Seven things to ask a PR consultant before you contract them to handle your health-focused PR project.

1. Do you work exclusively in the healthcare sector? Exclusivity breeds industry knowledge and expertise. In PR it is very difficult to be all things to all sectors. If you have a health-focused brief then you need a consultant that lives and breathes health-focused projects.
2. Do you have a good understanding of the various codes and restrictions that apply to healthcare marketing and PR in Australia? Code breaches can bring promotional programs unstuck very quickly. Whether it is a natural product being promoted within the rules of the CHC, an over the counter medicine that needs to stay within the ASMI guidelines or a prescription only compound trying to leverage the media relations provisions in the MA code, you need a team that knows its way around.
3. How well do you know the key health and medical reporters in Australia? News is competitive and this is never more true than in healthcare. This is why you need a consultant who has an ongoing, positive, collegiate relationship with the key editorial decision makers. They need to have the kind of relationship that can lead to a fair and considered hearing of your product or news story.
4. What examples do you have of successful projects in product launches, medical switches, awareness raising or key opinion leader development? Success in the past is a strong predictor of success in the future. Whatever the focus of your project, you need to feel confident that the team you are about to appoint has handled this kind of project successfully in the past
5. How do you evaluate outcomes? Will we have quantifiable targets that we are aiming for? If it is worth doing it is worth measuring. PR is no different in this regard. Quantifiable targets helps teams agree in advance what success looks like and what kind of outcomes might constitute a positive return on investment
6. Will our strategy have extensions into social media, promotions and other tactics – or is it going to revolve around a single media release? Social media can be incredibility influential in healthcare. It can help define, mobilise and unite whole communities of people affected by specific health issues or conditions. If your strategy does not have a proactive social media element then it is probably under-achieving.
7. Will we have a plan for getting third parties and opinion leaders on board? And what might that plan involve? Good PR is driven by what other people say about your products and issues. Third party advocacy requires time, planning and an understanding of where others stand on your issues and products. If you've got no plan for third parties then you might as well just run a series of advertisements.