The Rise of PR in German Healthcare

Consumers are taking an active role

Public relations has blossomed as a marketing discipline to gain strong acceptance in Germany as a brand-building device in the pharmaceutical marketing industry. The discipline is finally being appreciated for its credibility, flexibility and efficiency.

Pharma companies in Germany are also using public relations as a useful pre- and post-launch marketing tool in a highly regulated environment; for its ability to cut through the clutter to reach and influence diverse populations, including increasingly important consumer audiences; and its capacity to leverage the multiplicity of communications outlets that have proliferated in recent years.

German pharmaceutical companies are also following the lead of their peers in the US by waking up to the sales-boosting benefits of good public relations. It is now being used in the German market as a brand-building instrument that supports sales development and then secures long-term sales by building brands that focus on all stakeholders.

Historically, pharmaceutical companies in Germany have focused on the physician as the customer or the decision-maker, but they are now increasingly focused on reaching the end-user – the patient – as well. This makes good sense, as in Germany, as elsewhere, the patient ultimately makes the decision about seeking medical attention, responding to a doctor’s direction, filling a prescription, and remaining compliant on a therapeutic regimen.

German pharmas are finally realising that a patient who is informed and motivated is much more likely to seek and stay on a course of treatment than a passive, uninvolved patient. German consumers are taking charge of their health and are going to their doctors armed with information about illnesses and therapies gleaned from the media, the Internet, or other sources.

German healthcare companies are therefore seeing the benefits of integrated campaigns that use the best and most effective ways to reach target-groups. For instance, Weber Shandwick recently implemented a campaign on behalf of a German diagnostics company to encourage more women to have preventative tests for cervical cancer, which used information leaflets, a dedicated Web site, media relations, local events in German cities and communications with gynaecologists to successfully get the message across.

Research in Germany has shown that doctors are often influenced by patient demands, particularly in categories where the doctor has a range of options and where patient compliance is important, such as diabetes and epilepsy; where symptomatic relief from pain or depression is important; where side effects are an issue; or where quality of life or lifestyle is important, for instance in cancer, incontinence, or impotence.

These consumer-driven categories play to the strengths of public relations, which is an ideal tool for expanding the market by driving German consumers to seek treatment.

German healthcare companies have also found that public relations is effective in reaching and influencing patient groups to gain their advocacy in lobbying regulators and legislators, to support reimbursement for branded drugs and to combat unfriendly initiatives.

As in the rest of Europe, advertising of drugs direct to the consumer is illegal in Germany, and so public relations plays an even more important role in reaching the end-user. German pharmaceutical companies have found that public relations offers many of the benefits of direct advertising but without some of the drawbacks: it educates and informs without calling attention to itself as a blatant promotional activity, is usually less expensive than advertising, and is highly impactful, reaching its audience through the media or other credible third parties.

Public relations has firmly established itself in the German pharmaceutical industry as a key element of the marketing mix, especially where audiences need to be informed about a disease category or a brand.

By Christian Deutsch, director, healthcare practice, Weber Shandwick in Germany.

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