Common to many nonprofits is the develop ment of national publiceducation initiatives or cam paigns to enhance awareness about particular health issues. Often,these campaigns are supported by educational grants from pharmaceutical compa nies. Partnerships with nonprofits are important to pharmaceutical companies for many reasons, including providing “thirdparty credibility” and access to target audiences. Having worked on a number of such programs and having observed the work of others, it has become clear that there are essential components for making campaigns suc cessful. The National Women’s Health Resource Center Inc.has identified theTenCommandments of Public Education Initiatives. Being attentive to these Ten Commandments by both the nonprofit and phar maceutical company will enhance the likelihood of having a successful campaign. FIRST COMMANDMENT Identify the Right Nonprofit Partner The right nonprofit partner should be one that: . Has credibility, so that consumers/professionals will listen . Provides a balanced approach to the subject and offers objectivity . Has a track record of successful campaigns and programs . Has proven positive relations with pharmaceuti cal companies . Can offer an integrated approach to programs . Is easy to work with; makes decisions quickly; works efficiently SECONDCOMMANDMENT Identify Goals and Build the Partnership While the specific goals of the nonprofit and phar maceutical company may differ, the end goal of the campaign should be the same — education.Identify goals of the program early on — from both the non profit’s and pharmaceutical’s perspective, as well as the key educational messages to be delivered. Commit to working together to devel op and implement the most effective campaignstrategies,within the parameters of government and the pharmaceutical’s medical/legal guidelines.Agency involvement can help facilitate dis cussions between the nonprofit and pharmaceutical, as well as help position the relationship andcampaign within the context of broader goals. THIRD COMMANDMENT Think Strategically Develop a multifaceted campaign that incorpo rates offline and online strategies to reach goals. Be creative; think outofthebox to achieve goals and differentiate your organization from others. Don’t just focus on the disease or condition — talk about prevention and lifestyle. Incorporate strategies to empower consumers to take charge of their health and engage in dialogue with their healthcare pro fessionals. FOURTHCOMMANDMENT Target Audience and Distribution One of the key areas to discuss early on is the tar get audience — who should the educational mes sage reach? Be as specific as possible and identify pri orities for each segment of the audience, including: . Consumers;professionals (physicians, nurse pro fessionals, physician assistants, pharmacists) . Women;men;adolescents Making a case for PUBLIC EDUCATION The 10 Commandments of PublicEducation Initiatives PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES IN THE AREA OF RESEARCHANDPUBLICEDUCATION FORMANYYEARS.RELATIONSHIPSWITHNON PROFITS ARE IMPORTANT,ANDTHEY ARE OFTENA REQUIREMENT FORCREDIBILITY. WHEN WORKING WITH NONPROFITS, PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES THAT ADHERE TO THESE 10 COMMANDMENTS WILL FIND THAT THEIR PARTNERSHIPS ARE MOREMEANINGFULAND FULFILLING. Amy Niles is president and CEO of National Women’s Health Resource Center Inc., New Brunswick, N.J., a nonprofit organization, dedicated to helping women make informed decisions about their health and to encourage women to embrace healthy lifestyles to promote wellness and prevent disease. Amy Niles Being attentive to theseTen Commandments will enhance the likelihood of having a successful campaign. 58 J un e 20 03 PharmaVOICE the role media can play in spreading educational messages.The key, and often the challenge, is to cre ate that “media hook”to garner interest. Some addi tional points: . The nonprofit partner should have significant experience working with the media, and should be able to provide experts and spokespersons. . An agency involved with the campaign should have an excellent track record of generating media attention through creativity and out reach. . Media training should always be included, no matter how much experience the nonprofit partner, celebrity, or medical spokespersons bring to the table. Media training can help hone in on the succinct messages to be deliv ered. SIXTH COMMANDMENT Celebrity Involvement Does the campaign’s success depend on having celebrity involvement? Absolutely not. Can it help? Absolutely, if the right celebrity is selected and the right messages are delivered. Finding a celebrity with whom consumers can relate is key.The celebrity will dobest if he or she has the particular disease or condition that is the sub ject of the campaign. The celebrity must be trained to talk generically about the subject and treatment options and not to promote the pharmaceutical company’s drug. In this regard, media training is key. Absent celebrity involvement, or in addition to celebrity involvement,a spokesperson affiliated with the nonprofit organization should be able to effec tively deliver messages on behalf of the campaign. SEVENTH COMMANDMENT Medical Expertise No matter what the subject of the campaign, it is important to have medical expertise, and ideally, a medical spokesperson involved with the campaign. Themedical spokesperson provides enormous cred ibility and can respond to the medical and scientific questions posed by the media. Making a case for PUBLIC EDUCATION . Ages . Minority groups or special