Pfizer Hopes Free Prescription Drugs Will Lead To Word Of Mouth Success

It’s no surprise that medical bills are just one of the large expenses crippling many American families who are more and more in debt due to the current economic landscape. Now, drug maker Pfizer is hoping it can lend a helping hand to these families, while generating a bit of good will and positive brand advocacy via word of mouth.

Write AdAge‘s Marissa Miley and Rich Thomaselli:

In a PR masterstroke for the world’s largest drug maker, Pfizer today said it will provide free select prescription drugs to Americans and their families who lose their jobs and — as a result — their health insurance. Pfizer’s program, called Maintain (an acronym for Medicines Assistance for Those who Are in Need), will provide newly unemployed Americans and their families more than 70 primary-care drugs manufactured by Pfizer, including cholesterol-lowering agent Lipitor, at no charge.

Some are already praising the program, including Porter Novelli partner and director of global health care Peter Pitts, who told AdAge that the program, “shows great courage and heart to step forward and provide people with the health care they need in times of national distress…”

Pfizer works with a number of agencies, including Edelman, MS&L, Burson Marsteller and Weber Shandwick.

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