CVS BRAND IMAGE

The brand image of a company is what the company wants its consumer to think about them.  Brand image does not just have to deal with the company’s name, or products name or packaging, but it also has to deal with the image of the entire company.  CVS wants to maintain a good brand image so that every time you walk into one of their stores or look at one of their products that you have a good feeling about the product because you have a good image of CVS corporation.  For the most part CVS products have simple packaging, because CVS believes that just by seeing the brand name the customer will be satisfied with their decision to shop with CVS.

I believe the simplicity of the literal image of CVS/pharmacy, says to its customers that CVS is simple and easy to use.  It says to its costumers, here we are, were trying to make things easier for the average American.  This image to the right is the image that is most commonly associated with CVS, and is used on all of their products.

Their mission statement says it all.

“We provide expert care and innovative solutions in pharmacy and health care that are effective and easy for our customers. "

This is the true brand image that CVS is trying to portray.  This quote is exactly hat CVS wants its customers to think about their corporation.  And I believe that they do a very good job of accomplishing this mission.  I believe this to be true because CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions in the entire nation.  They provide more than 1 billion prescriptions annually, and they do not look like they are going to be slowing down any time soon.  

CVS throughout the years has had a near perfect reputation.  They rarely find themselves in crises, and are doing great economically.  CVS takes part in many campaigns to help strengthen its relationships by enhancing the communities that they serve in.  CVS does various things in order to help out in the community.  These things include cash grants, in-kind contributions, sponsorships and fund raising events.  All of these things help them from a public relations stand point because there name gets out there and people get to see that they are giving back through kind programs and donations.

I believe that CVS has done a great job of using innovative technology, such as new media, to communicate with its publics and help to build stronger relationships and maintain their image.  They communicate with their publics such as customers, employees, and investors through new age websites such as face book, twitter, and there home website.  Also CVS releases a very intricate annual report that states the financial success of the company very well, which lets investors know that they have invested their savings in a reliable corporation.   

It is through their websites, annual report and various campaigns to enhance the community that public relations takes an effect on the companies image.  By being reliable, and showing that they are successful and care about the community, this enhances the outlook on CVS, and by doing so helps greaten their success as a world renowned pharmaceutical company.  It is important for CVS to keep the public informed about the company’s goals, and endeavors in order to strengthen relationships and continue to succeed financially.

CVS CRISIS!

In 2009 CVS/pharmacy was being sued for allegedly selling expired products to their consumers.  They were accused of having sold food, beverages, baby formula, dairy products, and over-the-counter medications that had past their expiration dates.

Connecticut State Attorney General Blumenthal filed suit against the company.  Investigators found expired CVS products being sold in stores in the summers of 2008 and 2009.  Investigators said that they found expired products in about 20 out of the 40 stores that they checked. 

When the company found out about the situation, and stated that it is CVS company policy to remove all items from their shelves before the expiration date passes.  They ended up having to pay settlement of around $875,000 to both the state of Connecticut and New York.

The company’s statement  was as follows,

“The health and safety of our customers is our top priority and CVS Pharmacy has a clear product removal policy in place at all of its stores to help ensure that items are removed from store shelves before they reach their expiration dates. Any unintentional deviations from this policy that are brought to the company’s attention are quickly rectified for customers.”

From what I have read I believe it says that it was just a spokeswoman who delivered this message, and not a higher up in the corporation.  If I were to have issued this statement to both the states of Connecticut and New York which are huge consumer states of CVS’ products, I think as a public relations professional of the company I would have tried to get a statement issued by a president or vice president. This is because I think this is a pretty severe situation.  I would address the CEO letting him know that the public would feel better and think that the company is actually doing something by seeing a recognizable face admitting to the fault. 

“CVS peddled potentially tainted food and ineffective medicine,” Blumenthal said. “Whether CVS was careless or heedless or overzealous for revenue, it betrayed its trust to consumers.”

