In a time when the public views corporations — especially in healthcare — with deep skepticism, successful public relations campaigns stand out not only for their creativity, but for something rarer: authenticity, accountability, and results. Corporate PR in healthcaretoday cannot simply be about image-building or press releases. It must be about meaningful communication, value-aligned transparency, and public service.
When done well, corporate healthcare PR becomes a blueprint for rebuilding public trust, shaping policy conversations, and driving behavior change. And the stakes are enormous: whether it’s vaccines, women’s health, or telehealth, corporations today are at the forefront ofshaping public health narratives — and often public outcomes.
This op-ed explores real, timely examples of healthcare corporate PR that have succeeded — not through flash, but through clarity, credibility, and culture. Each case study demonstrates a principle of PR success that applies broadly, regardless of size or specialization.
I. Kaiser Permanente: PR Built on Policy, Prevention, and People
Kaiser Permanente is not just a hospital system — it’s an integrated healthcare model and insurance provider that serves over 12 million people in the U.S. Over the past three years, Kaiser has successfully navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, workforce unrest, and a rapidly shifting policy environment — all while maintaining a high reputation among consumers.
What Worked:
- Timely, values-led messaging during the pandemic. Kaiser avoided politicized language and focused its PR on core values: science, equity, and community health. Their “Together We Thrive” campaign emphasized facts, vaccination access, and care for vulnerable populations.
- Internal communication was treated as external PR. Kaiser understood that in a workforce of 300,000+, internal trust leaks externally. They invested in strong labor relations messaging and transparent updates on COVID safety protocols, vaccination mandates, and staffing decisions.
- Policy alignment and advocacy. Kaiser’s PR wasn’t limited to media. They were active in public testimony and regulatory discussions, positioning themselves as a partner innational health strategy rather than just a service provider.
Results:
- Kaiser was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies (Ethisphere, 2024).
- Retained high consumer satisfaction scores even after a major labor strike in late 2023.
- Recognized by PRWeek and Modern Healthcare for pandemic-era communication leadership.
Takeaway:
Corporate PR is most effective when it’s embedded in operational reality — not layered on top of it. Kaiser’s strength came from alignment: what they said in press releases was supported by what patients and employees experienced.
II. Pfizer: A Reinvention Through Relentless Transparency
In early 2021, Pfizer’s name was on everyone’s lips — and not always favorably. As one of themain developers of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, the company faced waves of public scrutiny, misinformation, and politicization. Yet by 2024, Pfizer had successfully rebranded itself not just as a pharmaceutical giant, but as a science-forward, globally responsible entity.
What Worked:
- Proactive media engagement. Rather than waiting for others to define the narrative, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla became a frequent face on news shows, podcasts, and global forums, always emphasizing science, data transparency, and ethical manufacturing.
- Clear digital storytelling. The company launched Pfizer.com/ScienceWillWin — a microsite filled with videos, timelines, infographics, and patient stories. Their “Science Will Win” campaign put faces and facts at the center of the narrative.
- Openness about limitations. Pfizer published FAQs, disclosed trial methodologies, and engaged with critiques. In a sector that often hides behind legalese, their willingness to discuss what they didn’t know yet built credibility.
Results:
- Pfizer’s trust index rose 17 points from 2021 to 2023 (Edelman Trust Barometer).
- Their quarterly earnings saw double-digit gains, buoyed not just by vaccine revenue, but by strengthened brand affinity across new product lines (including oncology and RSV vaccines).
- In 2024, Pfizer received a Cannes Lions Grand Prix for its multi-channel science communication campaign.
Takeaway:
Corporate PR wins when it embraces complex conversations instead of avoiding them.Pfizer showed that transparency — even about uncertainty — is a credibility driver, not a liability.
III. CVS Health: Shaping the Future of Retail Healthcare Through Strategic PR
CVS Health has undergone one of the most ambitious transformations in recent healthcarememory — shifting from a national pharmacy chain to a vertically integrated healthcareprovider offering insurance (via Aetna), virtual care, and primary care at the store level.
As this transformation occurred, so too did CVS’s public messaging — which evolved from retail-driven deals to healthcare advocacy and access storytelling.
What Worked:
- Mission-centered messaging. The “Health Is Everything” campaign positioned CVS not as a seller of prescriptions, but as a champion of whole-person care. The brand spotlighted its decision to stop selling tobacco, increase access to mental health services, and invest in underserved areas.
- Bold stances tied to brand. CVS’s announcement that it would reduce its physical footprint by closing 900 stores wasn’t spun as a loss, but as part of a larger strategy to build “HealthHUBs” — redesigned stores focused on clinical services.
- Community and legislative partnerships. CVS invested in vaccine distribution in low-income communities, working with churches and local organizations. Their PR team issued region-specific press kits, amplifying impact at the ZIP code level.
