The real joy of working in a public relations (PR) agency is that you never know what’s coming from one day to the next. Whatever your PR speciality, the key is creativity and sensitivity to the client’s needs and business environment.

One of the most demanding PR challenges in the business, with all the regulatory and ethical issues surrounding it, is healthcare PR. So why do pharmaceutical companies hire healthcare PR consultancies? It’s certainly a different discipline to advertising or marketing but, if used correctly, can make an impact and transform businesses. Most of the big pharmaceutical companies have their own internal communications departments but external PR agencies provide a wider range of media contacts, more people to do the job, and a different "pair of eyes" to look at the issues objectively ... and that’s why pharmaceutical companies hire them.

PR effect

A good PR agency aims to understand the target audience and find the right way of immersing this audience in a campaign based on solid research. Another aspect of PR is about changing perceptions and attitudes over time. A good example of such a campaign is the Central Office of Information (COI) campaign to change public attitudes to drink-driving. The campaign produced some powerful advertising campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s and even today there are some excellent TV ads which undoubtedly have had a massive impact on people’s mindsets. But the real change in public attitudes was the result of a long and sustained PR campaign that influenced key opinion formers, until eventually the tide of public opinion turned, and drink-driving became taboo.

A similar long-running COI campaign is the one that raised awareness of the dangers of smoking. This has seen many different campaigns conceived and executed by advertising agencies, but it is the relentless PR campaign accompanying the advertising that has had the most impact and long-term success – to the extent that public opinion has now all but outlawed smoking in public.

Information age

Healthcare PR agencies have moved into the digital arena. Many now have a dedicated creative department whose job it is to come up with innovative ways of communicating the message with the right impact. Today PR professionals are well aware of the impact of digital technology the on communicating the message. PR agencies build relationships based on trust and establish conversations around issues, and these can be readily implemented in the digital space.

A good digital PR team should be able to offer consultancy on e-media campaign delivery vehicles such as e-PR, blogs, viral videos, targeting the online audience, online editorial outreach and social communities, e.g. Facebook and Twitter.

 These capabilities are particularly relevant to the pharmaceutical industry because the web now plays such an important role in spreading health information, especially when combined with emotive subject matter.

Digital space has become one of the most important areas for pharmaceutical clients to spend part of the marketing budget.

News management

PR isn’t only about getting good news aired; there’s always bad news to be ‘managed’. This process is called either crisis or issues management, or damage limitation. Prudent business planning today always includes a section on what to do in the event of a crisis and nowhere is this more relevant than in the pharmaceutical business, where a crisis can involve loss of life. When trouble strikes in healthcare, the consequences can be enormous. So during a crisis, the healthcare PR agency will have done its preparatory work beforehand by preparing reactive statements, question and answer documents and training spokespeople to be on-message.

One of the most important things an agency can do is to provide the ‘external view’ because internally it can be difficult to recognise and accept that you’re faced with a crisis. The healthcare PR agency should be able to provide a perspective different to the pharmaceutical company’s internal communications team so they can work together to effectively address the crisis.

PR checklist

So how do you get into healthcare PR?

Firstly, it definitely helps to have a scientific background or degree, because then you can understand the biology and the medical terminology – clients expect this and it can be difficult to ‘pick it up as you go along’.

It’s also important that you enjoy writing in order to produce press releases and other writing tasks, e.g. media backgrounders, presentations and project status reports. For this reason, many people with journalist training work well in PR agencies. You need to enjoy working with people and possess good communications skills to liaise with many different people, from brand or PR managers to healthcare professionals, patient organisations and the media. Organising meetings and events is an integral part of the job. You will be involved in arranging press briefings, media advisory boards and media training sessions. You will be responsible for liaising and briefing speakers, developing presentation slides and delegate-packs as well as organising logistical requirements for the event. Knowing the media is as important as understanding the Healthcare industry. Having the right media contacts as well as a good news hook gives you the opportunity to place a great news story.

Getting started

You need to have a genuine interest in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, and a desire to learn about the industry is a must. Lots of PR agencies will take on undergraduates as part of a work placement programme, or graduates as part of an intern programme – but they often won’t pay very much so you should be prepared to gain the experience for very little reward.

Entry level is either as a graduate trainee or a Junior Account Executive. Be prepared to get questions at interview about what you have read recently in the press about any sort of current health issues such as women's health, new cancer treatments, MRSA defense, obesity etc. Many PR agencies are fun, open plan environments providing on-the-job training. There is also fairly quick career development if you show aptitude. Many healthcare PR agencies have global accounts, so there’s usually the opportunity to travel and experience different working cultures.

Call us to find out if you're brilliant on 020 8334 5522