The AM Council

The AM Council (Alternative Medicine Council) and Blue Check were programs to create a co-op effort among small producers and alternative medicine providers to market their products more effectively against big drug companies. Its main purpose was to provide the marketing data and the design insight to compete with drugs companies, which spent millions of dollars to market their products, and to share the advertising and research costs and among all of the co-op members.

Based on research, even though alternative medicine has been in the rise for the last years, many individuals do not feel safe about it, and feel that they lack the credibility of established drug companies. One of the reasons for this is that lack of regulation by the FDA for many alternative medicine products and supplements. The reason for this is that many of them are simply supplements. In contrast to many other countries, the US does not have a regulatory office or group that oversees alternative medicine and makes sure that the quality and security of the consumers are really taking into account when developing these products. At the same time, many of the producers or providers of alternative medicine lack the resources and budget to compete with drug companies that invest millions in research and resources to develop their marketing strategies and advertising campaigns.

AM Council comes as a voluntary organization dedicated to promote alternative medicine in a co-op effort to provide marketing research and resources to small growers and providers. The AM Council market co-op members’ products in a more effective way, while regulating the quality control and creating standards between these companies. That way, alternative medicine will be able to compete more effectively. AM Council will be based out of an Internet portal, accessible to producers,and will have resources available to co-op members. AM Council will promote the benefits of alternative medicine, as well as will serve as a communication tool to help users find natural remedies and support groups to specific illnesses and health conditions.

The Name of AM Council came from abbreviating alternative medicine, but at the same time from making reference to a new morning or beginning of medicine. Its logo is meant to be simple, but portray health, nature and quality, which is what we are looking to provide. The health is represented by the type transformation of the m into an apple and the use of green as a symbol of pure and natural. The check mark is used as a representation of all the verifications that the products will receive in order to be certified.

With the tagline “We cultivate alternative medicine” it is intended to show how the AM Council mission is to increase the use of alternative medicine and build an image of credibility and safety to the industry.  The campaign is intended to be mainly online and on magazines. It will be reinforced by the use of outdoor media to build brand recognition and awareness.

In order to promote the products, the Blue Check seal was developed as a simple way to present the certification, and the fact that all these products were verified by the AM Council. The concept of the seal is what gives its round shape. The use of blue and green serves as a contrast and symbolizes the pureness of our products with the safety and trust of being certified. This idea is also reinforced by the use of a leaf in a very organic style and a check mark symbol, which is very bold and structured.

The seal will be placed in all bottles and products and will be easily recognized in the shelves. It will be reinforced by magazine ads explaining its purpose and benefits as, well as points of purchase (POP’s) in the stores where the products will be offered.