I do not believe that CVS handled this situation to the best of its ability.  They did not seem very caring about the topic or sincere, I also do not think they did enough to ensure investors that they will not let this get in the way of the company and they will change for the better.  The only things to make investors feel better is the information provided to them on the companies website about on the companies website.

I do however believe that CVS does a lot for the community, and that this was a mistake that they did not know was taking place.  Seeing as how CVS has had a near pretty good track record before this, I think that its consumers will forgive CVS for such a mistake.  I do think that this CVS should enforce a new policy in place at all of its pharmacy stores that will make sure that these mistakes do not happen.  I would have an employee at each store in charge of daily checking the items.  By showing the public that it will not make this mistake again I believe that they can quickly regain its clients trust.

Investor Relations

CVS is a publicly held corporation, which means that it allows anyone from the public to purchase shares of its stock.  By purchasing a share of the CVS stock you become a part owner of the corporation.  CVS makes it very easy for their shareholders to keep informed and in touch with what is going on with the company and its earnings through there investor sections on the company website.  The largest way in which the company reaches out to its investors and the public to inform them about the company earnings is through the annual report.  This report also shows the company’s activities throughout the past year, and discusses its upcoming plans.  It can be used to make sure investors understand the value of the companies stocks and bonds, and provide accurate information about the company’s performance.  This annual report is a good opportunity for the public relations team of the company to report the activities of the company in a credible, informative, and well-mannered way.  Also this is a good time to show the investors that you appreciate their involvement.  CVS used to send out its annual report in the mail, but because of new technology and wanting to help the environment, the CVS annual reports are now offered online and sent via email. 

The CVS annual report is broken up into several different sections.  The annual report begins with the introduction of the company telling you its mission, values, and purpose.  It then continues to go on to the financial highlights, a letter to the shareholders from the CEO, pharmacy benefits management, retail pharmacy, intergraded pharmacy care, Q&A with Per Lofberg and Larry Merlo the presidents of CVS Caremark pharmacy services and CVS/pharmacy, a section on the positive impact CVS has made on its community, and then finally more shareholder information and financial information.  This annual report is not just a means to present the financial reports, but is also a means to reach out to the investors and to other publics and to show what CVS is all about in a positive way.  The information provided in this report is very informative and makes you feel good about the company and what it is all about. 

        

One of the most interesting parts of the annual report is the letter to the shareholders from the CEO.  The CEO during CVS 2009 annual report was Thomas M. Ryan.  The first thing that we see when looking at this letter is a picture of Thomas Ryan.  I believe it is a good idea by CVS to place a picture of him at the top of the letter to let the investors know and get a feel for whom it is that is speaking out to them.  I believe that investors will feel good after reading this letter.  The letter from the CEO is very informative, sincere, and optimistic about the future.  In this letter the earnings are summarized and future endeavors are discussed.  Ryan discusses the anticipation for higher retention levels and more business opportunities for 2011.  He discusses the rise in profit and the expansion of minute clinic offerings in their stores.  This message leaves you thinking that CVS is a successful company and it plans on coming more successful as the years continue.  Hearing this from the CEO directly helps to insure the costumers that they are investing in a powerful and growing corporation. 
 

The last news release that was written about CVS’ earnings was titled CVS Caremark Reports Third Quarter Financial Results.  This letter although written in technical language rather then reader-friendly, is still very informative and sense can be made out of it from the average investor.  I believe this news release does instill confidence in its investors because it shows a decrease in spending and increase in profit in certain areas during the last three months.  The quote from the CEO Tom Ryan is the main reason I feel good about this news release.  He states, “I am pleased with our third quarter results, which were at the higher end of our expectations.”  Hearing this from the CEO himself makes me feel confident that my investment with CVS would be save if I were an investor. The news release is well written, factual, and credible.  The only thing that I believe could have been done better, is to make this release more reader-friendly instead of packed with percentages and numbers.  Adding more conversation peaces in between the statistics could help make it easier for certain investors to understand and that way they are not confused or boggled by the information in front of them.

