2014 Annual Report: Healthcare Communications Agencies Overview – Change, And Change Again
Fluidity was the state of pharmaceutical advertising in 2013, as agencies shifted their operations, personnel, and tactics to meet the needs of their clients, driven by the pace of digital.
The nature of advertising continued to evolve and shift in 2013, and the healthcare sector was no exception. Digital continued its expansion in the sector, with every agency involved in this issue heavily involved in the use of digital mediums and tactics in their clients’ campaigns. The other word that predominated in 2013 was consolidation – Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (see profile on page 164) merged one of its agencies into Discovery USA (see profile on page 68). Also, the network acquired independent digital agency Heartbeat Ideas (see profile on page 74) and merged it into Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness (see profile on page 92).
Calcium NYC in January 2014 was merged into The Star Group, which had merged with VoxMedica and VoxMedica’s parent, Independent Healthcom Strategies Group. The new entity is known as Calcium Healthcare (see profile on page 105).
And Category I Agency of the Year GSW (see profile on page 36) merged its digital agency, Blue Diesel, into itself.
There were also some significant moves in agency personnel. At McCann RCW (see profile on page 82), former founding partners Rich Campbell and Brendan Ward were quietly phased out at the end of 2013, as founding partner Maureen Regan was made head of business development at McCann Health.
Other personnel shifts took place as well. Marci Piasecki, former regional director of McCann Health North America, in early 2014 joined Category I Agency of the Year GSW as president of GSW East, overseeing GSW’s rapidly expanding client base in both the New York and Newtown, Pa., offices.
One agency even changed its name – Draftfcb Healthcare is now FCB Health (see profile on page 32).
Mergers And Shifts
In 2013, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness and Saatchi & Saatchi Health Communications joined forces after executives observed a gap in the market for one agency that provides a holistic approach to healthcare and wellness. The agencies now operate as one entity under the former name. Heartbeat Ideas joined Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness to form a wholly new market player with what executives believe is unmatched strength and depth. Heartbeat Ideas and its West Coast entity, Heartbeat West, operate under the names of “Heartbeat Ideas, a member of Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness,” and “Heartbeat West, a member of Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness.”
CEO Bill Drummy had started the agency as Heartbeat Digital in 1998 and then renamed it Heartbeat Ideas to show the agency’s expertise went beyond just digital. At the time the acquisition was announced in October 2013, he said, “For 15 years, we’ve been on a mission to bring a more effective, digitally forward approach to healthcare marketing. By becoming a member of PublicisGroupe and Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, we now have the opportunity to be a critical ingredient in an entirely new agency formulation for healthcare clients, one that is thoughtfully designed to turn the new realities of the rapidly changing healthcare marketplace to our clients’ advantage.”
Despite no longer being an independent entity, Heartbeat executives say the agency is unaffected by the “deep-rooted obsession with dismantling the perceived or assumed limitations of advertising in a regulated industry to bring unconfined ideas to the confined environment of healthcare marketing. So, in many ways, it’s business as usual for the Heartbeat you know and love,” they say.
Discovery USA came into being with the integration of Saatchi and Saatchi Science. In addition to offices in Chicago and Philadelphia, Discovery offices were created across the globe. Markets representing the Discovery brand outside of the United States include the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, India, China, and Australia.
According to Don Young, group managing director, “For us, this was part of our ongoing transformation to offer clients a new type of global agency that combines deep science, creative storytelling, meaningful relationships, and shared passion.”
In 2013, PHCG also created a new agency, Publicis Health Media (see profile on page 91). The agency was launched in January 2014 and according to execs, PHM offers broad thinking and buying power to help pharmaceutical, health, and wellness clients connect with their audiences through relevant, engaging experiences. Execs say the agency has demonstrated a track record of thinking about and delivering innovative cross-channel solutions across a holistic media ecosystem – paid, earned, owned, digital, and traditional – creating the industry standard in health and wellness.
