EMD Serono Case Study

In 2014, Counsel was hired by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, EMD Serono, and an advocacy organization for families with infertility challenges, Conceivable Dreams, to help secure funding for in vitro fertilization (IVF) for couples who wanted to become parents but couldn’t due to infertility. The challenge was to obtain a commitment to a new funding program despite the province’s current financial pressures.

Through an integrated public relations and government relations campaign, Counsel worked with Conceivable Dreams to build grassroots support to influence government action. This included developing a media relations strategy to build awareness of the issues by creating a compelling narrative driven by expert physician commentary and sharing compelling patient stories that brought the issue to life. Counsel developed all the written materials, conducted all media relations including training spokespeople and building an extensive social media presence for the group in the channels most likely to be seen by politicians and their advisors.

In response to the combined efforts, in December 2015 the Ontario Government announced that it would cover the cost of one round of IVF for infertile couples and Counsel secured coverage in multiple media outlets including the Toronto Star, National Post and CTV News Toronto. Today, Counsel continues to work with Conceivable Dreams to maintain public and political support for the provincial program and raise awareness of infertility support through ongoing media relations.