A communications strategy that grew from the commitment of the business leadership of several pharmaceutical companies to ensure that no one in the country would go without prescription medicine because of inability to pay has earned America's Pharmaceutical Companies top prize in the Arthur W. Page Society's Page Principles awards program.

The program selected for this award must represent one or more of the Page Principles in its development and/or implementation and demonstrate the critical importance of effective communications strategy and execution. The Page Principles are six principles of public relations management practiced by Arthur W. Page as a means of implementing his philosophy: Tell the truth; Prove it with action; Listen to the customer; Manage for tomorrow; Conduct public relations as if the entire company depends on it; and Realize a company's true character is expressed by its people.

America's pharmaceutical companies - including Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Schering-Plough and Wyeth - have adopted a broad-based agenda to expand the industry's mission beyond discovering and providing medicines to becoming "partners in health" for Americans. A cornerstone of this new agenda was the creation and nationwide launch of the "Partnership for Prescription Assistance" (PPA) program. Launched in early April 2005, the PPA brings together more than 1,200 national and state organizations, health care providers, and patient advocacy groups to help to ensure that no one in this country goes without prescription medicine because of an inability to pay.

PPA's objectives were clear - the program wanted to raise awareness of and increase participation in patient assistance programs; drive potential enrollees to the toll-free number and Web site; make patient assistance programs easier for patients and providers to use; and demonstrate the industry's commitment to improving health care affordability and access.

Launching a program of such importance and magnitude would have been impossible without a strategically planned communications effort. Effort around the program was the culmination of more than eighteen months of strategy and planning by the above-mentioned pharmaceutical companies, their strategic partners and their public affairs firm, APCO Worldwide.

The PPA team viewed the media as a partner in their effort to reach and assist as many people as possible. As a result, they worked with the media to find ways to highlight issues of importance for their constituencies, be they local, national or specific to some disease or ethnic subset.

In the first 100 days of operations, the PPA matched more than 600,000 patients to at least one patient assistance program. This represents an impressive match rate of more than 60% of the more than 900,000 people who have contacted the PPA - highlighting the success of the targeted communications strategy.

For those surveyed who used the program, awareness of the PPA was driven through a variety of communications channels. Especially impressive is that more than 90% of those matched through the PPA had never before enrolled in a patient assistance program - confirming that the communications program was reaching the critical audience.

The PPA team felt it was imperative to incorporate the following Page Principles into the PPA communications effort:

1. Tell the Truth. The team believed from the earliest moments of the PPA that the program must be a credible and sustained effort. The team also felt that they must be transparent in efforts with the media, their partners, elected officials and the patients.

2. Prove it with Action/Listen to the Customer. Before launching the PPA, the team spent nearly eighteen-months conducting exhaustive research of the following groups: patients, health care providers and patient advocates. The team wanted the groups to address several issues and perspectives - for example, not only on their expectations of pharmaceutical companies and what the companies could do for them, but also how they could do it best. The team then created a program to address those concerns.

3. Realize a Company's True Character as Expressed by its People. As part of the PPA communications plan, pharmaceutical companies launched RxColleagues.com - the first-ever Web site to focus exclusively on employees of all pharmaceutical companies. PPA also distributes a bi-weekly newsletter to employees to inform them of the ongoing activities of the program. The newsletter includes information about program statistics, media coverage, bus tour information, national partner updates and testimonials from patients and partners.

4. Manage for Tomorrow. Designed to constantly facilitate enrollment, the success of the PPA relies heavily on ongoing program evaluation, tracking results, and making the appropriate modifications. One example of improving the program is its expansion of the navigation system. In April, the program offered access to more than 275 public and private programs that could provide more than 1,200 brand-name prescription medicines. Today, the PPA provides access to more than 475 public and private programs that provides nearly 2,500 brand-name prescription medicines.

The Page Society commends America's Pharmaceutical Companies for the effort that has helped bring prescription benefits to America's deserving patients.

About the Arthur W. Page Society

The Arthur W. Page Society is a professional association composed primarily of the chief communications officers (CCOs) of the world's top multinational corporations, and the CEOs of the world's largest public relations agencies. The organization's members also include academics from the leading business and communications schools.

The Page Society is dedicated to strengthening the management policy role of chief communications officers. The Page Society is upheld by management concepts, known as the Page Principles, which have been tested for more than half a century and have earned the support and respect of chief executive officers throughout the country. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Arthur W. Page Society.

Contact Information:
Karen Arnold
212-400-7959, ext 102
comms@awpagesociety.com