“Change is all around us, health and wellness is changing, media is changing faster than advertising, and our customers are changing,” says Matt McNally, president of PHM. “We need to be brave every day, and help our clients and customers lead the change.”
Calcium was opened in October 2012 by the former partners of Wishbone after the latter was acquired by Rosetta (see profile on page 52). Steven Michaelson, CEO, Judy Capano, chief strategic officer, and Renee Mellas, president, had been at Wishbone together.
In January 2014, The Star Group – the largest independently owned marketing communications firm in the Philadelphia region and one of the top 100 U.S. agencies – merged with the independent agency VoxMedica and its parent company, Independence Healthcom Strategies Group, and agreed to fold in Calcium NYC, a previous joint venture partner. The purpose of the merger was to combine both organizations with The Star Group’s existing healthcare agency, Star Life Sciences.
Executives say the merger brings together a “dream team” of life sciences marketing communications agencies became one – the experience and heritage of an agency grounded in strategic and scientific acumen offered by VoxMedica; the digital muscle and platform of almost 30 years that Star Life Sciences brings to the game; and the strategic and creative chops of Calcium NYC.
“This new structure reflects the intensity of our focus,” executives say.
At McCann RCW, the end of 2013 also brought a new generation of leadership. Susan Duffy, previously of CDM and Omnicom Group, assumed the role of president. Agency leaders say her wealth of experience is being used to support the daily operations of the company while growing the business. In addition, two MRCW veterans, Colleen Hindsley and Hassan, were promoted to executive leadership positions, further signaling the transformation in leadership.
“Together with Dan, Colleen, Jeff and the leadership team, we are committed to creating a healthy future for the McCann RCW community by focusing on talent development, creativity, and outstanding client service,” Duffy says.
With her shift to GSW, Piasecki was also named managing director of inVentiv Health Communications’ (iHC) Media 360 and Creative Studios. In this capacity, she is overseeing the media and production groups that support GSW and inVentiv Health. “Adding Marci to our GSW family is one of the most significant highlights for us in 2013,” says Joe Daley, president of GSW. “Not only is she a skilled industry veteran who possesses all the leadership characteristics that we value, but her passion, energy, and style is what inspires creative people and propels brands to success.”
At Mc|K Healthcare (see profile on page 134) in mid-2013, owner Michael McLinden kicked off an ambitious initiative to reinvent the concept of pharmaceutical marketing, working through its vision for what McLinden calls “Pharma 2.0.”
“Across the pharmaceutical world, there is universal consensus that major change is under way in our industry,” McLinden says. “Yet we all, agencies and pharmaceutical clients alike, continue to operate from the same premises. It’s not because we’re stupid or blind to the reality, it’s that the solutions that are needed are likely to be really transformative, and that requires letting go of current business models and starting with a clean sheet of paper.
Digital Continues As The Normal
Just about every agency in featured in this magazine – large or small, whether considered digital or “traditional” – has produced digital campaigns for clients, and several claim significant portions of their revenue now derives from digital, rather than traditional, work.
Physicians, particularly primary care physicians, are connecting to brands through online events and experiences, say experts at MDLinx, which polled physician specialists about their preferences for digital events. (For more information about MDLinx’s findings, please see the related story on page 14).
Executives at Digitas Health LifeBrands(see profile on page 31) point out that with a radically changed media landscape, digital no longer is a discrete channel, but influences, informs, and infuses all media.
Digital facility is also important on the network level, according to executives at Eurocom (see profiles on page 159). Agency leaders say Eurocom has embraced what the latest cloud and digital technologies have to offer in order to make doing global work efficient and top notch at the same time. Tony Chant, president and coordinator of network projects, says keeping agency services competitive is key to thriving in today’s business climate.
“While we understand there’s no real substitute for face-to-face meetings and conversations with clients, the reality is it just can’t happen every day with a client in China,” Chant says. “Which is why we’re finding ways to deliver client service in ways that keep us efficient and competitive.”
According to executives at Targetbase (see profile on page 149), the inexorable shift in healthcare marketing from traditional, mass advertising towards more targeted, digitally based relationship marketing, continues unabated.