populations . Those with particular health concerns . People who speak different languages . Professional specialties and groups Nonprofits can bring to the table wide distribu tion vehicles for the campaign — through its mem bership, subscription base, work with other non profits such as associations, hospitals, women’s centers and academic institutions, the media, and Internet relationships. Pharmaceutical companies also should think creatively about how they can assist with spreading the word — perhaps through their salesforce or through relationships with other nonprofits. Pharmaceutical companies should promote the work with nonprofits internally with their employee base. Too often, staff is the last to know about the great work being done by their employer. FIFTH COMMANDMENT Media Involvement Don’t ignore the value of media outreach and 60 J u n e 2 00 3 PharmaVOICE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT Coalitions The development and implementation of coali tions — groups of consumer and/or professional organizations — that work to meet the education and distribution needs of the campaign sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t work. When considering coalitions, the pharmaceuti cal company and the nonprofit organization need to remember: . Individual organizations will have their own agendas.How will these be managed? . Is a coalition necessary, or can the program be effectively implemented by one, or just a few, organizations? . Should a coalition be desired, identify a lead organization to run the coalition and direct activities. . Support distribution efforts on behalf of individ ual organizations. Distribution can often be expensive propositions for nonprofits. NINTH COMMANDMENT Evaluation At the same time that goals are developed for the campaign,strategies for measuring and evalu ating success should be identified. While bottom line goals of the pharmaceutical company and nonprofit may differ, the two should be able to reach common ground on measurement of pro gram success. TENTHCOMMANDMENT Sustainability The best campaigns are those that: . Are implemented over an extended period of time. A launch event should not be seen as the focus of the campaign,but just the beginning of a stream of activities over a period of time. . Have sufficient budgets to promote and market the campaign effectively. . Provide an integrated approach to delivering information. . Are creative, unique,and meet a health need. PharmaVoice welcomes comments about this article.Email us at [email protected]. COMMANDMENT 1 Identify Partners . National Women’s Health Resource Center and pharmaceutical company public edu cation initiative COMMANDMENT 2 Identify Goals . Qualitative goals — Create focus on lifestyle and healthy behaviors to help prevent heart disease — the No. 1 killer of women. . Quantitative goals — 100 million media impressions; 500 consumers completing online survey; 50,000 distribution of print guide; 10 community events with 100 par ticipants each. COMMANDMENT 3 Identify Strategic Focus . Heart Health and Women — Focuson heart health by life stage, with emphasis on lifestyle and wellness COMMANDMENT 4 Target Audience and Distribution . Consumers — womenbetween the ages of 20 and 65. . Healthcare professionals andnurses (provid ing information for them to distribute to their patients) COMMANDMENT 5 Media Involvement Media Program Elements . Satellite media tour with celebrity and med ical spokespersons . Press release for local and regional newspa pers . Television and radio public service announce ments directing women to tollfree telephone number and Website to get free guide . Media launch event (breakfast) to showcase sur vey results, discuss importance of a healthy lifestyle to prevent heart disease Panel of speakers . President/CEO of nonprofit organization, medi cal spokesperson, celebrity spokesperson, patient Print . Heart Health for Women (comprehensive guide about heart health with focus on healthy lifestyle) . Simple list of health tips to keep your heart healthy . Print insert for major nursing publisher . Print insert for major women’s magazine Online . Consumer survey to gauge what American women are doing in their lives to keep their hearts healthy. . Development of comprehensive content for Website COMMANDMENT 6 Celebrity Involvement . Prominent female sports figure to raise aware ness about importance of a healthy lifestyle at all ages. COMMANDMENT 7 Medical Expertise . Female Cardiologist COMMANDMENT 8 Identify Coalition Community . Regional city events inviting women to speak with medical and celebrity spokespersons about heart health . Invite local media Distribution of Print Guide . Nonprofit constituency,members, chapters . Nonprofit partners — other nonprofits, associations, hospitals, women’s centers, Internet partners . Nonprofit community events and confer ences . Sponsor — salesforce . Sponsor — exhibit booths at conferences COMMANDMENT 9 Evaluation Quantitative Goals Achieved at Conclusion of Phase I of Program . 175 million media impressions (television, media,print) . 1,200 women completing online survey . 65,000 print guides distributed . 10 community events with average of between 100 and 200 at each event COMMANDMENT 10 Sustainability . Nonprofit and pharmaceutical company to identify subsequent phases for the public education initiative basedon mutually iden tified goals . Evaluation process of Phase to determine subsequent activities PUTTINGTHE COMMANDMENTS INTO PRACTICE Making a case for PUBLIC EDUCATION

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