One voice among many

Healthcare is at the fore-front of media, political and economic agendas. Everyone has an opinion on the cost of and access to effective treatments, the need for robust clinical data and the right to make an informed choice, whether they are healthcare professionals, purchasers or patients.

“If our voices are to be influential, we have to establish ourselves as honest brokers and not partisan ‘product cheerleaders’”
-Waggener Edstrom

And healthcare is becoming more important, not less. The EU has taken clear steps to prioritise it, with the adoption of the EU Health strategy for 2008-2013 forming the core of its policy and clearly recognising the link between health and economic productivity/prosperity (giving health a place in the “Lisbon Strategy” of the EU) giving a good indication of direction of travel,, The proposed Directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare, open new prospects for patients who wish to seek treatment in another Member State. Finally, the adoption in December 2008 of a proposed “pharmaceutical package” aims to boost the sector’s competitiveness, ensure better and safer access to medicine, and better information to patients. With the number of people in the EU aged 65 and over and 80 and over growing by 70 per cent and 170 per cent respectively by 2050, there are obvious and dramatic implications in terms of economic impact. ’Healthy ageing’ is an understandable focus for both policy and reform.

The EU has always been important for the pharmaceutical industry, aiming to improve competitiveness and at the same time enhance access to safe, effective and high quality medicinal products whilst ensuring sustainability of national healthcare systems. Most recently, the ‘pharmaceutical package’, containing three pieces of legislation, was put forward by the European Commission addressing important challenges in the area of counterfeiting, pharmacovigilance and information to patients. The coming months will be decisive for the pharmaceutical industry. Indeed, a new European Parliament has just been elected on 7 June, and the appointment of a new European Commission will follow in the autumn 2009. In the midst of this, Sweden will assume the EU Council Presidency from 1 July 2009 and will attempt to drive an ambitious health agenda during six months. The changes in administration bring with it the need to re-assess the institutions’ new priorities and their perspective on various industries. The newly elected Parliament and the appointment of a new Commission constitute a challenging opportunity for the industry to reposition itself in the Brussels landscape.

In such a crowded, emotive and important field, how can you challenge perceptions and ultimately drive change? The simple answer is ‘Influence’. A deep understanding of the issues, the environment and the key influences within your sector will enable you to identify those who hold the most authority to drive change.

At the very moment that we grasp influence, the ways in which we can engage with audiences have exploded. Some communicators see the digital revolution as a kind of unnatural disaster, but we see it as an opportunity. Don’t be frightened of change; embrace it. If we look at how Pharma is evolving to become increasingly specific, for example, the proliferation of online channels comes at exactly the right moment. Specificity of treatments can now be matched by specificity of engagement.

Engagement is the platform on which we build influence. Healthcare and pharma professionals no longer ‘own’ health information. It is now available to the many and not the few — and our role now is to enter the conversation as one of many voices. Patients and clinicians, for example, no longer care about our definitions of particular products, because they can go to a host of sources other than the industry to find out about how to progress care pathways.

If our voices are to be influential, we have to establish ourselves as honest brokers of healthcare information, and not ‘product cheerleaders’ — remember, even more today, we are involved in a conversation and not a monologue. The digital and social media space will cruelly expose insincere communication. Our honesty must be authentic. We need to understand how our products can impact and bring value to audiences’ lives as much as we do about the product itself.   

We also need to think about the sphere of influence. Take reaching clinicians, for example. Of course, they read the trade journals and attend conferences, but they also read national newspapers, travel magazines and go online to browse, shop and seek information. So your broad messages can reach them from many directions and the specifics can come through more direct activities. This is especially true in the digital market place, where geographic and professional distinctions are becoming increasingly irrelevant.