“Due to the science and the economics of the evolving pharmaceutical and biotech marketplace, the discipline of relationship marketing, once considered bleeding edge or inefficient, has become mainstream,” these executives say. “Targetbaseleverages its heritage in advanced analytics to help brands identify customer needs, dig into rich veins of business intelligence, and deliver relevant, timely communications through varied direct channels.”
Targetbase brought Peter Kulupka on board in 2013 to further extend and enhance its technology platform so that the intelligence could be utilized more seamlessly. “Data is no longer the domain of the IT department or any single functional area within our clients’ organizations,” Kulupka says. “Our job is to free the data so that it all works together, not simply that it is all stored in the same place.”
As automated marketing tools emerge, especially in helping brands place digital media, Targetbase continues to push customer intelligence into the mix. “Customers are not always coming to you and announcing their readiness for your message or your product,” Kulupka notes. “It is more subtle than that. You must be attuned to the signals so that your brand can respond at the speed of the conversation.”
The analysis of big data and relationship marketing in digital channels also was on the minds of executives at CMI/Compas (see profile on page 67) and closerlook (see profile on page 108).
CMI/Compas focuses on providing full-service audience planning, acquisition and promotional investment/execution. Executives say the agency steers over 400 multi-channel promotional campaigns for its brand clients, and is responsible for more than 30 percent of the industry’s digital/mobile media placements and 50 percent of overall multi-channel placements and traffic.
In 2013, CMI/Compas developed and launched Media Vitals, which was named by Med Ad News in December as one of three Pharmaceutical Marketing Ventures to Watch for 2013, “changing the way that our industry markets.” According to Carly Kuper, VP of marketing, subscribers “can access [Media Vitals] from your phone, tablet or computer to get instant information to answer your most pressing questions, justify a recommendation and make quick decisions. It’s channel-neutral, encompasses not just vehicles and preferences but also devices. Media Vitals allows us to understand not just what doctors are doing today but also in the future, not just ads but also NPP deeper engagement, as well as content needs.”
In the social media space, CMI/Compas is partnering with select pharma brands to provide them with a deep understanding of the conversations happening about their brand in the social space. From large networks such as Twitter and Facebook to disease state specific forums, conversations about brands are happening each minute and executives note that CMI/Compas helps clients understand where they are and what they are saying so that clients can be even more nimble in their engagement.
Additionally, CMI/Compas teamed up with comScore in an offering of ad verification for HCP-targeted ads.
At closerlook in 2013, the digital agency designed an analytical framework that delivers insights and value measurements of individual healthcare professionals, driving the creation of more efficient, effective marketing campaigns; launched portfolio Websites for mature and launch brands that presented disease-state and branded messaging in a single property to address the messaging needs of multiple segments; developed an app in support of a technology-enabled sales force designed to help sales representatives uncover and deliver the messages a healthcare professional needs to move to the next stage of brand adoption; and created responsive-design Websites and eLearning programs, which increased engagement with healthcare professionals by delivering content to their preferred devices.
According to its leadership, closerlook is skilled in working with marketing technology platforms that cover database and user management, insight generation, campaign and content management. Current tools include Appature Nexus, StrongView, Veeva, and Kentico. Clients’ user data is managed by Backstage CRM, while healthcare professional portals are built on Backstage Web.
For three closerlook-managed brand Websites, traffic from mobile devices increased an average of 750 percent in 2013 versus 2012, executives remark.
At GSW, the agency’s innovation discipline is delivering digital, marketing, consumer, and healthcare trend reports through its proprietary web portal Health Experience Project (HxP), which has drawn more than 7,000 visitors (and contributed to GSW’s top 1 percent rank of content consumed on SlideShare).
iQ, GSW’s experimentation lab, continues to commercialize products that are deployed to more than 50 brands in 20 countries across 25 companies, including Lilly, Merck, Amgen, Takeda, Shire, Johnson & Johnson, and Gilead. Products are focused around four key areas: Tradeshow (Rival, 3D booth), Rep Tools (fileShare, Mercury, Align), Analytics (Scout), and Patient Education (Fluent). Two of the most significant launches from 2013 include iQ.3D Booth, an immersive application that leverages a trade show booth into a vivid virtual on line experience; and Mercury 3, a platform that allows reps to deliver face-to-face, e-detail, remote, and group presentations across multiple communication channels, all from their iPad or Windows 8 compatible tablet.
