WhenBlueResearchshowedstudyparticipants

anunbrandedsummaryoftheonlinesolutionthat

WebMDHealthServicesoffers,two-thirds(64%)

indicatedthattheywouldbe“extremelylikely”to

visitthesite;only2%reported“notatalllikely.”

Surveyrespondentswerethenshownalistof

companiesthatcouldpotentiallyofferthisonline

solution.Theywereaskedtochoosethethree

mostattractiveoptions—thebrandedsitesthey

wouldbemostlikelytovisit—andrankthem.44%

reportthatWebMDHealthServicesisthemost

attractivebrand;31%ranktheirhealthinsurance

companymostattractive.

WebMDHealthServicesisbyfarthepreferredbrandforahealthinformationsite,farovershadowingcompetitors.

WebMDHealthServices

YourHealthInsuranceCompany

Other

Limeade

Sharecare

44%

31%

18%

4%

1%1%StayWell

People are more likely to visit a site

offered by WebMD Health Services.

72%

11%

WebMDHealthServices

MyEmployer/ MySpouse’s Employer


2in3aremuchmorelikelytovisitasiteofferedbyWebMDHealthServicesthanbytheirinsurer.

Whenaskediftheywouldbemorelikelyto

visitthewebsitedescribedifitwereofferedby

WebMDHealthServicesortheirownhealth

insurancecompany,65%ofrespondentssaid

theywouldpreferthewebsitetobeofferedby

WebMDHealthServices.21%saidtheywould

prefertheirhealthplan.

Whenaskediftheywouldbemorelikelyto

visitthewebsiteifitwereofferedbyWebMD

HealthServicesorbytheirownortheirspouse’s/

partner’semployer,72%saidtheywouldprefer

thewebsitetobeofferedbyWebMDHealth

Services.Only11%saidtheypreferredan

employer-sponsoredsite.

3in4aremorelikelytovisitasiteofferedbyWebMDHealthServicesthanbytheemployer.

OfferedbyWebMDvs.OfferedbyEmployer

65%

21%

WebMDHealthServices

HealthPlan

OfferedbyWebMDvs.OfferedbyHealthPlan


THE WEBMD HEALTH SERVICES BRANDAND HEALTH COACHING SERVICES

Wewerealsointerestedintheresultsofbrand

awarenessrelativetoourhealthcoachingservices.

Whenshownanunbrandedsummaryofthe

coachingservicesthatWebMDHealthServices

offers,57%ofstudyparticipantsindicatedthatthey

wouldbe“extremelylikely”tousethisservice;11%

indicatedtheyare“notatalllikely.”

Whenshownaselectionofbrandstooffer

coaching,52%ofrespondentssaidthatWebMD

HealthServicesisthebrandthatismostattractive

andwouldenticethemtousetheservice;28%

preferredtheirownhealthplan,whiletheclosest

directcompetitorwaspreferredbyonly9%.

MorethanhalfofrespondentsrankedWebMDHealthServicesasthe#1mostattractivebrandforhealthcoaching.

WebMd Health Services is most

attractive brand to offer health coaching.

WebMDHealthServices

YourHealthInsuranceCompany

StayWell

Other

Limeade

52%28%

9%

8%

0%2%Sharecare

People are more likely to use coaching

offered by WebMD Health Services.


MorethanhalfofrespondentsaremorelikelytousehealthcoachingfromWebMDHealthServicesthanfromtheirhealthinsurer.

Whenaskediftheywouldbemorelikelytouse

thiscoachingserviceifitwereofferedby

WebMDHealthServicesorbytheirhealth

insurancecompany,55%ofrespondentssaid

theywouldpreferforittobeofferedbyWebMD

HealthServicesversus27%whopreferredtheir

healthplan.

Forcoachingsponsoredbytheemployer,66%

preferedtheservicetobeofferedbyWebMD

HealthServicesversus16%whopreferred

theiremployer.

2in3weremorelikelytousehealthcoachingfromWebMDHealthServicesthanfromtheemployer.

55%

27%

WebMDHealthServices

HealthPlan

MyEmployer/ MySpouse’s Employer

66%

16%

WebMDHealthServices

OfferedbyWebMDvs.OfferedbyEmployer

OfferedbyWebMDvs.OfferedbyHealthPlan


WE LEARNED SOMETHING SURPRISING

Wecommissionedthisstudybecausewewanted

tofindouthowtheWebMDbrandaffectspeople’s

attitudestowardwell-beingprogramssponsored

byemployersorhealthplans.Forthatreason,all

ofthesurveyrespondentswerechosenbecause

theyarecurrentlyeligibleforonlinewell-being

solutionsfromWebMDHealthServicesor

anothervendorthroughtheirownortheir

spouse’s/partner’semployer,healthplanorboth.

