by A goal and a challenge
GSK, a pharmaceutical company with almost 2,000 employees in Spain, was eager to show how its responsible approach to science and innovation could help the Spanish government in achieving its goals.
The chosen date: April 25, World Malaria Day. The goal: fit the action with the political moment, with the sitting government and a general election called for April 28.
“It’s the first time that this company has had a celebration for a development with such impact. The combination of public issue strategy with a clear, coherent communicative campaign resulted in a unique course of action that’s enabled us to stand out, as well as highlight and convey what we can contribute in a clear manner.”
Innovation made in Spain
Mission Malaria is the campaign we launched to disseminate the results achieved in the global fight against malaria.
How exactly can you approach communication links with the government in a changing environment? As such change has been occurring with increasing frequency, we turned to science and it provided the answer.
A video series and a mosquito silhouette helped us make GSK’s innovations in this field visible. Did you know that Spain hosts cutting-edge research against malaria and other illnesses, such as tuberculosis and AIDS?
We organised three meetings at GSK’s DDW Centre, located in Tres Cantos, Madrid, with the health undersecretary, representatives from three government departments and the CSIC presidency
This was all in preparation for an important event on April 24, the day before World Malaria Day.
More than 200 representatives from the scientific and academic community, including from international institutions and bodies, took part in Mission Malaria, which took place at GSK’s headquarters in Madrid.
A shared mission against malaria
Government and congress representatives were able to learn about GSK’s role as a responsible investor in R&D through renowned scientists, with more than €260 million invested in Spain over the last five years.
GSK is a leader in infectious disease research, is present in 150 countries, and invests £3.9 billion annually in R&D.
Institutional visits to the DDW Centre made it possible to demonstrate how the company’s research efforts align with the government’s agenda, which is once again allocating resources for collaboration in developing countries.
More than 30 journalists present at Mission Malaria produced over 80 news stories in print, broadcast and online media, with an estimated reach of 9.8 million people.
On social networks, we achieved over 580,000 impressions and a 4.8% engagement rate.
