October 2010

Public Relations Awareness about Awareness Months

Awareness days, weeks and months - for everything from fall prevention to diabetic neuropathy - have become a dime a dozen over the years and as a result, have tremendously diminished impact with the news media. While biotech and medical device companies may want to promote their products that tie into an awareness day, we as a PR agency know that it is a hard sell.

That’s not to say that all awareness days have lost their significance. For instance, Heart Disease Month in February and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October are still covered by the media and can be great vehicles as we conduct medical device and biotech PR. Given that October is coming to a close, I thought I would talk about some work that we recently did with our client LifeCell that strives to raise awareness for breast cancer reconstruction. Starting early, we reached out to national and local media to talk about the breast cancer reconstruction as an alternative to surgery. In addition to local coverage in cities across the country, we secured national coverage on breast cancer in Essence Magazine and the Today Show.

Here are some tips to get the most out of your PR campaigns tied to awareness days:

·       Extra, Extra. it’s not just your regular contacts. Go outside your traditional media list. For instance, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Mario Lopez on the tabloid entertainment show Extra conducts a segment on new and innovative breast cancer treatments. Who would have thought?!

·       Must tie products into hot issues. As a medical PR agency, we know that we will be shot down in seconds if we just say our client X has a new treatment that you should cover because it’s National Heart Disease Month. Rather, the strategic way to go is to discuss a trend, explain its relevance and then use the awareness month as a reason for coverage today, not months down the road.

·       Start early. Monthly women’s magazines start planning issues months in advance. In order to make the October issue, you need to start contacting them in the summer.

Do you have any tips or tricks for getting coverage during awareness months? If so, we’d love to hear them.

Posted by Lauren Arnold on October 29, 2010 at 3:08 PM
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H.R.H Prince Carl Philip (of Sweden) and The Small Child's Fund

Today H.R.H Prince Carl Philip handed out a research grant of 260 000 SEK to five recipients on behalf of Lilla Barnets fond (translated: The Small Child’s Fund) in Stockholm, Sweden. Prince Carl Philip is the official protector of the fund. The recipients of the research grant included pediatricians, researchers and professors who are important to the advancement of neonatal care.

The Small Child’s Fund is a new pro bono client of Schwartz Stockholm. Schwartz Director Annica Holmberg represented Schwartz Communications today at the ceremony at the Swedish Society of Medicine in Stockholm.

“This is a charity close to my heart, having had the need for neonatal care for both of my children,” said Annica. “Neonatal care has advanced during the past 20-30 years but in spite of this, almost one baby in neonatal care dies every day in Sweden. I applaud the efforts of the Fund, Prince Carl Philip and the recipients of the grant. I’m proud that Schwartz Communications supports this worthy cause.”

Posted by Kristina Ebenius on October 28, 2010 at 1:16 PM
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Debating the Future of Health IT

Recently, I attended Xconomy’s “Face Off on the Future of Health IT” to hear a spirited discussion between two rival entrepreneurs, both of whom continue to have a profound effect on the healthcare IT industry, Jonathan Bush, president, CEO and chairman of the board of athenahealth, and Girish Navani, CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks. Pamela McNamara, president of Cambridge Consultants, moderated the event at the spectacular offices of WilmerHale, high atop 60 State Street overlooking Faneuil Hall and Charlestown.

Over the course of an hour, Bush and Navani covered a lot of ground – from insights into their own companies and health reform to the competition. Both executives shared their organizational growth and product sales strategies. Navani wanted to start his own company and have control over decisions. Bush wanted to take advantage of the capital available in the public markets; athenahealth is a publicly traded company.

Their approach to computing differed as well. For Bush, the software itself shouldn’t be viewed as the product, whereas Navani sees software as the product to customize. Both executives expressed distrust in the billions of dollars that the U.S. government is pouring into incentives for doctors to adopt electronic medical records, and what that will do for the future progress of the industry. You can read Ryan McBride’s full account of the evening in “athenahealth and eClinicalWorks CEOs Explain Their Differences, Critique Software Subsidies.” 

Before and after the discussion, Schwartz’s video team caught up with several participants and attendees to get their take on the future of health IT, including Bob Buderi, founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of Xconomy; Jonathan Bush, CEO of athenahealth; Jeff Livingstone, industry strategist, healthcare and life science of Akamai; Pamela McNamara, president of Cambridge Consultants; and Caleb Stowell, medical student at Harvard Medical School.

Here’s what they said about “The next wave in healthcare IT?”, “The patient’s role,” “Physicians adopting technology” and “How companies are advancing the healthcare IT industry.”

Xconomy has a number of terrific events around healthcare, biotech, technology and venture capital coming up in November and December. We hope you will join us.

Posted by Davida Dinerman on at 8:50 AM
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From Paper to Podium: Tips for a Successful Speaking Program

A speaking engagement is a powerful opportunity for a company to deliver the right messages and to showcase its brand with customers, partners and prospects. A short list of organizations that offer healthcare conferences includes: HIMSS, HFMA, MGMA, AHIP, AHIMA, Health 2.0, World Healthcare Congress, DMAA Forum, RSNA, American Telemedicine Association, Mass. Health Data Consortium, Government Health IT, Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI), TEDMED and AMGA.

