Producing more affordable drugs to
fight cancer and other diseases by using the eggs of
cloned and genetically modified chickens was the goal
of an alliance between Viragen, a small, public biotech
company, and Scotland's Roslin Institute, the non-profit
organization responsible for cloning Dolly the sheep.
TransMedia Group was hired
to publicize Viragen's step onto the world's biotech
stage. The firm capitalized on the Roslin Institute's
prestige, and played with the age-old question of which
came first, the chicken or the egg.
Strategy
Many firms think the holiday season is a
terrible time to try to stir up media attention. Yet
despite holiday distractions and competing news of the
presidential election, TransMedia went against conventional
wisdom and decided to launch a campaign.
"We're contrarians here
at TransMedia," says CEO and chairman Thomas Madden.
"We thought it was a remarkable story to close out the
year," he continues, emphasizing that because many PR
agencies avoided campaigns during the holidays, TransMedia
had an ideal opening for promoting Viragen.
The company played off
the Roslin Institute's reputation as a world leader
in animal cloning and billed the development of a genetically
altered chicken that could lay cancer-fighting eggs
as the sequel to Dolly.
However,
one element of the plan was missing, according to Madden.
"We wanted the client and institution to name the chicken,"
he says. The chicken has vet to be cloned, so Madden
is hoping for a future christening.
The firm also tied the
campaign into the presidential election by making sure
message points included how the new technology could
lead to cost savings in prescription drugs, says Madden.
Tactics
On December 6, TransMedia held a press conference announcing
the new drug-production technology at Edinburgh castle
near where the Roslin Institute is based. Gerald Smith,
CEO of Viragen, and Dr. Helen Sang, lead scientist of
the project, both spoke, The conference was simultaneously
cast on Viragen's Web site so shareholders could view
the event.
TransMedia wrote the script
for a 90-second VNR and retained PR Newswire to produce
it, The video highlighted the technology's tie to Dolly
and included footage of how genetically altered chickens
and eggs are produced, as well as clips from the news
conference. This was transmitted to the United States
immediately after the conference.
To generate more press
in the US, the firm held a cocktail party at the British
Consulate General in New York on December 11. Dr. Sang
was on hand to answer questions from the press and the
financial community. The caterer provided chicken and
egg hors d'oeuvres. "I was tempted to pose the question
of which comes first, the orange chicken or the deviled
egg," says Madden.
Results
Due to a news leak, The Herald, based in Glasgow, Scotland,
ran a story about the technology just prior to the press
conference. "This made for a well-attended news conference,"
says Madden. Other United Kingdom coverage included
The Guardian and the BBC.
The Webcast was viewed
by about 1,100 investors, and Viragen's share price
nearly doubled because of publicity, says Madden.
And according to PR Newswire,
Viragen's was the most viewed VNR in the US during the
week of December 13, with 67 stations picking it up
in 52 markets nationwide.
Smith has appeared on
several financial news programs in the US, including
CNBC's Power Lunch, Bloomberg radio and television and
CNN's Moneyline.
Madden estimates that
200 newspaper stories ran in the United States due to
the news conference and the cocktail party.
Future
TransMedia will continue to promote the development
of the drugs and Viragen 's future biotech business
alliances.
