Weber Shandwick’s healthcare practice serves clients across the full range of healthcare sectors and employs more than 250 professionals in 26 offices. Headquartered in New York, our healthcare team operates from regional hubs including Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, San Francisco, Brussels, Geneva, London, Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt, Sydney, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Sao Paulo.
Our seasoned healthcare strategists offer expertise in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, consumer health products, over-the counter medications, public health, insurance and health maintenance organizations, healthcare associations, health systems and hospitals. We provide strategic, full-service public relations, including the following key offerings and services:
- Scientific communications
- Medical education
- Regulatory milestone communications
- Market seeding and development
- New product launches
- Sustained patient awareness programs
- Disease awareness and prevention
- Clinical trial recruitment support
- Crisis management
- Advocacy group relations
- Health policy initiatives
- Alliance building
Weber Shandwick is the nation’s first healthcare communications agency to be fully certified for promotional regulatory compliance. It certified its U.S. staff through the training and testing standards of The Center for Communications Compliance (CCC). In Europe our staff has also been trained to comply with the local healthcare communications regulations, such as the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry guidelines. Certification of Weber Shandwick staff in Asia is currently underway.
CSL Biotherapies – Afluria: Flu-Free and a Mom-to-Be
ChallengeWeber Shandwick was hired by CSL Biotherapies to raise their visibility as a leading flu vaccine manufacturer. In addition, the team’s charge was to heighten awareness of the importance of getting a flu vaccination while pregnant and the availability of a thimerosal-free flu vaccine option (Afluria) among pregnant women.
Strategic ApproachIn order to do this, the team needed to qualify and reveal the barriers of flu vaccination among pregnant women. Next, the team educated pregnant women and new mothers about the flu, and the need for influenza protection during pregnancy, through media and collateral material.
The team also engaged an influential, third-party distribution network and non-traditional channels such as “mommy bloggers” to disseminate messages and urge pregnant women to get a flu shot, and an influenza portal was featured on the NWHRC Parenting and Pregnancy Web Site and the AWHONN home page.
OutcomeThe campaign reached over 80 million Americans via proactive media outreach, SMT/RMT, ANR, Web cast and blog outreach, and coverage was 100% positive with over 90% of stories including call-to-action messaging about thimerosal-free flu vaccine option. In addition, CSL Biotherapies and the campaign were featured by leading influenza expert LJ Tan, of the American Medical Association, in a weekly briefing and newsletter to industry.
The campaign also won industry awards including the National Influenza Vaccine Summit (NIVS) Corporate Campaign of the Year Award, the Public Relations Society of America—New York Chapter’s Big Apple Award for “Marketing to Special Audiences,” and was honored as a finalist for a SABRE Award in the category of “Marketing to Women.”