Every January brings a familiar rush. It’s not just the start of the new year — it’s the inevitable resolution season where inboxes overflow with tips, feeds are packed with advice and screens buzz with promises.
Having spent my career navigating the fast-paced world of communications, I’ve learned that the excitement around resolution season often comes with confusion. And in wellness, the stakes are even higher, as capturing attention is easy, but earning trust is not.
That tension was underscored at PRSA ICON this falls, where PRSA Chair Ray Day, APR, noted that communicators today must “bring clarity where there is confusion.” And, while communicators are often seen as brand stewards — in wellness, that mandate is amplified as we navigate a saturated landscape, while trying to help consumers find the confidence they crave to make informed wellness decisions.
Today’s consumer is deeply curious about wellness, but they’re navigating competing claims, contradictory advice, algorithm-driven “experts,” and an expanding universe of options. They want to make informed decisions, but they don’t know who to trust, which trend to believe, or how to distinguish science from storytelling.
At Thorne, we call this the wellness confidence gap — a gap we see firsthand, especially among Gen Z and Millennials who are wellness-obsessed.
As communicators, ensuring that scientific credibility and consumer appeal work in concert, not conflict, is one of the most critical responsibilities we have. Trust is built through a relentless commitment to scientific rigor, accessible education, and championing truth and transparency.
The rise of AI has only intensified this responsibility. Technology is reshaping how people discover, understand, and make decisions, though AI cannot replace human judgment. It can enhance it — but only if the information feeding those systems is credible, transparent, and responsibly communicated. That’s why the quality of what a brand says matters more than ever.
That’s where we as communicators must step up. We are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between what experts know and what consumers need to understand, shaping how information becomes meaningful and how science earns trust. Today’s consumers are telling us clearly that they want personalized support, evidence-aligned guidance, and language they can actually understand.
So how do we navigate this tightrope?
It starts with reframing our responsibilities. A communicator’s role is no longer just to inform or persuade – it’s to guide, contextualize, and clarify. We must give consumers the tools to navigate a crowded space with confidence rather than confusion. In a world shaped by social algorithms, 10-second pieces of content, and trend culture, the science cannot stand alone – it needs to be fused together with what it actually means for them.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Lead with scientific rigor, then make it human.
Consumers want to know that what they’re hearing is grounded in real science, but they also want to understand what it means and why it matters. Start with the truth, then translate it. Move from research to relevance and from data to decisions. The science should anchor the story, showing why it matters connecting it to tangible outcomes — not overshadow it. - Translate without oversimplifying.
Trust is earned by clarifying complexity, not by minimizing it. That means providing context, explaining limitations, acknowledging nuance, and resisting the urge to make definitive promises when science is still evolving. Translation isn’t about making things smaller, it’s about making them understandable. - Use technology responsibly.
AI is accelerating how people access wellness information. At Thorne, we’ve embraced this shift – especially through our AI wellness advisor, Taia – but as communicators it’s our responsibility to ensure that guidance is transparent, credible, and compliant with legal guardrails. That means ensuring trustworthy content, clear explanations, and safeguards that put consumer safety above convenience or speed. - Create touchpoints that reinforce trust.
Trust isn’t built in a single interaction; it’s reinforced over time. That means providing consistent, reliable content across channels, engaging experts to validate messaging, and listening to consumers. It also means measuring impact, learning from feedback, and adjusting approaches to ensure that every touchpoint strengthens credibility and empowers informed decision-making.
When brands embrace this approach, trust follows. And with trust, consumers move from confused consumers to confident participants in their own wellness journeys.
As we enter another year of wellness trends, quick fixes, and resolution-driven messaging, our job as communicators isn’t to add to the noise — it’s to cut through it. It’s to make wellness understandable, actionable, and credible.
Ultimately, good communication doesn’t just tell a story — it builds belief, earns trust, and closes the wellness confidence gap. In a category where trust is everything, that’s the work that truly matters.
Tamarah Strauss is vice president, communications at health and wellness brand, Thorne, leading strategic communications for the brand. A seasoned communications executive with experience across in-house and agency roles, she brings deep expertise in strategic storytelling, elevating brand credibility, and integrated earned, owned, and executive communications to advance reputation forward.
Illustration: Phairot