For AbelsonTaylor, every year less of the agency’s work involves the printed word, executives say (see profile on page 26). AbelsonTaylor completed 742 digital projects last year, and now 85 percent of the agency’s brands use it for their digital programs.
“In fact, digital, social and broadcast make up most of what we do for clients,” executives comment. “But the point is not digital, broadcast, social or print. What makes us successful is not the media we use to communicate, but the content we communicate: thoroughly researched messages, in-depth medical understanding, thoughtful insight discovery, carefully crafted positioning, memorable, impactful creative concepts delivered to patients and doctors in the way they want to access information – integrated through all media and perfectly compliant with all the rules that govern our industry.”
Additionally, AbelsonTaylor management says many clients are discovering that multiple agencies and digital vendors struggling to keep content aligned and compliant while also trying to poach each other’s work is a recipe for inefficiency.
As the roles of pharma companies, marketing and agencies evolve dramatically, executives believe that Intouch Solutions (see profile on page 43) is poised to continue to be the agency of the future. “The idea of AOR is archaic,” says Wendy Blackburn, executive VP. “Roles and responsibilities have shifted. We were born digital, but our role has expanded dramatically into strategy, research, analytics, media, creative, content, engagement, and other leadership roles. We’re essentially reinventing what it means to be an agency.”
In September, the agency launched Intouch Science, a group that melds medical communications with technology to create programs geared toward healthcare professionals.
Executives at Giant (see profile on page 72) say the agency has established itself as a fully integrated partner delivering high-end strategy as well as on-the-ground execution cross channel, cross platform, and cross audience. The agency is now recognized as an industry leader in Veeva CLM content creation, including custom solutions that maximize the iRep platform in the field and in the home office. Giant is partnering with many of its clients, including Astellas, Neutrogena, Shire, Actelion, AstraZeneca, Seattle Genetics, and Depomed on Veeva-based programs, and has developed a number of first in class, custom software products using existing, and soon-to-be-released Veeva platforms.
As Intouch and Giant have done, Klick Health (see profile on page 46) has evolved from a mostly digital shop into a full-service agency.
“If it’s digital, we do it, and if it’s not digital, we do it, too,” says CEO Leerom Segal.
Among its innovative offerings introduced in 2013, Klick launched its Katalyst Digital Strategy, Digital Clinical Trial Recruiting, and Managed Markets Access. The Katalyst campaign showcases how Klick helps clients develop a robust digital strategy to drive their business with a captivating, 193-page hardcover book, complete with a state-of-the-art Welcome Video in the inside front cover.
“Far from your average communication tool, Katalyst received far from average results,” executives say. According to agency leaders, of the 2,357 copies Klick published and distributed, it generated hundreds of calls, dozens of meetings, and several million dollars in new business. Likewise, Klick’s work in Digital Clinical Trial Recruiting campaigns have experienced great initial success with clinical trials experiencing more than 130 percent lift in registrations.
In support of continued expansion into digital channels, Juice Pharma Worldwide (see profile on page 78) has invested in Studio Juice, an in-house video, commercial, and photography production studio that is creating core content to be leveraged over multiple channels including web, mobile apps, broadcast, interactive video, tablet, and print.
According to Forrest King, managing partner, chief innovation officer, “Studio Juice helps us deliver the highest-quality content produced in the most efficient way possible. We start by thinking through core content and all of its potential applications, then identifying the most dynamic platform-correct vehicle to disseminate that content across channels. It’s all about starting at the source.”