CVS Cares About The Community

CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions in the entire nation.  They provide more than 1 billion prescriptions annually.  Being such a large and successful company, CVS finds it important to give back to the communities which make what they do possible.  CVS Caremark has many giving programs which are widespread.  They are designed to help people of all ages from all backgrounds.  It is good for CVS to give back in order to preserve a good image amongst the public.  The website which talks in depth about CVS's community relations does a good job of letting you know that they truly care about the community at large and want to help out in any way possible.  

CVS does various thing in order to help out in the community.  These things include cash grants, in-kind contributions, sponsorships and fund raising events.  All of these things help them from a public relations stand point because there name gets out there and people get to see that they are giving back through kind programs and donations.  But what looks even better for them is the fact that CVS employees and colleagues volunteerism.  This allows people to actually put a face on CVS and see them directly giving back as apposed to just writing a check.  CVS is proud of there colleagues' commitment to volunteerism so much so that they have created the CVS Caremark Community Crew, which is a company-wide volunteer initiative.  Employees of CVS have become a large helping hand in the communities throughout the years.  This program supports children with disabilities as well as other things like volunteering at a local food bank, or even mentoring a student.

The largest and most productive organization within CVS is the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust.  This organizations primary focus is to support charitable organizations that are helping out and making a difference in the lives of children with disabilities.  One of there biggest programs is called All Kids Can.  This program is supported by the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust and is a five-year, $25 million dollar commitment to making life easier for those children who have disabilities.  This program helps support non profit organizations provided the programs and services needed to help children with disabilities learn play and succeed in life.  Through this program they help build playgrounds for children of all abilities to play with one another, and also provide medical rehabilitation for those who have disabilities. CVS has pledged over one million dollars to a program called Boundless Playgrounds in order to help build playgrounds across the country where children of all abilities can play together.

Aside from the charity work which CVS does on the home-front, they also donate to others across the world in their time of need.  CVS has been seen donating over a million dollars to the American Red Cross in hopes to help with relief efforts for those victims who were effected by the tsunami in southern Asia.  People definitely recognized CVS for being so generous.  It makes CVS look good when they are seen helping out in such a tragic situation.  The donations were given to the American Red Cross, RI district, and they were definitely greatfull.


"We are
extremely fortunate to have CVS/pharmacy as our neighbor and their commitment to
community and to those in need is unparalleled." - Daniel Samborn, CEO of American Red Cross, RI district


This helps prove that CVS cares about what is going on around the world and that they are good at heart and help those who are in crisis if they can.  And by doing this the image of CVS continues to grow for the better.  It also looks very good for somebody from CVS to speak about the issue, so as the public can put a face to whom it is that is actually helping.  CVS does this very well.  

"All of us at CVS are concerned about the devastating impact this disaster
has had on the population of South Asia. We are pleased to support relief and
recovery efforts in the region with a donation from the CVS/pharmacy Charitable
Trust to the American Red Cross," said Eileen Howard Dunn, Vice President of
Corporate Communications and Community Relations at CVS and Director of the
CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust. 

This makes the public feel as if CVS is actually involved, and actually cares about those who were impacted by this disaster, rather then just donating money.


The programs which are developed are carefully chosen based of the community which the stores are located in.  It is through these various programs that CVS has become an active participant in helping people live better lives.  CVS's main mission as a pharmacy is to provide expert care and innovative solutions in pharmacy and health care which is easily accessible for their customers.  And that is why they choose to run programs in the community which enhance health care services, create healthier communities and enhance the lives of children with disabilities.  They do this because they also want to strive to improve the quality of human life.  I believe that they do a great job of choosing how to go about donating, and contributing to the communities which surround them, and I believe that it can be seen amongst the publics how generous CVS is as a company and as a whole.  Many more examples CVS's community relations can be found directly on their website.  On there website you can learn more about this topic, you can read about their success stories, and tons of press releases help show how much CVS actually does give back with huge monthly donations across the country.  

