Research Management of a PR Campaign

Individual Case Study Analysis: Research Management of a PR Campaign
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Background
In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Narcan, which is a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The company targets local communities including addicts of opioids and those who accidentally end up getting an overdose of the drug. The issue has evolved into the status of the epidemic (Radnor, 2020). The spray relieves the patient by reversing the impact of the overdose in its process to bring the patient back to a conscious state of mind (Radnor, 2020). Adapt Pharma, the maker of Narcan, looks has conducted detailed research focusing on its target communities, and it aims at educating the public on the benefits of Narcan so it can maximize the ubiquity of the spray.
Research Methods Used and Consideration of Stakeholders
The company has relied on a media-centred campaign. As the CEO, Thom Duddy has reported that the company mainly relies on the contributions from the earned-media in its efforts to communicate effectively to its target audience and spread awareness about the importance of Narcan in the face of the uncontrolled spread of the epidemic aforementioned (Kanski, 2018). Besides, the company collaborates with industry experts including doctors and pharmacists by encouraging them to spread the message of Adapt Pharma among their patients as a means of enabling the company to improve its outreach (Kanski, 2018) continuously. However, there is no evidence of direct to consumer public relations.
A strong point about the research methods is that the company is targeting the right community using the right approach. The company has avoided the stigma of ‘addiction’ from its campaign by focusing on words like ‘overdose, patients, and affected communities’ (Kanski, 2018). It would enable the company to generalize its message and allow the addicts to feel safe while approaching for the treatment. Furthermore, the company has created a robust logical appeal by highlighting the potential harms of opioid overdosing and presenting Narcan as a solution. Similarly, the stakeholders including doctors and pharmacists engaged in the campaign are rightly chosen because these stakeholders have direct interaction with the target audience and can serve as a bridge for the communication plan of the company and the targeted communities (McKee et al., 2010). Similarly, pharmacists can help the company find new ways to further raise the effectiveness of its drug in the future.
However, there are also certain irrefutable drawbacks and limitations. For example, the company had a fair chance to create a fear-appeal. Since overdosing can be injurious to health and may also result in deadly consequences in extreme cases, the company could have a better impact on the buying behavior of the audience if it had included warning signs in its promotional messages (O’Guinn et al., 2018; Smith, 2017). Furthermore, rapport building could have catalyzed the awareness campaign and could have expedited the outreach of the company. The company should have included ‘patients’ and ‘addicts’ in its research process as critical stakeholders. These groups of stakeholders, despite havin...