It was a PR high.
With so much shouting going on in the pharmaceutical industry these days, one creative PR team decided it was time to rise above the noise - literally -- with a live satellite
broadcast from the flanks of Mt. Everest.
The PR agency, Biosector 2, has for the last two years worked with Novo Nordisk, which makes insulin devices. Most recently, the agency has been promoting a specialty insulin
product called NovoLog through a campaign called Peaks & Poles. Diabetic athlete Will Cross has been injecting himself with NovoLog through a series of adventures, including
climbing the world's highest peaks and trekking through the North Poles and South Poles.
A high school principal and father of five, Cross has had diabetes since age nine. He approached several of drug companies asking for sponsorship of his adventures, and Novo
Nordisk eventually decided to back his efforts. Cross delivers frequent motivational speeches both on diabetes and on personal fulfillment, which has made it easier for the PR
team to tout his efforts nationwide. "What's really nice about this program is that along with these treks that Will is doing, we also have him contracted to do speaking
engagements around the country," says Nehal Beltangady, a PR consultant at Biosector2, which has offices in New York and London.
The Mt. Everest climb that began in late March marked the pinnacle of these efforts and the PR team sought commensurate media. The trades were especially interested: Diabetes
Positive, for example, did a cover story on the effort and is planning a follow up. The general media have also shown interest. The Dallas morning show "Good Morning Texas,"
interviewed Cross in February, and then brought him back May 24 in a live broadcast from the mountainside. The May issue of European GQ profiled Cross in anticipation of the
Everest climb.
A video news release was distributed before Cross left for the climb and was picked up by about 15 stations, including KCBS/Los Angeles, KCAL/ Los Angeles, WTAE/Pittsburgh,
WTLH/ Tallahassee, WOFL/Orlando and WBOC/Maryland, for a total of 1.4 million viewers.
Technical challenges
Putting out a live broadcast from the world's tallest mountain is no small feat, and the PR team recruited specialists to help make it happen. The group International Mountain
Guides worked on site to ensure that the right equipment was in place while a videographer from Spindrift Films accompanied Cross up the mountain to record the climb.
Multimedia communication products and services Medialink delivered the technical expertise to make a live broadcast viable from Mt. Everest.
The best way to get the video link was to use video conferencing equipment via ISDN, but most media outlets are not equipped to accept such a signal. So Medialink sent that
broadcast into its own offices via satellite feed, and then rebroadcast it out to the media using conventional broadcast methods.
But that did not solve all the technical problems. "When we go on a shoot here we typically bring lighting with us, but they can't bring that up the mountain. So when the sun
goes down, there is really no lighting up there," says Rick Sannicandro, senior associate vice president of operations at Medialink.
The solution came in the form of a simple desk lamp, switched on for the last 15 minutes of the broadcast. None of the recipients complained about the lighting quality. "They
were so impressed that we were even getting a feed from Mt. Everest," Sannicandro says. It also helped that Medialink had established clear expectations. "You need to let
everybody know ahead of time: You are not going to see a crystal-clear picture. It is going to look more like broadcasts from the war in Iraq or Afghanistan."
Cross stopped 1,500 feet short of the summit because of trouble with his oxygen equipment. A disappointment? You bet. But it was also an opportunity to bring forward the
sponsor's medical message. "It ended up being a great opportunity to show how important it was to him to be conscious of his own body," Beltangady says. "He wanted this so badly,
but he also wanted badly to take care of himself, which essentially was the message we were looking to get across."
Contacts: Nehal Beltangady, 212.845.5604, [email protected]; Rick Sannicandro, 212.812.7029, [email protected]
Drug Deals
You don't have to send someone up Mt. Everest to draw attention to a pharmaceutical product. Clear-thinking PR executives can help promote new drugs in several ways:
>> Think global: The pharmaceutical industry is becoming increasingly international. PR practitioners, whether agency or in-house, need to set strategy on a global
scale.
>> Recalibrate: Patient groups form communities and discreet units grouped around symptoms, causes and cures. So, drug PR thus can be conceived of -- and executed -- as a
community relations program, at least on the consumer side.
>> Migrate: The growth of the pharmaceutical industry is creating a wide array of new PR jobs within pharma companies themselves. For those with an interest in this PR
niche, this may be the time to look at making the jump from agency to in-house work.