JRN 551 Final Paper

7/29/2019 JRN 551 Final Paper

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Running out of StressA campaign dedicated to increasing awareness of stress, anxiety and

depression among college students.

Jenny Muscat, Brittany Lee, Kristin Lato, Jana Klaus, Michael Neme

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Pfizer: Running Out of Stress 2012 2

Introduction

In recent years, the yardstick used to judge the success of large businesses has grown

beyond profits delivered. The principles and values a business lives by are becoming more and

more vital (Vian, et al., 2007). This change can be attributed to increasing poverty levels and

social and economic disparities (Leisinger, 2005). These corporations are being expected to

fulfill obligations to employees, communities, and the environment. This concept is also known

as corporate social responsibility which involves organizations putting societal issues and the

unmet needs of the community at the same level as corporate and strategic goals (Vian, et al.,

2007). The major question that is argued for the corporate social responsibility of the

pharmaceutical industry is to whom, for what, and to what extent is a pharmaceutical

corporation responsible? (Leisinger, 2005). The pharmaceuticals role in the global economy is

to research, develop, and produce innovative medicines that have the ability to save peoples

lives. Like any corporation though, they have a duty to make and increase profits which causes

people to believe there is a conflict of interest in the industry (Lee & Kohler, 2010).

Corporate social responsibility

The social responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry can be split into three different

categories of obligations: the must do, the ought to do, and the can do (Leisinger, 2005).

The must do dimension includes the non-negotiable responsibilities to provide goods and

services that effectively meet customer demands. They are also responsible to sell these goods at

competitive prices and in the best interest of the corporation. To be successful, a pharmaceutical

corporation must raise the quality of life of sick people, avoid costly hospitalization, and allow

people to live normal and working lives. The profits made in a corporation ensure the


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preservation of jobs, fair salaries, and contribution to insurance and pension plans. Profits make

an important contribution to financing the functions of the corporation (Leisinger, 2005).

The ought to do dimension refers to the obligations of corporations to avoid

questionable practices and go beyond what the law actually requires. Many human rights

activists claim that large corporations are not using their powers to help people in need,

especially large pharmaceutical businesses (Leisinger, 2005). Lee and Kohler (2010) argue that

the pharmaceutical industry is not doing enough to give back to the community and has

excessively high prices for life saving medicines for those in the developed world. They state

that the industry has a moral obligation to help those in need when pharmaceutical companies

produce a larger profit margin than others.

Other opponents of the pharmaceutical industry argue that the increase in direct consumer

advertising of pharmaceuticals is detrimental to both the industry and the consumers. It is argued

that by marketing prescription drugs to consumers, the industry is not upholding their social

responsibility to provide balanced information about the drugs the same as a medical

professional. It is also believed that if medicines are marketed, the for-profit aspect will

overpower the goal of education and health of consumers (van de Pol & de Bakker, 2009).

The can do dimension of social responsibility includes the desirable actions that are not

required by law or the industrys practices. These actions are a way for corporations to give back

to the community by providing services or goods for those less fortunate. In the pharmaceutical

industry this would apply to providing prescription drugs to poorer communities or services such

as doctor consultations or testing.


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Corporate social responsibility is an important aspect to any large corporation, especially

in the pharmaceutical industry. There are some disputes between what the industry is actually

responsible for mainly because there is no clear definition of social responsibility. A solution to

this problem could be for each corporation to define their own set of social responsibilities to

avoid confusion. Another would be for the government to set these standards for each industry to

ensure that they are met. Meeting social obligations will help public perception of a company

increase as well as promote safe and effective practices within the organization.

Research

Client Research

Pfizer is a pharmaceutical supply company that was founded by Charles Pfizer and

Charles Erhard in 1849. Since the company was created, it has strived to discover and develop

new ways to prevent and treat diseases and improve the health of people around the world. Pfizer

has a number of values which include setting the standard for the quality, safety, and value of

medicines, bringing the best scientific minds together to battle the diseases of our time, and

being a leading voice by improving everyones ability to have affordable health care. Pfizer has

accomplished by developing leading drugs such as as Zoloft, Viagra, Xanax, and Chantix and

creating a team of intelligent and motivated members who are constantly providing new research

for the field of medicine.