One key pharmaceutical client was well known for its products, but had limited visibility with policy makers and the media. We worked with them to develop an overarching communications strategy to solve this problem. This involved the creation of a non-product specific innovation theme, which was launched at a series of media summits, held across the world. Key note speakers discussed the importance of innovation in ‘Early Health’ and the identification and diagnosis of disease, in order to improve patient outcomes. Key media and other influentials were invited and the results were staggering — over 250 articles secured and strengthened perceptions of the company as a thought leader and driver for change.

Engagement and conversation demand that information is placed in a compelling context — or to put it another way, told as a story. To achieve great results, you need to tell great stories. We believe that the power of the story, and the elements that transform individual facts into a great and memorable one, are timeless. We have utilised our story telling methodology to generate influence and drive change for many of our clients, across the globe.

We helped another client gain a deeper understanding of their market across Europe by identifying and bringing together key clinicians to discuss current and future issues in their disease area. Listening to their stories ensured that the resulting strategic marketing plan, and the narrative that it contained, were relevant to the audience’s day-to-day experiences. When the client entered into the conversations taking place in the local market, they could do so with plausibility.

Partnering with a trade association, we ensured that their key messages were completely aligned to, and became an integral part of, the Brussels political agenda. By telling their story in context and developing a communications platform, we were able to help them to engage with and influence key decision-makers — in the European Commission, Parliament, Council, and with other key stakeholders — to advance shared goals.

As an innovation communications agency, we thoroughly understand the traditional and digital media landscape, and invest in talent to ensure that all available channels help clients engage in relevant conversations. Amidst the noise of an increasingly crowded market place, we see quality of content (the stories we tell) as the key differentiator — establishing clients as authoritative, trusted and influential voices.

The EU Health Strategy for 2008-2013: the EU Health Strategy, adopted in October 2007 and entered into force on 1st January 2008, provides a framework for EU actions between 2008 and 2013. It is based on three strategic objectives against which the European Commission is working with Member States to develop specific actions. The objectives can be described as follows:

• Fostering health in an ageing Europe: this includes the promotion of health for the elderly and the workforce, and children.
• Protecting citizens from health threats: this includes strengthening mechanisms for surveillance and response to health threats
• Supporting dynamic health systems and new technologies: this includes the development of Community framework for safe, high quality and efficient health services, support Member States and Regions in managing innovation in health systems, support implementation and interoperability of “e-health” communication solutions 

The EU Public Health Programme 2008-2013: came into force on 1 January 2008. The Health Programme 2008-2013 is intended to complement, support and add value to the policies of the Member States, the objectives are:

• To improve citizens’ health security
• To promote health, and the reduction of health inequalities
• To generate and disseminate health information and knowledge

The “pharmaceutical package”: the European Commission adopted on 10 December 2008 a Communication and three legislative proposals with the aim to ensure that European citizens increasingly benefit from a competitive industry that generates safe, innovative and accessible medicines. The “package” includes:

• a communication on the future of the pharmaceutical sector, which aims to address challenges, improve market access, and  boost the pharmaceutical research;
• a proposal to tackle the issues of counterfeiting and illegal distribution of medicines;
• a proposals to ensure that European citizens have access to high-quality and reliable information on prescription-only medicines;
• a proposal to strengthen the current EU system for the safety monitoring of medicines (“pharmacovigilance”).

This is a good example of the impact of EU on the pharmaceutical industry. The proposals have not been yet endorsed by the European Parliament and Council.

Sweden will take on the Presidency of the EU Council as of 1 July 2009 and will also have a strong focus on health. The list of priorities for the Swedish Presidency will be the following:

• Effective use of medicinal products
• Healthy and dignified ageing
• Combating poverty and social exclusion
• Labour market inclusion
• eHealth for improved safety for patients receiving care in another EU country
• Promotion of the rights of the child
• Rights of patients to health, medical and dental care in another EU country

Contact details:
Dr Jane Brearley
Healthcare Practice
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide - London
E: jbrearley@waggeneredstrom.com

Herman Schepers
Public Affairs
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide – Brussels
E: Hermans@ waggeneredstrom.com

www.waggeneredstrom.co.uk