CVS Caremark Charity Classic

On CVS’s website they have an entire portion dedicated to its community, and the events which it hosts in order to give back and show its dedication to that community.  One of the best ways in which CVS gives back to its community is through fundraising. CVS CAREMARK

CVS is very good about giving back to the community and proves this to its publics by hosting events annually to give back to the community through generous donations.  One of the most well known of these events is the CVS Caremark Charity Classic.  What this is, is a professional golf tournament that takes place in Barrington, Rhode Island.  It is separate from the other professional golf tours and is a two-day, two-man team event.  This tournament is hosted by CVS and it is a charity event which brings 20 professional golfers from around the world to Rhode Island to take time out of there schedules and to play for free for charity.   This event raises so much money for different charities.

CVS pitches the event by allowing the entire thing to be seen worldwide.  It is broadcasted on television as well as has a twitter page (http://twitter.com/cvsclassicgolf) following the event throughout the entire competition.  Allowing everybody to see CVS giving back to the community has a very positive effect on the companies perception.  It is always good to be seen giving back to the community and showing that you care.  I believe that CVS does a great job of sponsoring the event as well as does a great job of showing its through different media sources how much it cares about the community and how much they gives back by gaining money for various charities.  I believe that whoever is in charge of covering this event has done a great job thus far and I do not see any need for change. 

The tournament which takes place from June 27-29 every year usually is supported directly by Tom Ryan, who is the CEO and president of the CVS corporation.  He is the man who is most responsible for keeping the tournament alive.  It is good for the publics to see such a high up supporting the events which the company creates to give back to the community.  It lets the people know that he cares, and since he is the face of the company, that CVS itself is actually present at the event and is witnessing and taking part in the event.  This lets people know that CVS isn’t just posing some publicity stunt, but that they actually care and enjoy being involved with the community and to showing this to the public. Unfortunately Tom Ryan was unable to make it to this past years tournament, but Larry Merlo, who next may will succeed Ryan and become the company’s new chief operating officer was there to get things under way.  And he made it clear that when he is in charge that this event will continue to give back to organizations world wide. 

“If you look at what this tournament does, it’s raised over $13 million for charities,” Merlo said. “It all started with the Goldsteins (Stanley and Sidney, who founded the company) in terms of giving back to the community. Tom has continued that focus. I don’t expect it will be any different as we move forward.”

One of the reason that CVS does such a good job with this is because they don’t just say that they are giving money away to charities, but everybody who watches the event and everybody who takes part in the event actually get a good feeling.  They know what a positive effect that an event has on the community and the lives in which they are helping.  I feel even better about CVS after reading some of the press releases which have been written about this event which can be easily found on the main website of the charity classic.  press-releases

“Personally I am proud to be a part of this tournament because I know that it will help someone somewhere. Each one of the volunteers here should feel the exact same way. They should realize that even in the smallest way they are helping affect someone else for the better. Professional golfers take time out of their busy schedules to come play for fun.”  -Darryl R.

Many other press releases display a similar attitude towards the event, and cant help you but to feel as if they must be doing something good and for the right causes.

I believe the idea of hosting a golf tournament to raise money is a very good way to gain a positive image to the company because it keeps viewers entertained with a sport that is viewed by thousands of people daily, and millions of fans worldwide.   

The company has definitely successful in this fundraising event as they have raised over 12 million in the past 11 years.  They  have also been overall successful in the way in which they communicate this event with the publics to show what it is that they are doing in the community to give back.  This is an event that people look forward to year long.  They do a great job of letting everybody know how thankful they are for participating as well as watching the event, because the fans too are what make this event successful and possible. 

“Thanks to the support of thousands of volunteers, sponsors, golfers, and fans, this prestigious tournament has brought world-class professional golf to Rhode Island. What is most remarkable is that the Charity Classic has been able to provide more than $13 million to regional charities, with a record $1.8 million in 2008. This would not be possible without world-class fans!”

cvscaremark

CVS Online

In this day in age more and more companies have begun to use the internet as a source to network with the public and there target audiences.  The internet has brought forth a new media era, where in order to compete a company must take part in the many aspects of media news.  The internet has completely change the way in which we communicate with one another, and has also changed the ways in which public relations practitioners go about connecting with publics, and maintaining good relationships with these publics.

