Challenge
All companies feel compelled to talk about environmental focus and there is a danger that this can seem like “green-washing”. The NHS has a goal of becoming carbon net zero by 2040 and it has a focus on respiratory inhalers and gaseous anaesthetics as major contributor to the issue. We needed to develop a strategy and key communication messages that were not only compliant but also compelling and differentiated for this UK affiliate of a respiratory company.
Action
We started by gathering the facts of what this company had already done in regard to reducing its environmental footprint and references to support this. We also understood what it continued to work on. We assessed the landscape by reviewing competitors’ actions and positioning in the green space. Lastly, we assessed what HCPs saw as important. We looked to align importance with the company’s points of differentiation.
Result
A pharma brand is so much more than the medicine in the box – we were able to present the client with a strategy to differentiate their respiratory portfolio from competitors and align with NHS customers. This was cascaded to key communication messages and imagery executed through materials and programs. The story is making a difference – customers can see how it supports NHS environmental goals and how it is different to other medicines they could choose.
Next Steps
“Start with the end in mind” is very true here. This company had made excellent progress on improving its environmental footprint but continued its work to get to net zero. We mapped the forward-looking plan to ensure that our strategy and communication would work in the long term and that future updates to the story strengthened the company’s strategic position over time. If you have a similar project, please do get in touch – [email protected]