Choosing a Healthcare Public Relations Firm

Posted by Lloyd Benson

August 19, 2009

by Lloyd Benson

Many medical device, pharmaceutical, biopharma, and life science companies choose to call on the expertise of a healthcare or medical public relations agency to help them develop and drive their key messages out to key constituencies, including physicians, patients, investors, payors, advocacy groups and influential clinical thought leaders. What factors should medical companies consider in evaluating and selecting a public relations agency to represent them?

First, healthcare companies must decide whether their requirements match the expertise and offerings of the healthcare PR firm. While there are many agencies to choose from, there are no two agencies that have the same capabilities or that provide exactly the same services. As a result, companies must identify what goals they need to achieve and find a firm that can deliver clear results.

Second, and equally as critical, is to identify firms that have a tight focus on healthcare companies and a historical track record to support any marketing claims they make. Make no mistake, medical PR is a highly specialized discipline and while some larger, general business PR agencies may have dabbled in serving healthcare businesses, companies are much better served by engaging an agency that has walked the walk before.

The PR company that represents your interests must have a thorough understanding of the particular regulatory guidelines that relate to your business. For firms that operate in the areas of biopharma, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a clear set of guidelines for marketing and advertising to which these companies must adhere. These guidelines are constantly evolving and a good PR firm will be up to date with these changes.

Additionally, companies should seek to find an agency that has successfully developed and executed PR campaigns that are similar to what you are seeking to accomplish. For example, if you are exploring the use of public relations as a tool in clinical trial recruitment, then find an agency that has run recruitment campaigns before. The same would apply to items like announcing important scientific data or meeting a key regulatory milestone. Have each agency you are reviewing show you examples, or case studies, of previous successful campaigns in these arenas.

Dont just make sure that the agency has experience working in your market and executing the types of campaigns you need”take care to ask who would work on your team and what relevant experience each person would bring to your assignment. Its not enough for the PR firm to have a strong background with companies like yours; the right people need to be available for your team.

It makes sense to speak with the people who will be working on your account team. Ask to see their medical PR credentials. You should also ask for examples of past campaigns that were similar to yours and successfully completed.

Another item that all healthcare companies now need to perform due diligence on is the agencys capabilities and performance in newer, non-traditional forms of public relations, including what is broadly defined today as social media. Traditional media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, television and radio are all built on advertising revenue models that have been hard hit by the economic downturn. Increasingly, healthcare companies have been turning to emerging, online techniques to connect with clinicians, patients and advocacy groups. In this ever-changing environment, it is critical that the PR agency be on top of these trends and have relevant experience in conducting campaigns of this type.

About the Author:

Lloyd Benson is an Executive Vice President with Schwartz Communications. He currently oversees the agencys award-winning healthcare PR practice.

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