Company: Bayer Comsumer Care
Agency: HealthSTAR Public Relations
Timeframe: December 2004 - December 2005
When people hear that a medicine they rely on may have serious side effects, their concern is instantly piqued, often before a scientific verdict ever confirms or denies the
allegations. For a crisis management team facing this combination of an anxious consumer base and a potential product-recall situation, it's essential to state the facts loud and
clear amidst a cacophony of criticism and concern.
In 2004, a series of studies called into question the safety of a number of commonly used medications, including Vioxx. Unfortunately for drug company Bayer Consumer
Care, the list also encompassed a group of medications that included Aleve, an over-the-counter pain reliever.
Enter HealthSTAR Public Relations. The full-service agency dedicated solely to healthcare, medical and pharmaceutical communications was charged with calming public
fears and helping the media get the story straight, both before and after a Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee meeting that would review the medications under
scrutiny.
In the effort to put things right, the PR team found a winning strategy in lining up experts with multiple areas of expertise.
Take, for instance, Dr. James Rippe and the Rippe Lifestyle Institute. Bayer formed a partnership with Dr. Rippe and, as part of the brand's recovery effort, surveyed
arthritis sufferers about their confusion over the safety of different pain relief medications. Dr. Rippe was a natural fit for the campaign because he could interpret and explain
the results within the context of the existing news environment, and he also had a long history of talking to the press as an effective spokesperson.
"Here was somebody with a deep understanding of clinical data, a deep understanding of the issues facing people with arthritis -- and also a deep understanding of the media,"
says Helene Ellison, president and CEO of HealthSTAR Public Relations.
Adds Tricia McKernan, vice president of global communications at Bayer, "Because he was a very credible and well-known cardiologist who also has worked with the media in the
past, he was very good at delivering a branded message. That was very, very helpful."
Rippe's combined medical/media savvy helped on the front end, telling the story of Aleve to the public. At the same time, the PR team added another multi-skilled player to pick
up where Rippe left off.
With just six weeks to tell their story in advance of the FDA meeting, the PR shop turned to Alicia Cimbora, a PR crisis specialist with particular expertise in consumer
health. Much like Rippe, "she could look at what was happening from all angles," Ellison says.
Again, that mix of media expertise and medical savvy proved crucial. "In a world where media don't have any time to interpret information, delivering information in a way that
media can report on and understand - and have all the credibility factors behind it - in real time is critical," Ellison says.
Fortunately for this PR effort, understanding of the product already was broad-based. Aleve had been on the market for three decades, and, in this case, history proved to be a
valuable asset in defending its vulnerable reputation. The product's longevity meant that a lot of people in the medical community could - and would - vouch for its positive
qualities.
"When you have the advantage of working with a product that has been studied so extensively, there is a lot of expert opinion out there about how this product works," Ellison
says.
But how do you pick the experts? To a great degree, the PR team culled its key opinion leaders from among those whose names had already appeared in the media during the initial
coverage of the medical studies that had sparked the crisis. "We wanted to be in contact with those people who were already viewed as 'experts' in the media Rolodex, those who
were likely to be quoted in the news and had opinions about these studies," Ellison says.
HealthSTAR PR also worked with the Joint Re-placement Center at Florida Hospital to conduct a physician survey on pain relief that would help tell their client's
story effectively.
"In this period of time, there was a lot of breaking news around this category and different issues were coming to the surface," Ellison says. "This gave us a way to provide
the media with another important part of the story, to make sure that they had relevant and real information."
As a campaign tool, this survey had the advantage of driving media coverage with fresh data and new facts for public consumption. "When media are covering a topic, they will
keep covering it as long as they get more information, so we wanted to keep giving them new information that they would consider newsworthy," Ellison says.
In the end, the Food and Drug Administration meeting gave Aleve the thumb's up, clearing its slate and proving the media effort successful, not to mention extremely
worthwhile:
Starting with the Food and Drug Administration meeting and ending in December of 2005, the net result was more than 300 million impressions, 80% of which included at least one
branded message. Perhaps most significantly, consumer awareness of negative news about Aleve dropped 33% from December 2004 to mid-2005, while consumer confidence in the product
improved by 15 percentage points.
So, despite a wave of fear and negative media coverage within its category, this popular pain relief product was able to weather a storm that could have had tragic results for
the bottom line.
CONTACTS:
Helene Ellison, 212.532.0909,
Tricia McKernan, 866.683.1126.
Crisis Communications Best Practices
1. Have a crisis communication team in place in advance, including all necessary decision makers. You must be able to act quickly and adjust strategy and activities as
needed.
2. Third parties add invaluable credibility and expertise to your messaging. Know who is talking about your product and reach out to assess their interest in speaking to the
media.
3. Don't be afraid of the media, even in times of crisis. Rather than solely playing defense, leverage their power as a communication channel for your messages.
4. Anticipate the questions you will be asked, and come to an agreement among stakeholders in advance as to the response.
5. Ensure your messages are understandable and relevant to your target audience, otherwise they won't resonate.