For Category II Agency of the Year McCann Torre Lazur (see profile on page 84), digital revenue more than doubled in 2013 – another first – with nearly half of the agency’s creative awards coming from interactive engagements. Notable wins included a series of unbranded “edu-tainment” games supporting the launch of laquinimod, a novel oral MS therapy: “The Neurodegeneration Gap” allowed convention attendees to virtually descend into a neuron-shaped chasm representing the MS knowledge gap and “Beat the Atrophon” pitted neurologists against a “Simon-says” brain in a trivia race to stop brain atrophy. Executives say McCann Torre Lazur has infused digital strategy into every aspect of its offerings.
For Navicor (see profile on page 140), with initiatives ranging from Web deployment to personal selling, digital continues to be a key and expanding expertise for the agency. “We have fostered relationships with Google and Microsoft to offer unique solutions otherwise not available to clients,” Navicor leaders note.
For Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Navicor produced a disease education channel on YouTube, called Mechanisms of Resistance in Tumors (MERIT) that showcases four unique infographic videos.
For Cadence, Navicor worked with inVentiv Digital, iQ Labs, and Microsoft to produce a first-in-class interactive visual aid for the Microsoft Surface Pro.
At Artcraft Health (see profile on page 59), executives say 2014 is focused on substantially enhancing the agency’s digital portfolio. Exploring the most effective, appropriate, and efficient use of digital technology is key, while taking care to deliver the right message to the right audience, at the right time. Artcraft Health analyzes communication and education gaps that exist in the patient healthcare experience and develops both traditional and digital solutions utilizing its full array of services and expertise to enhance education and promote compliance and patient empowerment.
“We will continue to expand our digital solutions and create innovative custom campaigns that drive patient outcomes and solve health literacy challenges,” says Marc Sirockman, executive VP and general manager.
Executives at RazorfishHealthware, which specializes in digital strategies (see profile on page 51), say the agency is a leader in digital ecosystem thinking and support brands with enterprise-level solutions. “By being integrative and collaborative at the core, we provide enterprise or franchise-wide strategy, consulting, platforms, tools and solutions that transcend traditional brand marketing,” they say.
“RazorfishHealthware delivers value at the convergence of technology, marketing, and creative – brought together with expertise in the healthcare space – which makes us truly unique,” managers remark. “We think strategically about our clients’ business problems and bring them digital ideas that will transform their businesses.”
As part of its future plans, RazorfishHealthware is launching a rotation program for employees to gain first-hand experience with emerging technology. The immersive program aims to expand the horizon of understanding regarding the user perspective, and inspire new ideas from all segments of the organization. Developer hackathons for disruptive technology will remain an integral part of the agency’s strategy, with existing plans to host them in the Google Glass, gamification, and augmented reality spaces. Additionally, the agency will continue to support incubator programs, and facilitate interactions between new ideas and the pharmaceutical and healthcare space.
At RevHealth (see profile on page 144), new assignments drove the agency to restructure and expand its digital capabilities to seamlessly integrate digital expertise into its core suite of services rather than create a stand-alone department. Executives say this effort resulted in a substantial increase in digital productivity, with digital services representing more than a third of all agency revenue. The digital work was energized by significant new hires that bring deep experience in digital strategy, creative, execution, and analytics.
“Finding a digital agency that understands technology is easy, but finding a digital agency that understands physician, patient, and health care industry requirements and applying them digitally is a different story,” says Bruce Medd, managing partner.
At The CementBloc(see profile on page 64), work expanded in areas of key focus, including digital wins for a professional learning portal for J&J’s DePuySynthes and being named digital AOR for GlaxoSmithKline’s Votrient. The agency also rebranded its ConvergentTimes.com, which it bills as the first online forum for emerging innovations in health and wellness marketing communications, as HealthwellNext to ensure future focus on the industry.
