As a result, we readjusted our strategy to focus on trade media outreach and utilized spokespersons with first-hand experience, one of whom we identified through research, to better integrate our client into the existing media landscape and offer a third-party perspective.
First, we had asked our client to identify a recovering addict spokesperson, but their partners were hesitant to offer someone due to privacy concerns and the sensitive nature of the topic. We took the opportunity into our own hands, collaborating with a Linhart PR partner who works with recovery programs and attorneys representing addicts. Two recovering heroin addicts tested the locking pill bottle and confirmed it would have helped them at the early stages of their addictions; they wanted to share their stories and spread the word about these bottles for prevention and medication security.
Second, we worked with our client to identify a product champion – we found one in a pharmacist using the product for MAT programs at a federally qualified health center in Ohio, where medication security will be an important part of a state-funded pilot program for addressing the opioid epidemic.
Third, we tapped an already-established partnership with 2020 Miss America Camille Schrier. She serves as an advisor to Safe Rx and uses her social initiative, Mind Your Meds, to raise awareness of the opioid crisis and the importance of medication security. We had already secured a feature interview with her in Forbes the year prior.
We offered these three spokespersons, plus the company’s CEO, as we pitched bylined articles and interviews to trade media. Bringing these spokespersons into our storytelling efforts was a game-changer.