One of the main online sources which CVS uses is its personal websites (www.cvs.com).  CVS has one main website which can be used to easily find products which are offered at local stores as well as easy online shopping.  Its main purpose is to serve as an online pharmacy.  This proves very useful to customers seeing as how CVS is the number 1 provider of prescriptions in the nation serving over 4 million customers daily.  Its important not only for a website to catch the interest of the consumer, but a website is only successful if it is well managed and easy to use.  I believe that the CVS main website is very well kept, it is simple and makes what you are looking for easy to find while still looking professional.  


CVS has numerous amounts of other websites dedicated to the specific areas which the company is made up of.  These could be found on websites such as:
www.minuteclinic.com
www.cvsphoto.com
www.beauty360.com
These websites help you with you more directly find what it is you need based off which section of CVS you are looking for.

CVS/caremark is a healthcare service which since 2007 has been striving to become one of the most well known and best trusted healthcare providers in the United States.  There is an entire website dedicated to the services which CVS/caremark has to offer (http://info.cvscaremark.com).
The website offers information that varies from there retail pharmacy, to the way in which they contribute to the community.  Also the website has its own newsroom which offers information about the latest news of the company, as well as press releases and featured topics.

Other new media sources which CVS uses to communicate are websites such as Twitter and Facebook.  These websites are two of the most commonly visited websites to this day, and tons of corporations use them to keep in touch with there publics.  CVS currently has over 20,000 fans on facebook alone.  Twitter is another source that CVS uses to keep its publics informed about its newest discounts, prices, and news releases.  Facebook is another great website for companies to incorporate themselves with because it gives its customers and other publics a chance to voice out to CVS how they feel about there customer service and other issues.  Anybody is aloud to comment on posts and voice there opinion.  This is good for companies to see so that they can make certain changes which they would not have necessarily known they needed to make unless somebody from an outside perspective had mentioned it.

I believe that CVS does a very good job at the moment of maintaining a good relationship with there customers using an internet based outlook on public relations.  Not only does CVS keep us up to date an informed, but there websites also help reinsure us of there goals, which seem to look out for the overall health of there clients and communities which surround them.  The mission statement of CVS in relation to CVS/pharmacy and caremark is stated as such.  "Above all else … our mission is to improve the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access."  
When i read this mission statement I see CVS as a company who looks out for the overall well being of its clients.  It goes on to say that its biggest value is its customers.  If i were a part of CVS's public relations team i would continue to maintain a good relationship with the community using internet sources.  I would also possibly set up a webpage that directly focuses on answering the daily question that are brought up by daily consumers.   

Introduction CVS

In these upcoming blogs i will be discussing everything and anything there is to know about fortune 100 company CVS.  I selected this company based off there great reputation, and based off the fact that everybody across the country knows of CVS but may not know everything that they have to offer.


Everything and anything you can possibly need can be found at CVS, from household appliances to medication.


You can easily access all of this information and find a store by you by logging on to the CVS website.


CVS is here to supply you with cheap yet efficient goods.  Not only is CVS here to sell you goods, but they also care about your health, and plenty of information regarding fitness, nutrition, and other health issues can be found directly on their website.  They also make it very easy for you to stay connected as their are constantly new posts about discounts and offers on facebook and twitter.  CVS currently has over 20,000 fans on facebook.


CVS is not only a store, but also a world renowned pharmacy which even offers flu shots for the upcoming flu season.


Public relations is a growing profession which can be useful for improving CVS's reputation, and maintaining it.  At this point in time one of the biggest things concerning CVS is its customer service.  I have found many posts of customers complaining about the service that is offered at there local CVS stores.  A public relations practitioner can begin here at the source, helping to emphasize the positive aspects of such an amazingly diverse company.  I will be discussing soon how public relations effects CVS through new media, investor relations, community relations, and other hot topics.


Check out the website, or visit a store near you.  Ill be back with new and more interesting information on this outstanding company shortly.