Sometimes the growth opportunity is changing the narrative, not the product

I keep finding myself drawn to categories where the product itself isn't necessarily the problem.

The story around it is.

Menopause is a really obvious example. There has been huge progress in talking about it, which is brilliant. But an awful lot of the category still starts from symptoms, struggle and something happening to women.

What if the opportunity isn't another version of “here are all the terrible things that might happen to you”?

What if you change the narrative around the chapter of life itself?

The same thing happens with incontinence. Ageing. Sex after 40. Fertility. Pregnancy tests.

The functional product can be perfectly good while the cultural frame around it is outdated, narrow or just a bit depressing.

And that frame matters because people aren't simply buying functionality. They're deciding whether they want to associate themselves with what the category represents.

If everything about a product says “old person”, somebody who doesn't see themselves as old may reject something they genuinely need.

If sexual wellness only shows youthful sexuality, we quietly communicate who gets to remain sexual.

If pregnancy-test marketing overwhelmingly shows joyful announcements, we flatten an incredibly complicated experience into one acceptable story.

Changing a narrative isn't fluffy brand work sitting on top of the real commercial stuff.

Meaning affects behaviour.

Sometimes making the product relevant to more people starts with changing what being a person who uses that product means.