Once you find the right mix of conferences, the next trick is identifying the most compelling topics and writing non-salesy proposals. Here are some tips on how to create and execute a successful speaking program:

1.    Lay the groundwork – The first step to creating a speaking program is to get a good grasp on what your company is qualified to talk about, the messages you want to convey to your audiences and the right spokespeople for each topic. Develop a few basic abstracts (or topic summaries) that can provide the basis for submissions. You can glean material from existing pitches, white papers and bylined articles. You can also interview the subject matter experts for background information around which to write the abstract.

2.    Research events – Research events in the industry and in your target geographical area. Many trade publications and associations list events on their website, which can help lead you to the right trade shows. You might also take a peek at where your competitors are speaking or exhibiting. 

3.    Stay organized – Create a grid that will include a comprehensive list of all the conferences and events that are taking place in your industry over the course of a year. The grid should include: the conference name, date and location of the conference, the conference website's URL, an overview or brief description of the conference agenda, the deadline for speaking submissions and the contact information for the speaking coordinator. This will be a dynamic document that you should update and modify weekly or as information changes.

Use your speaking grid to keep track of due dates for speaking submissions. Each conference will usually issue a Call for Proposals (sometimes called a Call for Papers) six to nine months in advance of the event. Categories of presentations include: keynotes and stand-alone presentations for anywhere from 60-90 minutes on an industry topic or case study; panels or roundtables with a vendor, customer, expert and/or analyst; and technology demonstrations.

When communicating with a conference producer, ask him or her about the best way to send your information and then deliver exactly what they want. Many conferences require an online submission. Make sure your speaker has credibility and experience, and that the material you submit is useful and unique. Find out if you can submit more than one abstract for each track or for different tracks.

4.    Start early – Start the submission process early to get an “in” with the speaking coordinator. Remember that many people are submitting their proposals for the same conferences at which you'd like to appear. The conference coordinator can provide you with valuable guidance about the kinds of submissions they are seeking and the success factors. Some coordinators welcome the opportunity to speak with executives to help formulate ideas for a proposal. If you start early enough, you might be able to influence the conference director to create another track based off your abstract.

5.    Invite a customer or other third party expert– Speaking sessions should not be salesy. Conference coordinators tend to view vendor-only sessions as too product- or service-focused. Alternatively, sessions delivered by end-users and/or analysts are better received since customers will be talking to an audience of peers and not a vendor speaking to prospects. In many cases, the sessions, whether they cover a technology topic or a case study, will speak directly to an in-house project with results and experiences, which makes for a more compelling session.

6.    Write the speaking abstract(s) - The purpose of a speaking abstract is to summarize your proposed presentation in a brief but compelling way to interest the conference coordinators. The abstract should include a catchy session title, a general overview on what will be covered, clear learning objectives and a brief biography of the speaker(s). Note this is a general list of requirements. 

If a publication is sponsoring the show, research the outlet to find out the hot topics. Most conferences offer a set of categories and tracks into which submissions should fall—pick wisely. If you are unsure of which track will fit, contact the coordinator.

If the submission is online only, ask the conference coordinator if he/she could send the document separately so you can work on it prior to submitting it online. Many times, you can type in sample information to get to each page and copy/paste the questions into a Word document. This way, you can collaborate on the questions if you need to, and then submit when you’re ready.

7.    Track progress – Some conferences have an auto-reply to an online submission. If not, be sure to follow up with the speaking coordinator to make sure he/she received the submission. Take note of when you should be hearing about acceptances or declines. Some conference coordinators only send congratulatory communications, others send communications either way. Make sure to include multiple contact people in the submission to ensure you receive communications from the conference in a timely manner.

8.    Establish a good reputation – Once your company has secured a few speaking engagements, it's important to develop a strong reputation on the speaking circuit so that you will be top-of-mind for future events. Keep a list of references from prior conferences. Make sure to meet deadlines and arrive at the conference fully prepared and at the scheduled time.

9.    Promote the presentation – Consider drafting a media alert about the presentation and announcing it a week prior to the event. This is an excellent way to be associated with the topic. It is also a great tool to use when you reach out to attendees, media or otherwise. You can suggest to people that they attend this session. If any cannot, offer to arrange a one-on-one meeting with the speaker. Sometimes journalists pull a few speakers for a separate round-up on the event and its key topics.

You can also post messages on Facebook, tweet and blog about your speaking slot a number of times before the event, preferably starting months in advance. Make the posts richer with a video link. If a few people from your organization will be at the conference, conduct short interviews and create a video talking about what you're looking forward to seeing at the conference. Not only are you getting the word out about your opportunity, but you are also helping the conference organizers promote the event.

Along these lines, take photos at the event. You might take some at booths or other events, but mostly of people so you can see their faces and identify them. Post the photos during or right after the conference on Flickr with the tag used by the conference--don't make up your own tag--or include in your blog, and Facebook and Twitter entries. You're getting the word out about your opportunity while helping the conference organizers promote the event.

When it comes to a speaking program, the process is critical. However, personality and follow-up skills are important elements. And if you've made it to the conference, as a speaker or an attendee, take the time to introduce yourself personally to the conference organizers. Familiarity and enthusiasm, through the personal touch and general promotion, might benefit you when it's time to submit for next year's program.  

Posted by Davida Dinerman on October 1, 2010 at 10:18 AM
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