The Biotech Industry Must Tell Its Story To The Public

Scientific discovery takes long periods of trial and error. When you uncover enough new rules that work, you have a scientific revolution. Every time a big change like this happens in science, we have a fancy word for it: a new paradigm. Every day we are discovering new rules for biotechnology. Sometimes we explore down a dead end; other times, we uncover a new mystery. This is the nature of scientific discovery; it can't be rushed. Look what happened in the Aesop fable about the tortoise and the hare: The tortoise prevailed because he took a slow and sure approach to running the race. Those of us in the biotechnology industry must take the tortoise's approach to establishing and publicizing our paradigm. We must clearly communicate what we are about. If we stay quiet-or if we over-reach or make boastful claims and don't deliver-we may inadvertently foster superstition, confusion, resistance to change, and fear about biotechnology. As someone who represents the biotech industry, I use Aesop's fable as my compass for communications. We have set the right pace-slow and steady. However, the biotech industry must avoid becoming a tortoise that keeps its head so tucked in its shell that it hears no questions, sees no problems, and speaks no answers. The biotech industry must be clear with its messages. We must tell our story. It's a very good story. It's also good for business. Every good story needs a clearly defined topic. Yet, many press releases from companies that are members of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) come across my desk every day without the word "biotechnology" in them. If we don't call what we do "biotechnology," why should the media? Why should the public? Perhaps some in our industry seem to feel that the public isn't ready for "biotechnology," and the fear of being misunderstood has persuaded them to be reticent about using the word. That reticence is wrong. Today, as the industry reaches toward its next rung on its ladder of development and brings more and more products to market, we should be encouraging the public to use the word. What we don't want to happen, because it will affect the public's perception of the entire industry, is for our products to come out of "mystery" labs, where "mysterious" processes develop new answers to man's fundamental problems. Now, more than ever, as we grow stronger, the word "biotechnology" should be seen as an asset to a product's description. We should view the word "biotechnology" as our trademark-a trademark that stands for innovation. Trademarks are what people believe in and buy into. People buy BMWs because they are BMWs. Some of the most powerful marketing communications focus on a single word. Case in point: Consider the confusion and dissatisfaction that arose when Coca-Cola was changed to New Coke. I have watched dozens of focus groups on biotechnology across the United States. When people are asked, "What's biotech?," there's generally silence and scratching of heads. But if you dig a little deeper, describe what it's all about-bingo, light bulbs go on. They look at each other, their heads nod in approval: Yeah, they have read about all those discoveriesthey just don't know what to call it. In fact, they want to know what to call it. People know what biotechnology is doing. They just don't know it's biotechnology. We're getting millions of dollars' worth of free publicity in the media, and we should be taking better advantage of it. And what if you don't use the term "biotech"? Well then, the law of omitted data takes over! That law basically says, "Where there is no information about something, people will invent it." Worse yet, our critics will invent it. Now here's another key to communication: credibility. In an age when it seems that there is less and less you can count on, credibility is your most important asset. Credibility is especially important to the business of biotechnology-because for most of our companies it's a long, long, long way from product development to payday. If you care about the future of your company and the industry, you should establish a "voice" with audiences outside your labs. Have you built a relationship with your community, your hometown newspaper, or your state legislator? Having credibility with these audiences will give you the benefit of the doubt. Remember, the foundation of credibility is truth told plainly and consistently. Dan Eramian is vice president of communications at the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Washington, D.C. This text is adapted from an address he gave to a Washington-based biotech industry group on May 14, 1996.

The Biotech Industry Must Tell Its Story To The Public

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