Results:
- CVS Health’s brand reputation rose in the Harris Poll’s 2024 Healthcare Reputation Rankings, climbing above Walgreens and Rite Aid for the first time.
- Their primary care and telehealth services saw a 34% year-over-year increase inutilization.
- Earned praise in Fast Company and Ad Age for using PR to articulate “a 10-year vision ina one-minute message.”
Takeaway:
Great corporate PR doesn’t just follow rebrands — it leads them. CVS used strategic, human-first PR to explain complex business changes in ways that felt empowering, not corporate.
IV. Roche Diagnostics: Owning the Data Conversation
In a digital world, diagnostic companies like Roche hold a crucial role — often invisible to thepublic but central to care delivery. Roche’s corporate PR success lies in how they’ve stepped forward as both a health technology innovator and a data ethics thought leader.
What Worked:
- Reframing diagnostics as prevention. Roche ran global campaigns emphasizing that”data saves lives,” with messaging focused on early cancer detection and rare disease diagnostics. Their PR didn’t focus on labs — it focused on lives.
- Global-local PR hybridization. Roche customized PR content for local markets — such as cervical cancer screening education in Latin America, or AI-enabled diagnostic tools in European elderly care — while maintaining a consistent global brand narrative.
- Ethical data advocacy. In 2024, Roche co-authored and co-promoted a white paper on health data governance with WHO and Stanford Medicine, which it then disseminated via PR campaigns targeting policymakers, journalists, and healthcare innovators.
Results:
- Roche became the top-rated diagnostics brand globally in a 2024 YouGov brand perception study.
- Cited by EU health officials as a “model partner” in responsible AI and diagnostic tech deployment.
- Invited to present at Davos 2025 on “Ethical AI in Healthcare” — a PR platform born ofcredibility, not self-promotion.
Takeaway:
PR doesn’t just sell services — it shapes the public conversation. Roche’s success stemmed from using PR to claim a purposeful position in the health tech ecosystem.
V. Moderna: From Lab to Legacy — With Lessons in Accessibility
Moderna, once a relatively obscure biotech firm, became a global name during the pandemic. While Pfizer’s PR machinery was well-oiled, Moderna had to build credibility in real time. What followed was one of the most fast-evolving PR success stories in corporate healthcare.
What Worked:
- Speed and clarity. Moderna communicated vaccine results, side effects, and rollout plans in easy-to-read formats and visuals. Their PR team partnered with journalists to offer interviews with scientists and fact sheets that could be shared across media.
- Digital-first equity messaging. Their “Science for All” digital campaign ran on social, podcasts, and in multiple languages, targeting underserved and vaccine-hesitant populations with culturally aware content.
- Executive accessibility. CEO Stéphane Bancel and Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton gave over 200 media interviews across three years — rare for biotech — to ensure transparency.
Results:
- Moderna’s brand awareness rose 5,000% between 2020 and 2024 (per Morning Consult).
- The company was included in TIME’s Most Influential Companies list in 2023 and 2024.
- It secured major public-private partnerships outside COVID — including mRNA flu and cancer vaccine initiatives — in large part due to strengthened public trust.
Takeaway:
When credibility is fragile, transparency is your only leverage. Moderna didn’t pretend to be perfect — they explained everything in real time, which helped them build a legacy far beyond COVID.
What All These Brands Have in Common
From multi-billion-dollar pharma giants to retail chains transforming into care networks, these healthcare brands succeeded in PR by aligning three core principles:
1. Consistency Between Message and Action
- Don’t say you believe in equity if your executive team is all white men.
- Don’t talk about transparency while hiding pricing information.
- Don’t announce innovation without proving outcomes.
PR that isn’t backed by policy, people, or process will fail — eventually.
2. A Willingness to Own the Narrative
Each company above chose to tell their own story, rather than react to others’ framing. They were first to publish, first to answer questions, and first to offer data.
In healthcare PR, silence is not neutrality — it’s ambiguity.
3. Strategic Empathy
The best corporate PR isn’t about pushing out messages. It’s about listening, adjusting tone and language, and treating audiences as stakeholders, not just targets.
Empathy is strategic when it guides campaign design, leadership comms, and crisis response. It’s the thread that makes everything else credible.
Final Thoughts: The Future Is Bold, or It’s Nothing
In a post-pandemic world marked by polarization, misinformation, and digital saturation, healthcare companies must decide what kind of communicator they want to be.
Will you let your services speak for themselves — or will you shape the narrative withpurpose, care, and accountability?
The most successful corporate healthcare PR in 2024 and 2025 has been bold — not flashy, but honest. Not neutral, but principled. Not just present, but fully engaged.
This is the future of healthcare PR. Not spin. Not slogans. But sustained, strategic trust-building.
If you’re a healthcare leader reading this: the time for safe, generic PR is over.
The public wants the truth.
Give it to them — and they’ll give you everything that matters in return.
