With the enactment of the Medicare Modernization Act in late 2003, there was a need educate 42 million seniors about the new benefits of the law to allow them to make informed decisions when signing up for both the interim Medicare Prescription Drug Cards. On behalf of Pfizer, Spectrum Science Communications developed a campaign for former Senator Bob Dole to tour the country touting Medicare’s changes.

 

Over a period of 18 months, Senator Dole participated in 14 events designed to educate seniors and to amplify the MMA message through the media. For many 2005 appearances, Senator Dole was joined by Leslie V. Norwalk, Deputy Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, who offered an unparalleled technical grasp of the new benefit. Twenty-three health advocacy groups, representing the interests of over 10 million people, joined with the Senator as sponsors of his speaking tour.

At each stop, Senator Dole conducted a press conference with local media to answer questions about the passage and implementation of the new law. After the press conferences, Senator Dole spoke to hundreds of seniors about the new benefit and rounded out each stop with a satellite media tour to provide a national scope to his efforts. To further help inform seniors of the new benefit, Spectrum created educational pamphlets and a Web site, www.bobdoleonmedicare.com.

The campaign generated more than 53 million media impressions. A partial list of media outlets covering Senator Dole’s tour include Detroit News, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Columbus Dispatch, Washington Times, Tallahassee Democrat, Associated Press, MSNBC, FOX NEWS, CNBC, CNN, and CNN Headline News, as well as numerous local television news affiliates. Thousands of seniors were educated, allowing them to make an informed decision about how to best meet their needs.