One specific ideal that Pfizer upholds is to use their global presence and to make a

difference in local communities and in the world. A program that Pfizer has implemented which

falls into this category called Global Health Fellows. This program sends Pfizer employees

overseas to developing countries for three to six months to use their medical knowledge to


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improve on the health programs in the communities. Pfizer also hopes that this program will

provide the employees with professional and social growth opportunities through helping those

less fortunate than them. In a survey done by Vian et al. of the supervisors to see if the program

has made a positive or very positive impact on the company and 90% said yes. Evaluations also

show that participants were very satisfied with the opportunities that the program provided and

that they were able to make a contribution to improve health around the world (Vian et al.,

2007).

Opportunity/problem

The campaign that will be discussed in the proceeding sections is important for Pfizer as

a company to promote its goals and ideals to local communities but specifically, on a college

campus. Pfizer is dedicated to promoting health and wellness around the world as well as in local

communities. As stated explicitly on their website, as a demonstration of their commitment

Pfizer will strive to, Support, enhance and engage the local communities in which we operate.

This campaign gives Pfizer the opportunity to teach a younger generation about the company and

what it works to do for the world. It also gives Pfizer the opportunity to teach college students

about health and wellness through educating them on three issues many students encounter,

stress, anxiety, and depression through its campaign, Running out of Stress.

Audience Research

The audience that this campaign will target is college students, specifically those at

Central Michigan University (CMU). Our audience research began by distributing an online

survey to CMU students. This survey focused on asking students about their knowledge on

Pfizer and their community involvement. The survey results showed that this research is


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opportunity-based,meaning this campaign is an opportunity to increase knowledge on Pfizers

community involvement and social responsibility efforts.

Survey (See Appendix A) results showed that respondents (N=107) were between the

ages of 17 and 35. The main source these respondents received their media from is the internet,

65%. When asked about how important it is for companies to use green practices in

production, 93% reported either somewhat important, important, or very important.

The survey showed that CMU students are generally aware of Pfizer as a company and

what it sells. Results showed that 85% of students were either familiar of somewhat familiar with

the company and 97% reported correctly that Pfizer is a pharmaceutical corporation. Research

from the survey revealed that CMU students are familiar with Pfizer and can identify what type

of organization it is, but not many understand the global and community efforts made by Pfizer,

in particular.

Based on these findings, our group decided to emphasize awareness for our impact

objectives. We want to stress creating awareness about not only our company, but about the

companys corporate social responsibility efforts as well. For example, the survey revealed that

62% of respondents said it was either important or very important for companies to be involved

with the community. When asked whether it is important for pharmaceutical companies to send

their employees to other countries for research and volunteer efforts, 89% reported somewhat

important, important, or very important. Since the research indicates an importance on

community involvement, we want to make sure our target audience is informed about Pfizers

community efforts as well as global efforts with our campaign.


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We also decided to emphasize the issue at hand with regards to our campaign, which is

stress, anxiety, and depression among college students. It is important for students to understand

the severity of this issue and to know that Pfizer truly cares about promoting good health to

society. College students have a lot on their plate including extracurricular activities,

schoolwork, keeping a social life, and sometimes having a job. All of these areas combined can

cause negative effects such as stress, anxiety, and depression which can lead to sleep deprivation

and drug abuse.

According to a survey done by the Associated Press and mtvU in 2008, 80% of college

students reported that they frequently or sometimes experience daily stress. 34% said they have

felt depressed at some point in the past three months and 13% have been diagnosed with a

mental health condition such as an anxiety disorder or depression. According to the World of

Psychology website, suicide was the leading cause of death in college students ages 20 to 24 in

2010. This is why we decided to emphasize awareness about Pfizers global and community

efforts, but the actual issue.

Feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed can lead to frequent drug abuse. According the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that 1 in 5 college students have

abused the prescription drug, Adderall. This drug is prescribed to patients with ADHD but is

often taken by those who wish to improve alertness, overall cognitive performance, improving

mood, and decreasing fatigue. While the short term effects produce positive results, the long-

term effects may produce some negative ones such as psyhyosis or mania. According to the

FDA, there were 1,000 cases of this between 2000 and 2005 related to Adderall abuse. The drug

has also been linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.


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Objectives

Impact

The impact objectives for this campaign include:

To enhance favorable attitudes about Pfizer by 15% from by April, 2013. To increase awareness of Pfizer among our target audience by 10% by April,

2013.

To increase awareness of Pfizers global efforts by 20%by April, 2013. To increase awareness about depression and anxiety on CMUs campus by 20%

by April, 2013.

To increase healthy alternative methods among college students at CMU by 15%by April, 2013.

To gain 1,500 total attendees at the events. To obtain ten sponsors for the 5k event and donations for the finals survival kits. To secure the celebrity guest speakers, Dr. Oz and Vinny Guadagnino for the

event.

To have 20 participants per week during the Twitter chats.Output

The output objectives involve a great deal of local advertising and promotion. We came

to this conclusion based on the survey results about the importance of community involvement to

college students. We want to tap in to local businesses and incorporate local media outlets to

reach the Mount Pleasant community and give back to the local businesses as well. The output

objectives for this campaign include:


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To release one news release to each of Mt. Pleasants major media outlets: itsdaily newspaper, the local TV station, and a local radio station.

To release one news release to one major television station and one majornewspaper from all major areas of Michigan including the Detroit area, Grand

Rapids, Mid-Michigan and Lansing.

To prepare and release two media kits; one in January and one in March to alllocal news outlets.

To create and hand out 500 stress balls around Central Michigan Universityscampus one month prior to the event.

To hang five large banners promoting the event around CMUs campus. To send information about the event to the STUDENT ANNOUNCMETS

newsletter and University Events to be placed on the Universitys website.

To post at least five times each day on the Facebook page To tweet at least five times per day on Twitter

Programming

Theme

The theme for this campaign is, Running out of stress. This phrase relates to the

physical and exercise portion of the events while supporting the overall goal of reducing stress

among CMU college students.

Key messages

Running out of Stress is devoted to teaching CMU students that pills are not the only way

out when it comes to dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression and there are other healthy and


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effective solutions. This campaignpromotes Pfizers goal of contributing to health, wellness,

treatment, and prevention and extending it to a specific segment of college students. The symbol

for this campaign is a tree that represents health and wellness. Without water and sunlight, a tree

would not be able to grow and flourish; the same goes for college students too. Without taking

care of yourself during times of stress, negative outcomes are likely to result which restricts the

student from growing and achieving during their college career.

Media

Uncontrolled media will be used on two different levels, local news outlets and state-

wide news outlets. News releases to The Morning Sun, CM-Life, Grand Central Magazine, ABC

12, Fox 32, NBC 25, MHTV, 95.3 CFX, and 102.5 WIOG will be distributed. News releases will

be distributed to state-wide media outlets including theDetroit Free Press, Detroit News,

Midland Daily News, Lansing State Journal, Grand Rapids Press ABC 7, Fox 2, and NBC 4.

Controlled media will be used in the form of handing out stress balls to students instead

of the normal flyers that students frequently dont read and throw away. The stress balls will

have Pfizers logo as well as the date, time and place of the event. Five different statistics about

stress and anxiety will be printed on the stress balls and 100 of each will be produced. These will

be distributed two weeks prior to the event. A website will be created for this event by Pfizer.

This page will include information about the event, the reason for the campaign, and statistics

about college stress, anxiety, and depression. Information about the event will appear in the

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS emails that students receive and will also appear on CMUs

website.


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Large banners will be created and placed strategically around CMUs campus one week

prior to the event to gain students attention. During the event, brochures will be distributed to

students with quick facts about the campaigns goals and tips for dealing with the issues of

stress, anxiety, and depression. The brochure will also detail Pfizers social responsibility efforts

in local communities and around the globe. This will educate CMU students on the measures

being taken by Pfizer to help those less fortunate around the world. This campaign will include a

social media portion which is described in a later portion of the programming section.

