Healthy Skepticism Library item: 3833
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: news
Thomaselli R.
Glaxo drafts employees to polish industry image.
The Age (Melbourne) 2006 Feb 21
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47970
Notes:
Ralph Faggotter’s Comments:
Now we, the poor long-suffering public, are all to be re-educated to eliminate our unwarranted skepticism by the shiny new brigade of foot-in-the-door salemen from Big Pharma.
But wouldn’t it have been simpler for the industry just to have behaved a bit more ethically? – then we wouldnt have become so skeptical in the first place!
Full text:
GLAXO DRAFTS EMPLOYEES TO POLISH INDUSTRY IMAGE
by debunkb1gpharma on Tue 21 Feb 2006 07:18 AM PST
New Strategy Makes Entire Sales Force a National PR Machine
February 21, 2006
By Rich Thomaselli
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Troubled by the worsening reputation of drug
companies that is ranked just above tobacco and oil manufacturers,
pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is out to win over a skeptical
public — by turning its entire sales force into a PR machine.
Unprecedented mission
In an unprecedented mission, the $35.4 billion pharmaceutical giant has
quietly anointed its 8,000 U.S. sales representatives as “public
relations ambassadors” to lift its image and that of the beleaguered
industry with grassroots PR. The initiative, dubbed the ”Value of
Medicine,” was created by Michael Pucci, GSK’s VP-external advocacy, to
respond to overwhelming criticism and negative perception of the
pharmaceutical industry.
“What we’re leveraging here is asking our employees to talk to people,
even if they just start with their family members,” he said.
Deciding to eschew a traditional corporate branding campaign, Mr. Pucci
instead has unofficially “deputized” his sales force to speak on behalf
of GSK and the industry about the affordability of prescription
medication; how today’s medicines fund the next generation of
blockbuster drugs; access to state and federal programs that offset drug
prices; and even some common misconceptions about direct-to-consumer
advertising.
Every county
Armed with salient talking points and answers to tough questions, the
sales force is out speaking to Rotarians, Elks, Lions Club members,
senior-citizen groups, weekly newspapers, schools and every community
group they can think of. And Mr. Pucci said GSK has enough sales reps to
cover every county in every state in the country.
“Reputation matters,” Mr. Pucci said. “In this industry, it’s so
important. We have to tell that story of how we’re investing for the
future.”
He said the majority of questions the reps receive revolve around
pricing, and he has given them what he calls a “learning system” that
takes 50 minutes to master and will enable the rep to satisfy queries
about the company and the industry. GSK reps made 15,000 presentations
last year, Mr. Pucci said, reaching 1.8 million people.
The seeds of the effort were sown when Mr. Pucci two years ago viewed a
Harris Interactive poll on the perception of various industries.
Pharmaceutical companies received a 44% favorable rating in 2004, a big
plunge from 79% in 1997, putting drug makers in the uncomfortable
company of tobacco and oil titans. So he went to GSK Vice Chairman Bob
Ingram and said, “We have to play offense here. We have to tell our story.”
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