Case Study - Roche
Strategy:
Roche and Mediatrack agreed upon a quick-turnaround monthly report
to track the media’s reaction to Tamiflu and associated events.
To put the analysis into context, we suggested evaluating coverage from July - some
three months prior to the thrust of media coverage - and then set about identifying
the main areas for evaluation. Our strategy would thus enable us to focus on:
- Specific examination of key issues
- Impact of main events and how successfully Roche
has countered any negative issues
- Profile of coverage by country and key sources
Achieving the Objective:
We carried out the evaluation according to this strategy in order to meet the agreed
objectives. Every story was analysed using our sophisticated yet simple favourability
score to enable Roche to get objective feed-back as to how favourable
or otherwise the coverage was. Our bespoke coding protocol enabled us to track
key messages and the impact on Roche’s reputation
within the media. Trend comparisons could then be made each month
and compared over time.
Bullet point commentary covering the highlights and key findings
along with clear charts were provided to the communications team.
We then took the findings a step further to focus on the strengths and weaknesses
in the coverage and provide recommendations and actionable
information which was then fed into future communications planning
and activities.
We also developed a bespoke online programme to enable Roche to
access data via their own client-specific and secure web-page. This allowed the
team to drill down into their data for specific details on journalists, media, messages
and issues, and review on a country comparison basis.
"Mediatrack, together with Roche, quickly established the
principles on which this analysis would be based. Their response and suggestions
have provided us with invaluable information which we’ve used to help plan our communications
activities around Tamiflu." Daniel Piller, Head Roche
Group Media Office
How did the media respond to Tamiflu and what has been the impact on Roche’s
reputation?
Media interest in Tamilfu was relatively low-key during the first three months,
with coverage typically accounting for about a fifth of the monthly total. However,
as bird flu climbed up the media agenda, Tamiflu was increasingly
responsible for driving a greater proportion of Roche’s coverage,
accounting for almost three quarters in October and two thirds in November.
Favourability of coverage fell every month between October and December when media
attention was at its highest, and this in turn had some impact on Roche’s
overall favourability. Importantly however, our analysis showed that it never dipped
into negative territory and once the media furore died down, it quickly recovered
to its usual high level.
The threat of an avian flu pandemic was an inherently negative event but Roche
maintained an excellent reputation and, indeed, in many ways the threat has helped
to boost the organisation. For example, news of the 2005 Financial Results generated
a series of excellent reviews across all countries: "The group has achieved
results which surely will be hard to beat"; "Roche is currently the most
innovative drugs group worldwide".
Overall, Roche’s response to the flu pandemic has shown the organisation
to be a committed group clearly at the forefront on the key issues affecting the
pharmaceutical industry.
How effectively were the key issues communicated?
Reporting of Government stockpiling remained at the forefront of
coverage, unsurprising given that the issue of available vaccine was of real interest
to the media. We identified several stories which portrayed a proactive Roche
in the face of the incipient outbreak of the disease, and these were highlighted
so that similar themes could be rolled out across other media.
Production capacity was another key issue and we documented how
Roche effectively defused any concerns by announcing that it would
be working with a collaborative production network to expand production capacities
of Tamiflu. The selection of strategic alliances to increase production
and the decision not to enforce patents on developing countries was a very positive
reaction to the accusations about production difficulties and monopolisation.
Roche effectively improved their CSR profile and
these stories were uniformly positive. For example, the response in April to
Roche’s announcement of the availability of a rapid-response stockpile
to the World Health Organisation was overwhelmingly positively reported.
What events impacted on coverage and how did Roche deal with them?
Initial discussions over the flu pandemic went very well for Roche
as a variety of positive issues were embraced. Events were quickly highlighted to
enable Roche to respond to any negative issues through clear and consistent targeting.
Negative reporting resulted from the New England Journal of Medicine’s questioning
of the efficacy of Tamiflu as a direct result of a suggested link
between suicides in Japan with Tamiflu. Spokesperson comments helped
to lessen the impact of this coverage. We documented that any criticisms of the
drug’s efficacy were not widespread and any negative issues were well contained.
Our analysis shows that Tamiflu has increased the profile of the
pharmaceutical industry as a whole and promoted the area of responsibility in particular.
The response of Roche to the threat from Avain flu has been generally
favourable, with the vast majority of articles seen to have a positive influence
on the press understanding of the industry.
"Mediatrack’s insightful analysis has helped us to plan our media relations
strategy and activities to ensure clear communication. Their clear and concise reports
are filled with helpful data, easy to understand charts and we can quickly and easily
find the relevant key information. Their ability to respond to our changing needs
has proved to be invaluable in managing our press coverage on a global level."
Daniel Piller, Head Roche Group Media Office