Plan of events and actions

Running out of Stress will include a weekend long event that will take place at Central

Michigan University on April 12-13, 2013. On Friday students will have the chance to attend a

stress workshop where they will get the chance to listen a series of presentations on stress and

anxiety. The first speaker will be Dr. Oz, from the television show The Dr. Oz Show. Dr. Oz will

present on college stress and the importance of getting adequate sleep. The second speaker will

be a Pfizer medical expert to speak about adolescent depression and when it is and isnt

appropriate to resort to drugs. The last speaker will be Vinny Guadagnino from the popular

reality television series,Jersey Shore. This event will attract the attention of many students

because of the popularity the show has with college students. Vinny is not just a celebrity, he

himself suffers from anxiety which he has detailed in his newly released book, Control the

Crazy: My Plan to Stop Stressing, Avoid Drama and Maintain Your Inner Cool. During his

presentation, Vinny will discuss parts of his book, and how he dealt with this disorder.

The second day of the event will include a 5k race for students to participate in. The race

will be for those who decide to run but the option to walk it is also available. Dr. Oz and Vinny


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will give a short presentation on the importance of exercise in stress reduction before the race

begins. Participants will also have the option to raise money on their behalf that will be donated

to Pfizers Global Fellows Program that sends employees to under-deserved areas of the world to

provide medical relief. Representatives from Pfizer will give a short presentation on the program

before the race begins and will be available to talk to participants about the program throughout

the event. The participants who raise 200 or more dollars will be qualified to meet Vinny

Guadagnino and get a photo taken and will receive the ultimate finals survival kit equipped

with healthy alternatives for dealing with exam stress. Those who raise between 100 and 200

dollars will receive a certificate and the moderate survival kit which will include some of the

items in the ultimate package. Those who raise between 40 and 100 dollars will receive a

certificate the basic kit which includes a few of the items.

Students who attend both the Friday and Saturday events will be given a coupon for five

free workout classes offered by the SAC and a t-shirt. Lanyards with a punch card will be

distributed to participants to verify that they attended both events. The cost of both events is free

for CMU students with an ID card but seating for the presentations is on a first-come first-serve

basis.

Social media

In addition to the weekend event, this campaign will include a social media portion.

Pfizer will create a Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube account to both promote the event and give

users the opportunity to learn about ways to combat stress and anxiety. The title of both of the

pages will coincide with the name of the campaign, Pfizer presents: Running out of stress. The

reason for using social media in this campaign is to reach college students on a national and


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international level. While the event is aimed at targeting Central Michigan University students,

Pfizer recognizes that stress, depression, and anxiety are things that every college student deals

with at some point. The use of social media will begin one to two months prior to the event to

promote it to students and encourage them to attend.

Although Twitter will be the main platform used for this campaign, both Facebook and

Twitter will be used to promote the weekend event. A Facebook event page will be created for

CMU students to become aware of the events specific details. One to two months prior to the

event, Pfizer will post information about what students can expect to see if they attend on both

Facebook and Twitter. Information on college stress and anxiety will also be included through

links to articles and personal experiences from other students. A YouTube account will also be

created as a promotional tool for videos to be shared via Facebook and Twitter. A series of

videos will be created with statistics on specific issues relating to stress, anxiety, or depression.

Videos of the event will be shared after as well.

Twitter is the platform that this campaign will utilize the most. Users will have the option

to sent tweets to the account asking for advice on how to combat issues such as stress, anxiety, or

depression. Medical professionals will be constantly monitoring the account 24 hours a day to

provide assistance and advice on ways for students to alleviate these problems. This portion of

the campaign will be on-going after the event takes place and will last as Pfizer continues to visit

more college campuses. There is no strict end date at this time due to the fact that though the

campaign will end, students around the world will continue to struggle with these issues. In

addition to this feature, Pfizer will also hold regular Twitter chats during and after this campaign

to give students a chance to share their own experiences with these problems and both gain and

offer advice to and from others who are experiencing similar issues. The hashtag


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#SmartAboutStress will be used. These chats will be held once a week at night and will focus on

specific causes of stress, depression, and anxiety that many students deal with.