The team at RealityRx (see profile on page 142) worked closely with the Celgene brand team to develop an intuitive advanced app that enhances the dialogue between multiple myeloma patients and caregivers. The app, “Tracking My Multiple Myeloma,” is available for download on Apple and Android devices. Although its digital capabilities are advanced, the app’s design is demographically targeted and age-appropriate, allowing patients to easily track symptoms, set appointment reminders, and access information pertinent to their condition. This digital tool enables patients to take a more active role in their healthcare, enhancing the value of the pharmaceutical brand, agency leaders say.
Leaders at MDC Health (see profile on page 136) say they are extremely excited about the 2013 growth of the MDC Digital Solutions business. These executives say the agency is doing cutting-edge work in the area of digital marketing, analytics, social media, and the use of Websites as direct response vehicles to connect healthcare professionals and patients to measurable success indicators.
McCann RCW will “invest in best-in-class digital talent, strategy, user experience, and technology,” Duffy remarks. Well aware of the industry’s shift to digital, Duffy plans to “infuse digital into all we do,” and says 2014 is off to an auspicious start with new internal initiatives designed to foster a more positive and participatory agency community, as well as exciting new business opportunities with current clients.
For ICC Lowe (see profile on page 40), the agency, which executives say was already known for its medical prowess and creative horsepower, is now showcasing new strategic offerings and an entire platform of digital solutions from social to mobile and everything in between.
At FCB Health, executives say the agency in 2013 expanded its offering in digital production, analytics, branding, mobile, medical education, sales force training and implementation, and over-the-counter products. Agency leaders believe this best-in-class vision has allowed FCB Health to move far beyond “how many iPad presentation have you created” to advance the conversation about what digital can be in the future of healthcare and how best to create a brand experience across channels and geographic borders.
With 55 percent of its business mix within emerging media, 2013 marked a year of digital expansion and innovation for Concentric Health Experience, agency leaders say (see profile on page 110). Concentric continued its social media relationship with Novartis’ Exelon and expanded into Novartis Oncology, being awarded the consumer digital and social media business for Exjade. “Our ability to translate brand strategy into meaningful, engaging and impactful digital experiences has led our acceleration within digital,” says Ross Quinn, managing partner and director of customer integration.
Bringing innovation through proprietary platforms and expertise has helped Concentric integrate full digital experiences for clients. “The key to a digital experience is blending the familiar with the unique, enough convention to remove confusion and enough of the unconventional to individualize the brand experience,” says Jim Driscoll, VP and director of creative technology.
Executives at CAHG (see profile on page 62) say a key focus in 2013 was the continued integration of digital talent into the agency, resulting in deeper expertise in content strategy, experience design, digital strategy, analytics, and technology applications. To enhance brand engagement, CAHG created an integrated digital strategy and intelligence group. By pairing digital strategy with analytics, CAHG helps maximize the brand experience along the entire customer journey.
Digital assignments continued to dominate HCB Health’s workload in 2013 (see profile on page 122) and the agency is on course to double its interactive capacity in all areas especially mobile, according to agency leaders. “iPad apps and iBooks became all the rage for many of our client’s sales force and HCB is adding even more proprietary apps for healthcare marketers,” executives say.
One specific accomplishment the agency is proud of was the launch of headandneckcancerguide.org, which executives say is the most comprehensive Website for head and neck cancer in the world. This resource allows patients to create a guidebook for their journey through cancer treatment. The site also has age-appropriate information for teens and children to better educate them about what their parents are going through.
While Scout (see profile on page 146) has long been deeply immersed in the digital realm, the agency recently added even more capabilities to its interactive arsenal, executives say. The visually striking campaigns for the Lundbeck brands Sabril and Onfi, for example, are delivered extensively through digital media that include iPad electronic details. These programs are evidence of the agency’s attention to embracing technological innovations that help sales representatives engage healthcare professionals with interesting and informative discussions.
The CementBloc took a unique, not necessarily pharma view of digital promotion in 2013 with a new creation. Executives claim the agency increased the “Gross National Happiness Quotient” by creating and launching : ) fuel (Happy Fuel), a microblogging social network that helps users “live in the happy” by providing a fun, simple way to discover, store, gauge, and fuel happiness.
