Communication Stragy for Pfizer

Corporate Communication Strategy

A corporate communication strategy is designed to improve the general image of a company, and also provide guidance to specific communication programs. There are two parts to the Corporate Communication Strategy, step one is development and step two is content. Each compliments each other in order to help the company be seen as it wants to by its stakeholders and constituencies. In Pfizer's case with the Nigerian Trovan incident they would need to implement a communication strategy that would effectively handle the situation. The incident left them with a bad image and therefore Pfizer would need to work to repair their image in the eyes of the stakeholders.

Development of a corporate communication strategy starts with the analysis of the company's current image, and the company's intended image, also known as their vision. The company must first conduct research in order to discover what its current image is, and then find what areas need to be fixed to meet their intended vision. Pfizer's current image is one of mistrust and unethical practices. They would need to fill gaps to show that they were in fact to be trusted and did conduct themselves ethically. After the areas that need improvement have been identified it is important to align the stakeholders with your vision. They will be seen as the company is seen and therefore it can work the reverse way as well, the stakeholders can affect how the company is seen. This is why it is crucial to make sure that stakeholders are in line with your vision. Pfizer would need to let the people of the corporation, consumers, and investors know that it is their plan to prove to the outside that they can be trusted. In this case they would have to make sure that the company's employees understand how serious that is. In all of this the most important part is called "strategic intent." What this means is that all communication is working in the direction of the vision the corporation wants. Pfizer's general direction is to show the outside that they are more than just a pharmaceutical corporation but a corporation that is working to help people through the use of medications. Part of having strategic intent means you will define general patterns of action that can be taken to achieve objectives and work towards the vision of the corporation. As mentioned before it works with the analysis of the current image of the corporation so specific issues or groups of people can be addressed or targeted. It outlines specific activities that can affect awareness, knowledge, the reputation, and the behavior of the company. In Pfizer's case we have outlined several activities for them to help control this crisis and effectively manage it through communication to help preserve their image. These activities include an apology letter to the stakeholders and constituencies, both in a letter form and a magazine advertisement, a shareholder meeting to let everyone know their intent, a press conference, and the launching of AskPfizer.com (a website devoted to helping inform consumers of the incident in an honest way). In a normal situation the strategic intent will outline the inter-company communication, such as who talks to who and when. Pfizer has Ms. Sally Susman who is the Senior Vice President of external affairs and communication, she is directly in charge of orchestrating such things, and she reports directly to the Senior Chief Executive Officer. Lastly it works to relay and interpret information from the environment to the company, but also works to represent the organization to the outside world. According the Pfizer‘s website, "Ms. Susman leads Pfizer's strategic communications, U.S. federal government relations, policy initiatives and the corporate responsibility group. In these capacities, Ms. Susman effectively communicates the company's mission, values and product news to its stakeholder audiences around the world, oversees worldwide media relations, colleague communications, corporate branding and reputation, and corporate advertising; designs and executes the company's legislative priorities; shapes policy initiatives; and leads Pfizer's social investment strategies" (Pfizer). This is known as investor relations, which according the NIRI is "a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company's securities achieving fair valuation" (NIRI). So between NIRI and Pfizer, the importance of outside communication is stressed greatly and greatly supported. During this developmental stage it is important to be taking a strategic function approach to corporate communication.