The power of three

Health campaigns often include a media element. But for many marketers, the media environment remains a chaotic and unpredictable place. Can a deeper understanding of the health media environment help us communicate more successfully with it? To provide insight into media communications strategy, Oxygen Health Communications recently carried out some research which identified three key considerations for media success – story, stakeholders and messaging.

Story – what type do you have?
Your story is the foundation of your health campaign and will have a big impact on its outcome. But which types of story are the most covered by journalists? To answer this, an analysis of media coverage on diabetes was conducted over a one-year time frame. Media articles published during 2010 were sourced from Google News under the search term 'type 2 diabetes'. A total of 182 media articles were identified from UK media outlets during this period.

Of the 182 media articles identified in type 2 diabetes, there were 104 different sources of stories. An analysis of the types of story driving media coverage was interesting.

The main story type driving media coverage was the academic publication, which accounted for nearly 50% of all media articles during the 12-month period. The next largest driver, after features, was the patient group report at 9%, followed by publication of NHS data at 5%, conferences at 5% and patient case studies at 4%. A breakdown of the main drivers of coverage is shown in the figure below.

It's clear then that some types of story are more popular with the media. When planning your media strategy, ask yourself what the drivers of stories are in your campaign. Be realistic if your story is a piece of company or regulatory news which may be less newsworthy.

Does your campaign tie in with media 'hot topics'? When the subject matter of diabetes media articles was analysed, most were on the epidemiology of diabetes, or diabetes therapies (32 media articles each), followed by diet (28), research (17) and obesity (9). Bubbling under were editorials on the cost of treatments and patient case histories at seven and six articles, respectively. Ask yourself if your story fits in with the types of articles that appear regularly in the media. If not, the subject matter may be a hard sell and the campaign may require more thought or creativity.

Stakeholders: can they make a difference?
Most campaigns involve media spokespeople, be they medical experts running clinical trials, members of special interest groups or company representatives. But what kinds of spokespeople might you need to work with to offer the best chances of success?

In the type 2 diabetes data, a total of 136 experts were quoted in editorials. The most common professions were physician / researcher (85 individuals), patient group representative (30) and professional group representative (6).

The most prominent group quoted in diabetes articles was Diabetes UK, whose 15 spokespeople appeared in a total of 77 media articles, or 28% of all media coverage. Other key groups included the British Heart Foundation and the National Obesity Forum, with five and three spokespeople quoted, respectively.

If there are opportunities for relevant third party groups to engage with your campaign, it can make a big difference to the outcome. In health campaigns, often industry and third party groups are working with similar or overlapping objectives which can provide opportunities for joined-up activities.

Within the therapy area in which you're working, there is likely to be a core group of journalists and publications that cover relevant news regularly. The analysis in type 2 diabetes identified a total of 39 media outlets publishing stories on type 2 diabetes during the 12 months. Thirty eight journalists were bylined. Significantly, nine journalists were found to be responsible for creating 23% of all media coverage in this therapy area.

In terms of the publications you target, some will be more relevant than others. In type 2 diabetes, the Daily Telegraph proved to be the most prolific media outlet, generating 26% of all media coverage. Reuters UK created 16% of coverage while the Daily Mail and Daily Express created 7% and 6%, respectively. Make sure you identify, and work closely with, key journalists and publications in your therapy area.

Messaging – how will your story translate?
Getting journalists to cover your campaign can be challenging enough but an additional challenge is trying to ensure that the story is reported accurately. A recent analysis of the content of four national press news articles, reporting on a study published in a peer-reviewed publication, revealed a surprising amount of variation in the reporting.

The news articles were published in the Daily Mail, Times, Telegraph and Guardian and all contained differing information about the treatments used, dosages and whether to seek medical advice for a prescription or self-treat with an OTC medication. In addition, one article questioned the key findings of the study and suggested an alternative approach, recommended by a third party professional group. As a result of the reporting, patients could try one of a range of approaches to manage their condition, depending on which newspaper they chose to read.

This is not to criticise the journalists and publications involved but goes to show the different interpretations that can be made of an interesting and valid study, one which offered important findings for patients.

When considering a media campaign, it is therefore critically important to develop succinct key messages which resonate and can be easily interpreted by journalists for their readership. Journalists don't expect you to write the story for them, but they do need to grasp the key elements quickly. And message development needs to take place while working within regulatory frameworks and best practices.

Tina Batchelor, Public Relations Manager at Roche, said: "There are two factors that need to be balanced to develop successful media communications. The first is to create materials that get the attention of busy journalists and have real impact. The second is to ensure that materials contain factual and balanced information that presents newsworthy data, for example, in a responsible way."

Conclusion
Successfully communicating stories based on advances in health, science and technology remains a challenge. However, three steps should leave you well-placed to achieve success. Firstly, ask yourself what your story is, and how it fits in with the media landscape. Secondly, identify and work closely with key stakeholders in the therapy area and the media. And finally, work hard to develop the strongest possible media messages to communicate your story.

The author
Richard Oakley is Managing Director at Oxygen Health Communications Ltd and can be contacted at richard@oxygencomms.com