GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (GSK India) is the Indian arm of GlaxoSmithKline plc, the global pharmaceutical giant. In recent years, GSK India has had to face mounting internal and external pressures caused by a multitude of factors. These included mergers of SmithKline Beecham and Burroughs Wellcome into the Company and the closure of several outdated plants. Compounding these was the growing hostility of certain pressure groups towards multinational corporations. The Company’s share price also lagged as it received criticism for lack of focus.

GSK India had embarked on a major restructuring of its business and product portfolio. In the view of the media, GSK seemed to be going through one setback after another, including factory closures and retrenchments. Faced with intensive and judgmental media scrutiny, the company had retreated from media contact and exposure. The agency had to position it as a revitalized company that had the ability to tackle difficult situations and emerge a winner.

The key challenge was to redirect the media's focus - from surface symptoms (negative) to underlying causes and their remedies (positive). The GSK management had to play a highly participatory role in this exercise, based on the principle that media will carry unfolding news in any case, so it is preferable to take control and influence their interpretations.

With enthusiastic support from GSK India’s management, the agency developed an integrated communications plan encompassing media and analysts. The strategy was to capitalize on the considerable equity of the GSK brand and secure understanding for its restructuring exercise, by building on the company's reputation for technological innovation and integrity.

Pressman leveraged its strong media and analyst relationships to arrange for informational briefings in the initial phase, designed to build a strong foundation of understanding rather than to secure intermittent coverage. The briefings focused on explicating the rationale and full breadth of GSK India’s restructuring programme, the expected outcomes, and the strength of their product portfolio.

Once this crucial cognitive platform was in place, it provided a context for all subsequent coverage, opportunities for which the agency regularly identified and pursued. On an average, the agency created and pitched two story ideas every month, and secured placement for each idea within one or more of nation’s top publications.

The scope of these story ideas was widened well beyond GSK India’s particular and immediate concerns, to address industry-wide issues. Presentations, which were entirely educational in content, covering topics like the new product-patent regime; the molecule development process; and advances in various therapeutic areas were made to the target media and analysts. GSK India began to be regarded as a go-to source for expert commentary and opinion on the rapidly evolving Indian pharmaceutical industry. Pressman developed and implemented corporate messaging and educated key media about the restructuring, identified key feature opportunities, and set up interviews ensuring that GSK India was featured in both industry and business coverage frequently.

Pressman’s team, located across the country, collaborated with GSK India on a wide range of activities including analyst briefing sessions, press conferences, media interviews with the CEO as well as visiting experts, and video conferencing with the client’s international heads in the UK and Belgium.

Pressman also worked closely with the client’s management team during a series of extensive sessions with Business India, the leading Indian business magazine.

The various media related activities resulted in extensive coverage in over 100 newspapers, magazines, TV and online outlets, During the period September 2004 to July 2005, the campaign generated over 500 million print impressions and 60 TV interviews/ items, with an advertising value equivalency of US$ 8 million.

* 22 media attended a press conference in Mumbai in connection with a global announcement in malaria vaccine. The story was pitched with an ‘India’ angle, and the media responded with over 30 print and online articles and 8 TV items/ interviews.

* 25 leading media from Mumbai traveled to Nashik to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of GSK India’s vaccine plant. The event received widespread national coverage in over 55 print, TV and online outlets.

* 15 media attended a press conference in Bangalore to announce the expansion of the Company’s clinical research data analysis facility generating over 20 write-ups.

* 50 media attended a press conference in Mumbai to announce the Company’s marketing tie-up with the Japanese company, Eisai, to launch a new product in India. The event received extensive coverage in all national print, TV and on-line media, generating over 60 articles and 8 TV items/interviews. Reuters and AFP stories also received worldwide coverage.

* Around 15 media attended quarterly results announcement briefings held by the CEO, resulting in extensive national coverage in print, TV and online media.

* Around 60 analysts/fund managers attended an analyst meet organized by Pressman; subsequently several broking houses and security firms came out with research reports with a strong ‘buy’ recommendation for the Company’s shares.

* An outstanding achievement was a multiple page cover story in Business India, the leading Indian business magazine, which took an elaborate look at the restructuring initiatives of the Company.

* As a result of better understanding of the Company’s initiatives and growth plans, the Company’s shares were re-rated by the market and the share price increased from Rs. 600 (US$ 13.63) in September 2004 to Rs.900 (US$ 20.45) in early August, 2005, an appreciation of 50% in 11 months.

The overall reach of the campaign was overwhelming. GSK India does not engage in any significant advertising and media relations were single-handedly responsible for creating an upsurge in favourable opinion for the Company among the media, analyst and key opinion leaders.