So we were surprised when we found out that

manypeoplearecompletelyunawarethatthey

haveaccesstothesesites!

Infact,51%ofthoseeligibleforemployer-

sponsoredsitesand40%ofthoseeligiblefor

healthplan-sponsoredsitesdon’tknowit.

AWARENESS OF EMPLOYER-SPONSORED

HEALTH INFORMATION SITES

51%ARE UNAWARE

49% ARE AWARE

AWARENESS OF HEALTH PLAN-SPONSORED

HEALTH INFORMATION SITES

40%ARE UNAWARE

60% ARE AWARE


Ofthosewhoareawarethattheyareeligiblefor

employer-sponsoredsites,38%haveusedthem;

40%ofthoseeligibleforhealthplan-sponsored

siteshaveusedthem.

Use of employer-sponsored health

information sites among eligble end users.

Use of health plan-sponsored health

information among eligble end users.

38% Have used

40% Have used

12% Have not used

20% Have not used


It’sencouragingthatpeoplewhousetheseonline

solutionstendtobe“verysatisfied.”Nocurrent

userreportedbeing“notatallsatisfied.”Perhaps

evenmoreencouraging,manyofthoseuserswho

don’tknowtheyhaveaccesstoonlinesolutions

expressedinterestinusingthem.Veryfewpeople,

foreitherhealthplansoremployers,saidthey

definitelywouldn’tuseit.

Interest in employer-sponsored health

information sites among eligible end users.

Interest in health plan-sponsored health

information sites among eligible end users.

6% I wouldnot use

17% Not sure if Iwould use

??

17%I would use

29% I would use

9% I wouldnot use

12% Not sure if Iwould use


IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT

Weknowthatusersarehappywith

sponsoredsolutionsoncethey

experiencethem.Lowengagementmay

bearesultmoreoflowawarenessthan

ofdissatisfactionwiththeprogram.

Researcherssaythisisanopportunityto

increaseawareness.

Byfocusingonraisingawareness,companies

thatcurrentlyhavelowparticipationinwellness

programsmaybeabletoengagemorepeople

withoutinvestingheavilyinincentivesprogramsor

makingexpensivesoftwareupgrades.

Efforts to increase engagementmaybewastedifnobodyisaware of the solution in thefirstplace.

Thereisahugeopportunityattheawarenesslevel.

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

PREFERENCE

ACTION

It’s the classic marketing funnel.


ThedatasuggeststhatusingtheWebMDHealth

Servicesbrandcanoffersignificantadvantagesfor

employerandinsurerhealthinformationwebsites

toencourageenduserperception,preference

anduse.Employersandhealthinsuranceplans

haveahugeopportunitytoincreasetheirimpactby

raisingawarenessofthewell-beingsolutionsthey

offer.Afterall,consumerscan’tusetoolstheydon’t

knowexist.

Foreachoffering,theWebMD HealthServicesbrandwasconsideredtobefarmoreattractiveandenticingthananemployer,insurerorothercompetingbrands.

• Formorethan2in3respondents,WebMD.com

isthefirstbrandthatcomestomindwhenthey

thinkofhealthinformationwebsites;noneofthe

competingbrandscaptureseven5%top-of-mind

brandrecognition.

• WebMDleadsallotherbrandsinperception

ofease-of-access,trust,privacyprotection

andaccuracy.

• 44%ofrespondentssaidtheywouldprefer

anonlinewell-beingsolutionprovidedbyWebMD

HealthServicesratherthanbytheirhealthplan,

anotherhealthservicescompanyorthecompany

theyortheirspouse/partnerworkfor.

• Individualsarenearlytwiceaslikelytoreport

WebMDHealthServicesasthemostattractive

brandtoofferhealthcoaching.

BRAND MATTERS:HOW CAN YOU USE IT?


“ Given the totality of these data, if possible, we recommend encouraging clients to leverage the strength of the WebMD brand as a means to encourage more of their employees and members to use health information sites.”

— Paul Abel, Ph.D., Blue Research

[email protected]|webmdhealthservices.com

BroughttoyoubyBlueResearch® and WebMDHealthServices

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