Opinion: It’s time to rebrand UnitedHealth Group

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Brands are extensions of ourselves, and so UnitedHealth Group should reflect the values of every individual at UnitedHealth Corporation and Optum. There are many good people doing important work with the best of intentions across the entire organization. At its best, a brand embodies the finest attributes of its people. But like individuals, brands can also become timid, hide from challenges and appear cowardly.

Now is the time to stand tall. Transform yourselves into heroes in a health care system that has devolved into “sick care.” Outside forces are sending a clear message. If you respond by retreating, hiding from the public and throwing money at the problem, nothing will change. To UHG’s leadership, here’s your answer:

You’ve awakened a giant.

A masked killer took the life of an innocent father, leader and kind human being for your “cause,” all from a position of wealth, prosperity and private pay. He blamed a group of innocent people and sacrificed a great man for something the citizens of this country have neglected to address themselves. Yet by doing so, he focused the attention of 400,000 caregivers and insurers who serve over 50 million people.

UHG must honor Brian Robert Thompson’s memory by evolving into the healthiest organization of the future. Stop thinking like an insurance company; borrow a page from Patagonia and think like an activist brand. Your members are not the enemy, nor are the hospitals. The real adversaries are sugary drinks, cigarettes and apathy. Fear and secrecy are the refuge of the guilty — stand proud instead.

Your members are activists at heart, striving to live healthier lives and resisting brands that push them toward illness. We all know cigarettes kill, yet we continue to insure smokers. Empower members with the knowledge of what harms them and actively work to limit those products’ reach. Stop accepting the system for what it is and innovate with the same behavior-changing marketing methods deployed by a vast majority of large consumer brands.

The big food brands, social media networks, lifestyle conglomerates and sports organizations make up the top tier in marketing thought and discipline. Yet your cause is greater than any of them combined — your algorithms and actuaries keep us alive. The mission is larger but the capabilities and marketing talent is so limited you refer to the rest of the marketing world as “consumerism.”

Start taking action tomorrow. Here are three big brand ideas to get you started. Take them as overlapping approaches that build on each other.

1. Acquire Life Time.

Bring the healthy lifestyle and fitness company under your umbrella, adopt its name and ethos, and become the brand that inspires, supports and moves people toward wellness. Catching them when they’re sick is reactive; leading them toward health is visionary.

2. Create a new parent brand.

Design it from the ground up as the healthy-lifestyle champion you aspire to be. Let UHG and UHC gradually fade into the background — honestly, neither name has ever resonated, and most people confuse one with the other. Build something that truly means something.

3. Rebrand UnitedHealth Group as Thompson Health Group.

Etch Brian’s legacy into the annals of history: “Kill an innocent man, and make him a hero.” Elevate him to the pedestal he deserves and rally your organization in a fight against cultural apathy. Become the greatest caregiving brand the world has ever known — driven by Brian’s memory.

To the citizens of this country and health-plan members: We choose to spend our lives drinking, smoking, avoiding exercise and indulging in life’s pleasures, and then expect insurance, government and health care systems to bail us out. Accountability has shifted from individuals to organizations, even as trust in those organizations erodes each year. Let’s reclaim personal responsibility before throwing stones from our glass houses.

America has long led the world in health care, yet we blame corporations for our poor diets, our unhealthy lifestyles, and our inability to pay for care when we need it most. What’s missing is personal responsibility. We are responsible for our own health.

A movement is already underway. UHG/UHC/Optum: Stop worrying about “controlling the narrative” and start leading the charge.

Aaron Keller is the co-founder of Capsule, a Minneapolis special projects agency. He is the author of “The Physics of Brand.”