Advice You - Business

Because when it comes to public relations, non-believers can produce a double-bummer -- missed opportunity AND a ton of wasted money. It really is a shame because we do public relations to change the behaviors of certain groups of people important to the success of t

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

hose very Doubting Thomases.

And speaking of non-believers, what's the real reason some shy away from public relations? I believe it's because they don't understand, or believe, the direct connection between what public relations is capable of delivering and their nee

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

to achieve specific business objectives.

So, what do we say to non-believers?

Surely it's not that difficult a concept to understand or accept? People act on their perception of the facts; those perceptions lead to certain behaviors; and something can be done about

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

those perceptions and behaviors that leads to achieving your organization's objectives. That's pretty good!

Better yet, you can establish the degree of behavior change you want, up front, then insist on getting that result before you pronounce the public relations eff

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

rt a success.

That way, you KNOW you're getting your money's worth.

But it gets better. How can you measure the results of any activity more accurately than when you clearly achieve the goal you set at the beginning of that activity? You can't. It's pure success when

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ou meet that goal.

Public relations is no different. The client/employer wants our help in altering counterproductive perceptions among key audiences which almost always change behaviors in a way that helps him or her get to where they want to be.

But, the Doubting T

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

homases might ask, are we really qualified to do that job?

I think yes, because everything we do is based on the same realities -- people act on their perception of the facts, and we can do something about those perceptions. So, when public relations activity success

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ully creates, changes or reinforces that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired- action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the public relations effort is a success.

In practice, you may want people to perceive your organization more po

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

itively, thus strengthening its reputation. Or, you could communicate a company's strengths to a target audience leading them to a positive perception of the firm, in turn leading to new investments in the company's shares.

I know our non-believers are not primarily i

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

terested in our ability to communicate, paint images or schmooz with the media. Nor are they especially fascinated with our efforts to identify target audiences, set public relations goals and strategies, write persuasive messages and select communications tactics.

Wh

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

t I believe they DO want is a change in the behaviors of certain key audiences leading directly to the achievement of their business objectives.

Which is why I continually stress that quality planning, and the degree of behavioral change it produces, defines the suc

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

cess or failure of a public relations program.

Done correctly, when public relations results in modified behaviors among groups of people important to an organization, we could be talking about nothing less than its survival.

But that means public relations professional

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

must modify somebody's behavior if they are to help hit the objective and earn a paycheck - I believe everything else is a means to that end.

But, we can't let the Doubting Thomases off the hook without reminders that some very basic but unattended perceptions may

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

e out there that could lead to very costly negative behaviors. For example, if sales prospects are unaware of your product or service, you will not get them as customers; if your customers don't remain convinced of the value of your product or service, you lose them

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

and if employees believe you don't care about them, productivity suffers.

And on and on when still more audiences like citizens, journalists, regulators, investors and legislators don't believe you.

So, what do I believe the unbelievers still want from us whether the

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

know it or not? I believe they want us to apply our special skills in a way that helps them achieve their business objectives. But no matter what strategic plan we create to solve a problem, no matter what tactical program we put in place, at the end of the day we m

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ust modify somebody's behavior for them if we are to earn our money.

Which is why I say that when you measure our real effectiveness, you will be fully satisfied with those public relations results only when our "reach, persuade and move-to-desired-action" efforts pr

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

duce that visible modificationin the behaviors of those people you wish to influence. In my view, this is the central, strategic function of public relations - the basic context in which we must operate.

As for the Doubting Thomases, I hope these remarks contain a n

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

gget or two that assists you in leading them to a better understanding of how public relations works. Especially how it can strengthen relationships with those important groups of people - those target audiences whose perceptions and behaviors can help or hinder the

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

chievement of their business objectives.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly © 2005

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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