Different industries have their unique challenges and for public relations (PR), the challenges differ according to the clients’ line of businesses. Medical, pharmaceutical and healthcare PR is possibly the most challenging as it comes under the purview of authorities – e.g. Health Sciences Authority in Singapore and Lembaga Iklan Ubat in Malaysia. As such, selecting the best PR agency with medical, pharmaceutical and healthcare PR portfolios is paramount to ensuring the best possible outcome.
As difficult as it may be to manage a PR campaign of such an account, there are ways to overcome these challenges and turn them into opportunities. Here are 3 tips:
First and foremost, the objective of a medical healthcare PR campaign has to be educational, empowering and relevant to the target audience. Tactical or promotional campaigns are neither applicable nor prudent in this case as the nature of such objectives will not appeal to the target audience. Instead of being enticed to buy new products, gaining knowledge or experiences regarding medical healthcare will be of far more interest and valuable to them.
The second tip is to always be ethical and responsible. Such PR accounts more than often deals with patients’ or caregivers’ emotional and physical well-being. There must be discernment in crafting the message content of the campaign and not misinform for the sake of spotlighting a brand. Taking responsibility to produce only true content will prevent mismanagement of expectations and put the target audience’s well-being first. One’s ethical actions as such will also help to highlight the brand’s reliability and credibility, which is absolutely crucial in the medical, pharmaceutical and healthcare field.
Finally, challenges can be made fun when creative elements are incorporated. Medical, pharmaceutical and healthcare PR is not as stifling as it seems due to the rules and regulations. Creativity lies in the delivery of the campaign. One can think out of the box and incorporate novel elements that are engaging for the target audiences, and yet still abide by the industry regulations. For example, a healthcare campaign conceptualised for one of Brand Inc.’s client, Xepa Soul-Pattinson, to inculcate better personal hygiene involved a face mask design competition, which was a hit with the target blogger parents and their children who had a fulfilling and enjoyable time.
Equipped with a wealth of healthcare public relations experience and research skills, Brand Inc. has proven time and again that it is more than possible to achieve maximum outreach and engagement even with strict restrictions, a statement our many clients in the medical industry can attest to.
