FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medco Health Solutions, Inc. , caught in the swirl of an industry with an identity crisis, today launched the first national branding campaign in the company’s history to educate health plan and business leaders about the true value that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) provide, while highlighting Medco’s size, scale and synergy in delivering high-quality prescription healthcare services.
The multi-faceted, integrated “knowledge” campaign - “Extra-Strength Solutions(TM)” - consists of a national advertising program, regional and national symposiums, solutions-oriented white papers and broad-reaching direct mail communications.
“When you manage the pharmaceutical spending of more than 60 million Americans and you find your industry awareness among key stakeholders barely a blip on the radar screen, it’s time to take action,” said Jack Smith, chief marketing officer, Medco. “More than $230 billion is expected to be spent on prescription medications in 2005, with nearly 70 percent managed through PBM arrangements. It’s time to de-mystify the management of this healthcare cost, and an ad campaign alone isn’t the solution. The solution - Extra-Strength Solutions - is expanding the public’s knowledge of the industry, and in particular, Medco’s ability to help health plans and companies manage the costs of providing quality prescription healthcare.”
Kicking off the campaign is a two-page print ad themed “Just What the Doctor Ordered,” which appeared in the July 14th editions of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Shedding new light into the PBM world, the creative spotlights a single transparent gel capsule with the new treatment of the company’s name - Medco - set against a shaded backdrop in the new blue corporate color. The tagline - “Just What the Doctor Ordered for Your Prescription Benefit Plan” - segues into copy that highlights key issues faced by every health plan and benefit manager: member satisfaction, customization, quality of care and cost. The copy presents Medco as helping “give something of value to the people they value.” “Just What the Doctor Ordered” is the first of four print ads designed by New York-based ad agency Gotham, Inc.
The advertising campaign will continue throughout the summer and fall months with multiple national, daily and weekly business print publications including Business Week, Fast Company, Forbes and Fortune, as well as key industry trade magazines. Medco will also extend its advertising reach through broadcast outlets with a radio buy in key markets.
PBMs, largely known for the drug cards that more than 200 million Americans present when they fill a prescription, work at the request of employers and health plans to administer and manage the pharmacy benefit provided to their employees or members. Medco helps manage costs for its clients by negotiating significant discounts with pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail pharmacies, and through programs that encourage over-the-counter and generic drug use, when clinically appropriate; promote the use of its network of mail order pharmacies; use integrated data platforms and clinical review systems to help identify and prevent adverse drug events that could lead to additional healthcare costs, such as hospitalizations. Medco also owns and operates the world’s two largest automated pharmacies, which are widely regarded as the most efficient and technologically advanced pharmacies ever designed. In 2003, the company dispensed 78 million mail order prescriptions. Medco also manages one of the nation’s leading online pharmacy service operations through which 13.8 million of the company’s total mail order prescriptions were processed in 2003.
“According to our research, the DNA of the pharmacy benefit can be boiled down to cost, networks, service and reputation,” said Smith. “Through the size, scale and synergy built into our systems, we already deliver on the cost, network and service propositions. This campaign will focus on securing for Medco a brand position that’s all about integrity and trust in the minds of the people we serve, as they look to navigate the new health economy.”
About Medco
Medco Health Solutions, Inc., a leading pharmacy benefit manager with the nation’s largest mail order pharmacy operations, assists its customers to moderate the cost and enhance the quality of prescription drug benefits provided to members nationwide. Its customers include private- and public- sector employers and healthcare organizations. Medco is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MHS. On the Net: http://www.medco.com/.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this presentation should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
CONTACT: Jennifer Leone, Medco Health Solutions, Inc., +1-201-269-6402,jennifer_leone@medco.com; or Kevin Lamb or Janet Schiller, Coyne PublicRelations, +1-973-316-1665, for Medco Health Solutions
Web site: http://www.medco.com/
