Back in April this year, we would remember seeing this
small piece on the shift in trends in the way pharma companies were approaching
PR. It was under a caption "PR tonic" in Business Standard.
It read as below:
"Recent developments in the Indian pharma industry, especially over compulsory licensing of life-saving drugs, have left multinationals jittery and encouraged them to change their public relations strategy in India. Till recently, the focus was on wooing government; now the attention has shifted to the media. This week, three major multinationals, caught in patent rows, did their media rounds one after the other explaining their stand. Their attempt is no longer limited to winning the battle over intellectual property-related issues, but to spruce up their consumer-unfriendly image and show that they care."
In the case of pharma/healthcare companies - be it Indian, or MNC's in this market, what ails their public relations strategy is this - the public in PR has been forgotten, with focus of the communication efforts only being institutional - doctors, corporate hospitals, the government, and the company's shareholders. Not sure if many would agree, yet, that’s fact.
When was the last time you saw a pharma company attempting to tell/communicate to the public at large about their commitment for affordable health-care, or how efficacious, SAFE, and fool-proof their processes and plants/operations are? As the consumers of their products, are’nt people entitled to a fair amount of information? And what better way to route it than PR?
One large company which is embroiled in all kinds of safety issues, Ranbaxy, had its top leadership go about and state on prime time television that 'adulteration' wasn't a major issue for the Indian consumer!
This is only due to fact that the consumer is not a choice maker, like other products or services.
Does that mean that the PR of Pharmaceutical companies cannot have a communication strategy with consumer focus?
They can. And what must they speak of:communicate their commitment to better drugs
"Recent developments in the Indian pharma industry, especially over compulsory licensing of life-saving drugs, have left multinationals jittery and encouraged them to change their public relations strategy in India. Till recently, the focus was on wooing government; now the attention has shifted to the media. This week, three major multinationals, caught in patent rows, did their media rounds one after the other explaining their stand. Their attempt is no longer limited to winning the battle over intellectual property-related issues, but to spruce up their consumer-unfriendly image and show that they care."
In the case of pharma/healthcare companies - be it Indian, or MNC's in this market, what ails their public relations strategy is this - the public in PR has been forgotten, with focus of the communication efforts only being institutional - doctors, corporate hospitals, the government, and the company's shareholders. Not sure if many would agree, yet, that’s fact.
When was the last time you saw a pharma company attempting to tell/communicate to the public at large about their commitment for affordable health-care, or how efficacious, SAFE, and fool-proof their processes and plants/operations are? As the consumers of their products, are’nt people entitled to a fair amount of information? And what better way to route it than PR?
One large company which is embroiled in all kinds of safety issues, Ranbaxy, had its top leadership go about and state on prime time television that 'adulteration' wasn't a major issue for the Indian consumer!
This is only due to fact that the consumer is not a choice maker, like other products or services.
Does that mean that the PR of Pharmaceutical companies cannot have a communication strategy with consumer focus?
They can. And what must they speak of:communicate their commitment to better drugs
- communicate the safety of their drug development efforts
- communicate their support of better patient care and interventions
- communicate how their standards remain uniform across the globe - which is never the case by most
Like these, there a host of communication and image
building opportunities for pharma brands.
Does Pharma/healthcare PR do anything of this kind,
with the consumers in mind? Can it do better?
Looks like the answer will be in the affirmative.
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