Pharmaceutical Company Executive Speakers Program

The ‘90s, no issue was more prominent in the media or more hotly debated than health care reform. PCI’s client, a leading U.S. pharmaceutical company, was interested in communicating several messages about the industry’s position on proposed reforms and on the value of pharmaceuticals.

In this campaign, 30 of the company’s key executives were trained in media skills – specifically in addressing the complex issues related to health care reform.

Priority was placed on arranging meetings with daily newspaper editorial boards in target markets. Early in the campaign, large metropolitan markets were targeted and, as the health care reform debate evolved, key Congressional districts and states were given priority. Newspaper and business journal reporters, television reporters and producers, and radio reporters and talk show producers also were contacted to set up interviews during the tour. Breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings also were organized with local business leaders, health care provider leaders, directors of patient advocacy groups and business/health care coalition leaders.

One- and two-day tours were scheduled for the spokespersons. PCI was responsible for setting up the itineraries, researching and writing briefing books for each market to provide background for the speaker, accompanying the speaker on the tour, reporting in detail the issues discussed during the tour, and following up with community leaders and the media to fulfill requests and to retrieve articles or television stories resulting from the tour.

Coordinating the company’s other public affairs efforts nationally and in key states with the market tours also was part of PCI’s responsibility. PCI coordinated speakers’ schedules for all program engagements.

During the 19-month program, company executives participated in more than 275 market visits. The program secured more than 750 local and regional media representatives, 225 national media representatives and forums with representatives of more than 1,090 business and health care groups.

The tours included meetings with the editorial boards of the major daily newspapers and/or interviews with business, medical/health or city reporters. Attendees at the community leaders’ meetings have included presidents of chambers of commerce, directors of business/health coalitions and task forces, district staff of federal officials, state elected officials, national patient education association leaders and local chapter leaders of organizations such as the American Heart Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Alzheimer’s Foundation. Hospital council leaders, medical society staff and elected officials and individuals involved directly in the state’s efforts to reform health care have attended meetings as well.