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Meredith Arthur's avatar

I think I have been pitched by every random nootropic company under the sun at this point. The pitches hit my inbox like clockwork. In a similar workmanlike vein I delete them. Occasionally I'll write back and ask questions like "Do you have any research about how nootropics interact with SSRIS? Or research about which parts of the brain and nervous system this product affects? What is the mechanism?" Needless to say...they never do.

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Andreas Tzortzis's avatar

So, do you think their biggest messaging hurdle is scientific legitimacy?

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Meredith Arthur's avatar

I can tell you that the biggest hurdle they have in getting me to support their marketing is scientific legitimacy, yes, for sure. I don't care what any brand in this space has to say if the entire category hasn't proven the products are safe and effective. You know me, I have a gimlet eye when it comes to brand marketing and want to know the product is actually what the marketing claims it to be.

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Andreas Tzortzis's avatar

It brings up an interesting challenge, then. How do you market scientific legitimacy in a sexy way? And is it at all possible to tie it to a great narrative around mental and personal health?

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Meredith Arthur's avatar

These are GREAT questions, perhaps for another Brand New Story newsletter? RE: mental and personal health, I have thousands of thoughts on that, but they all start with a brand getting crystal clear on why they should even be talking about mental health and what proof points they have for actually supporting consumer's mental health.

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Andreas Tzortzis's avatar

"crystal clear on why they should even be talking about mental health" ... that, makes a lot of sense

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Meredith Arthur's avatar

This could be a good topic for a joint newsletter! If we felt we had enough examples...which I'm not even sure I do.

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