Winner: Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Campaign: Peace of Mind with Prescription Advantage
Budget: $2 million.
Senior citizens may have complaints about the healthcare system at large. But just try getting them to change their prescription plan, and you'll find they're also awfully
reluctant to rock the boat. That was Weber Shandwick's experience when they took on public affairs responsibilities for The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affair's
"Prescription Advantage" program in 2001.
Prescription Advantage was the first and only program in the country to offer unlimited prescription drug coverage for all seniors over 65. Low-income seniors (previously
covered under an entitlement program) would be rolled into the new Prescription Advantage plan, so Weber Shandwick would have to market the program to middle- and high-income
seniors and enroll 60,000 new members to keep the program viable.
Weber Shandwick conducted extensive research through focus groups, discovering that seniors were slow to make a change in terms of their health insurance and were also
unfamiliar with common insurance practices.
Weber Shandwick created brochures, handbooks, fact sheets, FAQs and other collateral material to bring the concept to the seniors in language they could easily discuss with
their kids and families.
Staff members conducted 83 one-on-one meetings with leaders at key advocacy groups - like Massachusetts Councils on Aging, Massachusetts Senior Action, Massachusetts
Association of Older Americans and AARP - serving the elder and disabled populations. They also conducted an information tour, using venues like drugstores and supermarkets to get
information to the elderly. Answering the seniors' questions in a one-on-one format helped to bring the message home. "We had to tell them, 'You don't buy car insurance thinking
you'll get in an accident,'" says Vicki Greene, VP with Weber Shandwick. "'You may not be on 10 or 12 medications currently, but you may be one day.'"
The results: After events at 150 pharmacies and grocery stores, 350 educational events for consumers and professionals, distribution of information to more than 800
professional organizations, almost 70,000 seniors enrolled in Prescription Advantage within nine months. (Contact: Greene, 617/520-7271)