Flu fever

Following the successful launch of PowderMed in May 2004, Northbank’s work for the company was stepped up a notch to promote its DNA vaccine against annual and avian flu and to promote the fact that this programme might offer an effective vaccine solution against pandemic flu.

To kick off the campaign, Northbank used the opportunity around the publication of two peer-reviewed articles on the mathematical modelling of flu pandemic, and a press briefing at the Science Media Centre to gain both immediate coverage and ongoing interest from the media. Northbank researched a comprehensive list of media contacts, including all journalists who had recently covered avian flu and prepared a release targeting national and international broadcast and print media.

This was followed up by a pro-active campaign of media alerts in response to external news on avian flu and pro-actively targeting media to raise awareness on key issues around flu vaccines and positioning PowderMed as the best answer to these challenges. Northbank organised briefings and interviews, arranged for photographers and helped PowderMed prepare for interviews and presentations with major nationals and TV/radio broadcasters.

Proactive media outreach has ensured PowderMed and its technology have been continually covered over the last 5 months with more than 35 significant placements for the month of October alone. Coverage was achieved on the major wires such as Reuters, AFX News, PA News, in national press in the UK and USA, as well as TV, radio and online.

Broadcast coverage included live interviews on Channel 4, BBC Radio Oxford, recorded features on BBC News, BBC South, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV News and Sky News, photo coverage and filming by Getty Images, British Satellite Broadcasting and Hong Kong TV. National and international newspapers covering PowderMed included the Times, Financial Times, the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Independent on Sunday, Evening Standard, the Sun, the Mirror, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. The company has also been featured in several weekly news magazines: the Economist, the Pharmaceutical Journal, Business Week, the Scientific American and Le Point.

Dr Brenda Reynolds, Chief Operating Officer of PowderMed was delighted with the results, adding, “There is no doubt that the coverage obtained to date has been excellent and the effort Northbank has put in reflects this.”

With this campaign, Northbank placed flu at the top of the agenda again while successfully positioning PowderMed as a company to watch in the flu vaccine field.

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