Global medical credibility
Any product or service relating to cardiac care will be competing for share of voice in a crowded market. Every major manufacturer has a presence here, and will have developed relationships with global key opinion leaders over time. In such a saturated environment, advocacy development initiatives can be challenging. But why try to communicate with the ‘usual suspects'? Many academic and medical departments will have ‘rising stars' - the most promising next generation of cardiac experts. These emerging experts will have new perspectives on cardiac care and can offer a fresh outlook. Building relationships at this level is one way of communicating your vision.

Whilst nearly all healthcare professionals welcome statins as the single most effective method for reducing LDL-C, a communication challenge is faced when positioning the use of medicines against lifestyle changes to improve cardiac care. How can you encourage medics to communicate balanced messages?

Mobilise your forces
You may well be familiar with the ‘statin wars' and criticisms levied at pharmaceutical manufacturers for ‘over-hyping' statin data. This debate may be resonating in the minds of your colleagues. In-house communication professionals require the support of their whole team to run an effective programme. This can be achieved by remembering the historical context of the treatment area, the heritage of the product and/or company, and the necessity to empower internal stakeholders. There may also be a residual ‘fear factor' within your operating environment, so brand messages need to be educational, and most importantly, grounded in facts.

Understand the local environment
With these elements in place, attention turns to the national implementation of the campaign. Regulations vary from country to country, so communication agencies need to produce plans that can be adapted and tailored at a local level. Here, national socio-demographic trends can provide a really useful tool for making an international story locally relevant. Market research that teases out regional trends, and perhaps explores international differences, may provide useful news-hooks.

Most statins, even at low doses, are unquestionably effective. However, in many western countries we have seen an emergence of ‘functional foods', some of which reduce LDL-C by up to 14%. How should medicines be positioned against these types of products, which are perceived to be more ‘user friendly'?

Communications at a local level need to be based upon a solid understanding of the cultural and media climate of that country - just how strong is the holistic health movement?

Disinterested. Disbelieving
CHD is a silent killer - there are often no warning signs until it's too late! This means that many individuals with a propensity for CHD may not understand their risk. Enabling people that represent this patient population to communicate with their peers can make the issue more tangible. Perhaps you can find individuals at risk of CHD and help them improve their health? Such a strategy has dual-benefits: creating issue-ambassadors and ‘campaign faces'. Finding these case studies is the challenge….

Individuals most likely to be affected by CHD are men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55. Here, an inherent communication challenge is encountered: men in this age group are often disinterested about their health, and women are disbelieving that CHD will affect them. Communication campaigns need to cut through the multitude of messages that these audiences receive on a daily basis. A recent and exciting innovation in the UK came from the Department of Health, when nurses were sent directly into pubs to talk to the predominantly middle-aged male customers about their cardiac health. Thinking “outside of the box” can mean the difference between effective and ineffective communication.

Communicate your vision
With medical credibility and internal support in place, as well as the necessary collateral to communicate with the public, attention falls to communication channels. With the CHD market being so crowded, a wealth of information is issued on a daily basis. Will your agency use effective techniques that reach intended audiences and develop meaningful relationships? Is February 14th really a sufficient news-hook, or do communication agencies need to work a little bit harder?

Campaign success relies upon understanding stakeholders and communicating with them in environments where they will be receptive to your messages. These messages need to be developed and delivered in a way that is appropriate to the audience. Stakeholders need to be informed, engaged, educated and empowered to take interest in your issue(s).