Pfizer: A Healthy Dose of Grassroots Marketing

Submitted by ckwebacct on Tue, 2011-07-12 14:35
The Challenge: 

In May 2006, C+K was hired by Pfizer to helppromote prevention as a larger part of state
health-care policy, in both the public and private sector. C+K proposed that Pfizer be the founding member of a coalition of groups concerned about healthcare policy and the importance of prevention.

The Approach: 

In order to ensure results, we also proposed that the coalition should be used to move
government leaders in Connecticut toward adopting new prevention policies, rather than spending the client’s budget on generic pro-prevention messages that may or may not garner results over the long term.

C+K helped build and recruit for a coalition that is still growing and now has fifteen members
representing a variety of perspectives. We developed a brand, called Be Healthy CT, as well as
an advertising campaign for the coalition that included a website (www.behealthy.org). The Be
Healthy CT website was used as a means to activate grassroots support for more prevention
programming in Connecticut’s healthcare system.

Website visitors were urged, through advertising, to use the Be Healthy site to contact
government leaders on the issue. In addition, several op-eds were published in Connecticut
newspapers by coalition members and political leaders. We also supported the public relations
efforts with TV, radio, transit, and outdoor advertising. The development of a tradeshow booth
was also necessary, as Be Healthy CT was a sponsor of the 2006 NBC 30 Health and Wellness Festival. Additional collateral materials were also developed in the form of a presentation folder and palm card.

The Results: 

The Speaker of the House, Senate President, Comptroller and Public Health Committee chairman have all endorsed the Be Healthy CT agenda and are actively pushing prevention based healthcare reforms in this session of the legislature.

Members of the coalition have also formed a working group of state government and union
leaders and are working on a plan to use the Connecticut state employee workforce as a model
for how prevention healthcare can improve health and lower costs. On February 1, 2007 the
legislature’s Public Health Committee held an informational hearing on the need for more
prevention programming.