Principles of effective communication

This program will display the principles of effective communication in multiple ways.

Source credibility is an important aspect of effective communication. The chosen source acts as a

voice for the entire campaign and this particular campaign uses source credibility through

bringing in celebrity, Vinny Guadagnino, from the popular reality television showJersey Shore.

Vinny has recently released a book titled Control the crazy: My plan to stop stressing, avoid

drama, and maintain your inner cool. This book details his experiences with dealing with stress

and anxiety and gives helpful advice for others on how to deal with it. Vinny is a credible source

due to his popularity among the target audience and his previous experiences with the subject the

campaign focuses on. He is also physically attractive and his acting skills will allow him to be a

dynamic and effective public speaker.

Dr. Oz is also a credible source. He has his own television show which involves him

giving expert medical advice to viewers. Many people see him as an expert and are likely to

listen to what he has to say. Using a Pfizer medical professional to speak about adolescent

depression and drug abuse gives the message credibility because of his or her title. Listeners will

be likely to take what he or she says seriously because they work for Pfizer and have the title of a

doctor or medical professional.

Message salience is another form of effective communication that is used in this

campaign. Stress, anxiety, and depression are all things that college students deal with at some

point during their college career. Through trying to juggle schoolwork, a social life,


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extracurricular activities, and jobs, having these experiences is inevitable. The campaign aims at

providing students with effective tools other than drugs or similar substances for dealing with

these issues. The main topic of this program is extremely relevant to college students and will

provide benefits for those who participate.

The use of social media in this program will permit effective two-way communication

through encouraging audience feedback. Allowing users to comment on Facebook or Twitter

posts gives opportunities for feedback on their experiences at the event or their opinions in

genera l. Having the option for users to send tweets to the account to get advice from medical

professionals is also a way for them to interact with the program. This feature can also be

classified as audience participation. The event which includes a 5k run is another form of

audience participation. This allows them to become involved with the program and encourages

self-persuasion.

Evaluation

One of the main goals for this campaign is to increase overall awareness of Pfizer and

their efforts to educate students about stress, depression and anxiety.

Impact Objective Evaluations

To evaluate the increase of awareness of Pfizer among our target audience, CMU

students, and their involvement in the community we would create a brief before-and-after

survey for students take. Before the special events take place a survey will be sent to all CMU

students through their email account. Questions will ask if they know what kind of company

Pfizer is and if they have used any of their products. Another question will be if they are aware

of any promotions or events Pfizer is hosting in the community with an answer option being the


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upcoming events from this campaign as well as any previous. This way if students are unaware

of the special events Pfizer is hosting, they will then have an idea about it.

The same goes for enhancing favorable attitudes. A question on the survey will ask if the

respondents think Pfizer is a reputable company. If they have used their products, were they

satisfied or dissatisfied? The survey will be short, 3-5 questions, because it is more likely that

college students will take the survey if it doesnt require a lot of their time. As an incentive to

take the survey, they will be entered in a drawing to win a prize. There will be five winners from

the drawing.

To evaluate the behavioral objectives at the end of the campaign, we will record the

attendance for each of the events. To measure if the students are aware of depression, stress and

anxiety we will tally the amount of questionnaire surveys they fill out from the Pfizer reps at the

events. Volunteers will be checking students ID cards at both events and recording the amount

of people that are let in to evaluate the attendance goals. The amount of sponsors and donations

obtained will be recorded and compared with the campaigns goals.

Because our campaign and the events promote alternative ways to relieving depression,

stress and anxiety, we encourage a lot of physical activity. To evaluate if students are seeking

physical activity as a way to relieve their stress, we will research the attendance at the SAC as

well as how many students participate in the fitness classes. These attendance numbers will be

recorded before, during, and after the campaign. To evaluate the number of participants in the

Twitter chats, the numbers will be recorded regularly and compared with the goals.

Output Objective Evaluations:


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We will record the number of press releases and media kits we distribute, and to what

media they are released to. To evaluate if they are effective, we will follow-up to see if any of

the media are writing articles/stories, or promoting the campaign and the events through their

mediums.

