The Value of a Good Reputation in Pharma
“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation,” Benjamin Franklin once wisely observed, “and only one bad one to lose it.”
How many good deeds will it take to repair the pharmaceutical industry’s reputation? That remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: more than ever, a strong reputation translates to a strong bottom line.
In fact, along with tepid economic forecasting which puts 2010’s global pharmaceutical growth at 4% to 6% — still considered historically low — the industry is also besieged by less tangible but deeply corrosive factors that have led to an increasingly unreceptive and cautious regulatory environment.
More critically, it has lost so much favor with consumers, physicians and other stakeholders that, despite recovering from an all-time low net positive rating of -4% in 2004, it continues to lag at the bottom of the reputational scale, with a positive rating of just 25%. What’s more, disgruntled staff are siding with the public and taking on their employers in whistleblower cases, of which there are more than 200 still to be heard.
In response, several key players are rebuilding their reputation status from the ground up. Urged by the knowledge that, according to the Reputation Institute, a 5% positive corporate reputation translates into a 3 to 5% increase in market value, companies like Pfizer, Johnson&Johnson and Novartis are making substantive changes in the way they think, engage stakeholders and ethically conduct their business. But will it be enough?
Key insights and strategies from reliable sources
FirstWord’s fascinating examination of pharma’s global reputation offers insights into how pharma has earned its poor reputation and the barriers it faces transforming it, as well as a comparative analysis of how companies stand ethically in an era of increased transparency. The report also includes data on what doctors and patient groups really think of pharma, and key advice on how to find new ways to engage them — and the public — to improve the industry’s standing.
The report investigates the pharmaceutical industry’s reputation to determine:
Critical path strategies to build reputation and profits in an era of transparency
A strong argument for responsible and ethical business
The report
Examines the reputation landscape of pharma against a backdrop of the past “big drugs, big profits” business model and missteps in handling key public relations issues
Compares the strategic initiatives by leading pharmaceutical companies to do business within an ethical, transparent and public-friendly framework
Includes insights into the science of measuring reputation, the net benefit of improving public profile and the major hurdles pharma companies still face in undoing past negative perceptions
Outlines a way forward, both with improving stakeholder engagement and in formulating new communications strategies
Analyses the benefits of pursuing a more positive, industry-wide reputation, from netting a stronger negotiating position with government, to adding a new competitive advantage in vying for a more robust market share
Offers quantitative and qualitative data on stakeholders’ opinions of pharma, as well as charts describing the distribution of news reports according to positive and negative criteria
How many good deeds will it take to repair the pharmaceutical industry’s reputation? That remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: more than ever, a strong reputation translates to a strong bottom line.
In fact, along with tepid economic forecasting which puts 2010’s global pharmaceutical growth at 4% to 6% — still considered historically low — the industry is also besieged by less tangible but deeply corrosive factors that have led to an increasingly unreceptive and cautious regulatory environment.
More critically, it has lost so much favor with consumers, physicians and other stakeholders that, despite recovering from an all-time low net positive rating of -4% in 2004, it continues to lag at the bottom of the reputational scale, with a positive rating of just 25%. What’s more, disgruntled staff are siding with the public and taking on their employers in whistleblower cases, of which there are more than 200 still to be heard.
In response, several key players are rebuilding their reputation status from the ground up. Urged by the knowledge that, according to the Reputation Institute, a 5% positive corporate reputation translates into a 3 to 5% increase in market value, companies like Pfizer, Johnson&Johnson and Novartis are making substantive changes in the way they think, engage stakeholders and ethically conduct their business. But will it be enough?
Key insights and strategies from reliable sources
FirstWord’s fascinating examination of pharma’s global reputation offers insights into how pharma has earned its poor reputation and the barriers it faces transforming it, as well as a comparative analysis of how companies stand ethically in an era of increased transparency. The report also includes data on what doctors and patient groups really think of pharma, and key advice on how to find new ways to engage them — and the public — to improve the industry’s standing.
The report investigates the pharmaceutical industry’s reputation to determine:
Critical path strategies to build reputation and profits in an era of transparency
A strong argument for responsible and ethical business
The report
Examines the reputation landscape of pharma against a backdrop of the past “big drugs, big profits” business model and missteps in handling key public relations issues
Compares the strategic initiatives by leading pharmaceutical companies to do business within an ethical, transparent and public-friendly framework
Includes insights into the science of measuring reputation, the net benefit of improving public profile and the major hurdles pharma companies still face in undoing past negative perceptions
Outlines a way forward, both with improving stakeholder engagement and in formulating new communications strategies
Analyses the benefits of pursuing a more positive, industry-wide reputation, from netting a stronger negotiating position with government, to adding a new competitive advantage in vying for a more robust market share
Offers quantitative and qualitative data on stakeholders’ opinions of pharma, as well as charts describing the distribution of news reports according to positive and negative criteria
INTRODUCTION
An Exquisite Expectation-management Corner
Deep Public Distrust
Table: Worldwide Prescription Drug Sales (2000-14) in $billion
REPUTATION SOARS UP THE AGENDA
No-one Believes a Word You Say
A Backlog of Whistleblowers
The Clean-up Has Begun
Accountability of Pharma Dollars
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Reinvention of the Titans
New Faces, New Methods
Table: GSK Leads the Pack When it Comes to Deal-making
Making Cultural Changes
Table: Big Pharma Press Releases, 2004 to September 2009
MEASURING REPUTATION
The Reputational Landscape
Reputation-monitoring Science
Reputation and Profit
Pharma is Not the Only Bad Guy
An Uphill Battle
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
Moving in the Right Direction
A Broader Range of Stakeholders
Working with Physicians
Working with Patient Groups
AN ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE
The EthicalQuote
Ethics Versus Profit
Table: Ethical versus Financial Performance, 2004-2009
Table: Covalence Ethical Ranking in Healthcare Sector
Relative Ethical Performance of Healthcare Falling
Table: EthicalQuote across Industries
Learning from the Best
Table: Mapping Good and Bad News
What Makes News?
Table: Distribution of News According to Various Positive Criteria
Table: Distribution of News According to Various Negative Criteria
FINDING A NEW NARRATIVE
Conflicts of Interest
Devil Lies in the Detail
Engaging with Stakeholders
New Ways of Working
An Exquisite Expectation-management Corner
Deep Public Distrust
Table: Worldwide Prescription Drug Sales (2000-14) in $billion
REPUTATION SOARS UP THE AGENDA
No-one Believes a Word You Say
A Backlog of Whistleblowers
The Clean-up Has Begun
Accountability of Pharma Dollars
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Reinvention of the Titans
New Faces, New Methods
Table: GSK Leads the Pack When it Comes to Deal-making
Making Cultural Changes
Table: Big Pharma Press Releases, 2004 to September 2009
MEASURING REPUTATION
The Reputational Landscape
Reputation-monitoring Science
Reputation and Profit
Pharma is Not the Only Bad Guy
An Uphill Battle
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
Moving in the Right Direction
A Broader Range of Stakeholders
Working with Physicians
Working with Patient Groups
AN ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE
The EthicalQuote
Ethics Versus Profit
Table: Ethical versus Financial Performance, 2004-2009
Table: Covalence Ethical Ranking in Healthcare Sector
Relative Ethical Performance of Healthcare Falling
Table: EthicalQuote across Industries
Learning from the Best
Table: Mapping Good and Bad News
What Makes News?
Table: Distribution of News According to Various Positive Criteria
Table: Distribution of News According to Various Negative Criteria
FINDING A NEW NARRATIVE
Conflicts of Interest
Devil Lies in the Detail
Engaging with Stakeholders
New Ways of Working
