In the growing lexicon of marketing jargon, 'microstep habit-stacking' may not be a concept you have heard of. Yet it lies at the heart of Procter & Gamble's new global partnership with Thrive Global and a strategy they believe will increase their emotional connection with consumers. 

In essence 'habit-stacking' involves adding a layer of positivity or self-affirmations to your mundane daily tasks. For example saying positive affirmations whilst you have a shower.

Through it's partnership with Thrive Global, Procter & Gamble are planning to layer on this element of self care, or 'habit stacking' into consumers daily routine. As P&G's Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard notes, the best brands are in themselves "habits".  

Launching the partnership at the Cannes Lions festival Pritchard noted that "most of us are chronically sleep deprived."

Thrive Global Chief Business Officer Ashley Miles notes that 70 to 85% of health issues are related to work burnout. "We believe that burnout is not a price you have to pay for success," she explained. 

Endeavor CMO Bozoma Saint John, noted that habit stacking is a tool to break unhealthy habits. Sharing the fact both her and her daughter put their phones to bed at 8.30pm, she urged the audience to reconsider their daily habits. "There is no need to work so hard to prove you are better than anyone else," she noted.

Saint John, who appears in a campaign to support the partnership, noted the fundamental shift in employee expectations as mental well-being continues to rise up the marketing agenda: "We need to break these [bad] habits. I don't expect those who work for me to do the things that I did." She believes that habit-stacking allows her to check herself and break these bad habits.

From a brand perspective, Thrive believes that habit stacking offers brands a new way to add value to consumers’ lives. Danny Shea, Chief Brand Officer of Thrive Global explained: “At Thrive, our mission is to bring behavior change to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Through its brands and products, P&G owns everyday habit moments for billions of global consumers. These habits – brushing your teeth, washing your hair, washing the dishes – are so ingrained in us that they have become almost mindless."

He believes that adding Thrive’s Microsteps to these daily habits can help transform daily moments from the mundane to the meaningful. 

Regardless of whether you plan to adopt the Thrive mantra of 'I am enough' when you next have a shower, the partnership underlines the growing focus on emotional well-being in marketing. Habit stacking marks a step-change from an interruptive style of marketing. Mindful marketing is here to stay.