After the stress balls are created, we will record how many are passed out directly to

students and where they are distributed. The amount and location of the posters will also be

recorded. Where the banners are placed around campus will be recorded as well. Researchers

will verify that information pertaining to the campaign was released to the STUDENT

ANNOUNCEMENTS email newsletter and on the CMUs website events page.

To evaluate the social media we will record the number of likes on Facebook and

follows on Twitter from before, during, and after the campaign. There will be special attention

brought to the Facebook posts and tweets. An in-depth analysis of the amount of feedback and

types of responses we get from our posts will be made. For the Twitter account, we will record

the amount of re-tweets and replies we get. For Facebook, the amount of likes and comments

posted will be recorded.

Conclusion

The main goal of this campaign was to increase awareness and knowledge about the

problem of stress, anxiety, and depression among college students while attempting to increase

awareness and their knowledge about Pfizers overall goals and global efforts. It accomplished

this goal through creating an event for CMU students to learn about the negative effects stress

and anxiety can have, useful tips for combating these symptoms, and gave them the opportunity

to participate in a 5k race to help relieve their stress. This campaign also aimed to increase


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students knowledge about Pfizers Global Health Fellows program during this event by handing

out brochures and giving them a short presentation on the program.

It has been proven that chronic stress in a college student can cause many negative effects

on his or her life. According to the National Health Ministries, continuing stress can cause a

disruption in a persons physical or emotional health. A students GPA and how much sleep they

get are also directly correlated and it has been proven that attentiveness in class is also correlated

to how much sleep a student gets. Stress can have many negative effects on a college student and

the purpose of this campaign was to bring these issues up to students so they can learn how to

live healthier and more effective lifestyles. Although Pfizer is a pharmaceutical sales company,

the message they wanted to stress in this campaign was that pills are not always the answer in

dealing with stress and anxiety. There are tips for dealing with these issues that students can

learn.


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References

Donaldson James, S. (2010, November 8). Adderall Abuse Alters Brain, Claims a Young

Life.ABC News.

Lee, M., & Kohler, J. (2010). Benchmarking and transparency: Incentives for the pharmaceutical

industry's corporate social responsibility.Journal of Business Ethics, 95(4), 641-658.

Leisinger, K. M. (2005). The corporate social media responsibility of the pharmaceutical

industry: Idealism without illusion and realism without resignation.Business Ethics

Quarterly, 15(4), 577-594.

Living With Anxiety InAnxiety Disorders Association of America. Retrieved April 19, 2012.

Lund HG, et al. Sleep patterns and predictors of disturbed sleep in a large population of college

students.J Adolesc Health online, 2009.

Stress & the College Student (2006, February). InNational Health Ministries . Retrieved April

19, 2012.

van de Pol, P., & de Bakker, F. (2009). Direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals as a

matter of corporate social responsibility?Journal of Business Ethics, 94, 211-224.

Vian, T., McCoy, K., Richards, S., Connelly, P., & Feeley, F. (2007). Corporate social

responsibility in global health: The Pfizer Global Health Fellows International

volunteering program.Human Resource Planning Journal, 30(1 ), 30-35.

Womble, L. P. IMPACT OF STRESS FACTORS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE. Universityof North Carolina - Charlotte.


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Appendix A

CMU Student Survey

1. How familiar are you with Pfizer?

2. What kind of company is Pfizer?

3. Which of the following products are created by Pfizer? Check all that apply-

Xanex

Celebrex

Viagra

Zoloft

4. How important is it for a company to go green and be involved with the environment?

5. How important is it for pharmaceutical companies to be involved with the community?

6. Are you aware of global efforts by pharmaceutical companies worldwide?

7. If you do not have insurance, how willing are you to pay out of pocket for persceiptions?

8. How important is it for pharmaceutical companies to send their employees to other countries

for further research?

9. Which media source do you mainly get your news from?

Television

Radio

Print

Internet

Social Media

10. What is your age?

JRN 551 Final Paper

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