“We were inspired by The World Happiness Report, a United Nations report that found that happy and healthy go hand in hand, noting, ‘More happiness predicts better future physical health,’” executives say. “In that sense, : ) fuel is the first ‘happy media’ application and one that many brands can naturally adapt to their promotional platforms.”
And Vision Award winner Greater Than One (see profile on page 120) also went beyond pharma, as GTO Labs’ predictive modeling protocol is being applied to BioDigital Systems platform, the BioDigital Human, to implement the principles of the Affordable Care Act. The program presents complicated health data in simple ways to help solve society’s largest healthcare challenges via 3-D digital technology. This ground-breaking feat was presented by GTO’s CEO Elizabeth Appelles at the United Nations in March.
ICC Lowe Trio is also pushing out beyond the promotional in its use of digital. The agency is using digital to reach out to others in the industry to share expertise. ICC Lowe Trio (see profile on page 128) dedicated part of the fourth quarter of 2013 to begin the development of Treehouse, an online resource with daily inspiration for industry professionals. “Every day, Treehouse will give professionals valuable insights on how to connect better,” says Donna Rooney, operations director. Launching this year through LinkedIn, Rooney says, “It’s going to extend our value and culture beyond our walls.”
GSW used its digital know-how for philanthropy during the holiday season. The agency’s holiday initiative, Merry Meltdown, a game application developed internally, invited employees and clients to melt virtual snowflakes, with game scores translated into funds to build a fresh water well in a Ghana village. As a result, the agency contributed several thousand dollars to water.org to provide a lifetime of healthy water for so many in need.
Change Of Face, Change Of Space
One thing several agencies did last year was either move into or expand their offices, mostly due to growth.
With its relatively new headquarters already busting at the seams, ICC Lowe Trio finalized its plans for expansion into recently vacated offices. “The timing is perfect: we’re outgrowing our current square footage, and this new space opens up right next door,” says Tom Clark, co-creative director. “It’s fun when it all comes together like that.”
Moving into new headquarters on Broadway was just the beginning of expansion plans for Centron (see profile on page 106). Says Michael Metelenis, president of Centron, “Our new space is very visible evidence of our growth and success. More importantly, we have expanded virtually everything about Centron – from our client base to our vision for the future – and we intend to continue to look beyond today so that we are best positioned to meet evolving client needs.”
In 2013, FCB Health completed the process of completely renovating its working environment to better facilitate team interaction and communication. The open environment is organized into team “neighborhoods,” which allows for constant conversation about how best to propel clients’ brands forward. “And judging by our client roster, our creative awards, and the energy you feel when walking through our space, it seems to be working exceptionally well,” executives say.
Category III Agency of the Year Fingerpaint (see profile on page 116) handled growth by moving into a new, 30,000-square-foot headquarters in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Executives say that true to Fingerpaint’s collaborative style, the new space features an open floor plan with no offices, numerous team meeting areas and a large bistro for in-office events. Fingerpaint also opened a new office in Wayne, Pa.
In 2013, Giant completed an office expansion in its waterfront building, and has already begun securing additional space in San Francisco for future growth. Giant now has on-the-ground personnel on the East Coast, in Southern California, and in the Midwest, and expects its footprint to expand even more this coming year.
Artcraft Health in 2013 moved into its state-of-the-art headquarters in Flemington, N.J. Built inside a renovated stone 19th century feed mill and incorporating vintage agricultural industrial elements into its decor, the new space includes a focus room for market research, a floor plan that integrates departments for consistent collaboration, large conference areas, collaboration hubs, and a fitness center.
With 50 percent projected growth for 2014, based solely on existing relationships, Klick is hiring aggressively in order to scale predictably and with confidence to meet this growing need. The agency is adding an additional floor to its Toronto headquarters, growing its office footprint to four floors. This additional floor will feature a new squash court and expanded fitness facilities.
Holding companies and their healthcare communications agencies
Healthcare marketing communications agencies and their financials (Excel Document)
