ABPI appoints Weber Shandwick for comms support
pharmafile | December 20, 2013 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | PR, Weber shandwick, apbi, comms, digital, luther
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has taken on Weber Shandwick to lead its public affairs and communications strategy.
The comms agency which has almost 300 people in nine offices around the country, starts the contract next year which is to cover public affairs monitoring along with providing policy, and communications support to the ABPI’s in-house team.
Catherine Meaden, ABPI Communications director, said: “The standard of proposals we received for this contract were extremely high, but Weber Shandwick stood out by presenting a compelling campaigning approach as well as having a good understanding of the ABPI’s priorities.”
Weber Shandwick and the ABPI have not always seen eye to eye. Back in August 2011 following the publication of the ABPI’s social media guidelines, the-then head of digital comms for Weber Shandwick, Robert Anderson was not impressed.
He said: “Two-thirds of the staff I spoke to said the ABPI’s guidance has not clarified the dos and don’ts of social media in consumer-facing comms activities.” Anderson also pointed out that the consensus seemed to be that business sponsors were not committing to long-term funding because of the uncertainty, and that this created a ‘vicious cycle’.
All water under the bridge now as its current head of Healthcare and Public Affairs representative Tamora Langley – who is to lead the new deal – said: “The ABPI has a fantastic story to tell in 2014, and we are very excited to be working with them. The pharmaceutical industry is key to our country’s economic recovery, and growth remains the single most pressing issue ahead of the general election.”
Langley said the agency’s sights have been set on the pre-election period, as that provides a ‘unique opportunity’ for the ABPI to set the industry agenda and that it looks forward to helping support their objectives.
Meadon added: “We are very much looking forward to working with them on proactive engagement with our stakeholders on significant issues and to showcase the valuable contribution industry makes.”
The ABPI did have a two-year contract with Luther Pendragon that was due to expire in February 2014, but they were dropped after it was noted that their other health-related client was cigarette firm Philip Morris.
Brett Wells
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