FCB’s Area 23 Named “Healthcare Agency of the Year” at 2017 Cannes Lions Health Festival

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Area 23, an FCB Health company, was named “Healthcare Agency of the Year” during the 2017 Cannes Lions Health award ceremonies, held yesterday evening.

The accolade is given annually and honors the “healthcare agency that obtains the most points” in both award wins and shortlist entries across the health categories in Lions Health. The latter is the portion of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity dedicated to recognizing “life-changing creativity,” as well as “showcasing and inspiring ideas that transcend especially challenging boundaries.”

The award builds on a strong winning streak for Area 23, which was also honored as “Agency of the Year,” “Most Creative Agency” and “Most Admired Agency” at the 2017 Manny Awards, hosted by Med Ad News.

Aside from notching one of the evening’s top honors, Area 23 also took home notable accolades during the Pharma and Health and Wellness Lions award ceremonies. Collectively, the FCB network, which includes FCB Health and Area 23, won four Bronze, four Silver and two Gold Lions last evening.

The full list of winners includes:

“Healthcare Agency of the Year” – Area 23
Gold – Polaris – Area 23
Gold – “Down Syndrome Answers” – FCB Toronto
Silver – “Down Syndrome Answers” – FCB Toronto
Silver – “Down Syndrome Answers” – FCB Toronto
Silver – “Smart Bell” – FCB Warsaw
Silver – Polaris – Area 23
Bronze – “Map #1” – Area 23
Bronze – “Alien” – Area 23
Bronze – “This Girl Can” – FCB Inferno
Bronze – “Disclaimer” – FCB Lisboa
Commenting on the network’s successes, Dana Maiman, CEO/President of FCB Health, said the award wins are a testament to the FCB Health family’s focus on a strong creative product for clients.

“Three years ago, Rich Levy, our FCB Health Chief Creative Officer, issued a challenge to all of our agencies: to raise the bar creatively across our network. Our strong performance at both the Manny Awards and now Cannes Lions is a great proof point of our progress and success in delivering on this goal. Thank you and congrats to all of our talented teams!”

Area 23 Managing Director and Executive Creative Director Tim Hawkey was on stage with his team to receive one of the evening’s top honors last night. He remarked: “Winning Lions Health’s ‘Agency of the Year’ was a goal that we, as an agency, set for 2020, but to receive this honor just two months after setting that expectation is surreal.”

Hawkey continued: “This is an accomplishment that was only possible with the collective commitment of the entire agency. Creativity is a group effort, and at Area 23, it’s an all-hands-on-deck approach. My partner, Renée Mellas, leads the account group, and there has never been an account leader more committed to the quality of the work. The result is an agency where creative, account, strategy, medical, engagement, tech and production work hand-in-hand to deliver breakthrough work.”

About Area 23
Area 23 is a full-service healthcare agency that has dismantled barriers that stand in the way of true innovation. Their “What if” way of working goes beyond agency sloganism and provides a real framework to do breakthrough creative. Just ask any one of the 325 entrepreneurial, passionate, curious and bold people who work there.

The agency, led by managing directors Tim Hawkey and Renée Mellas, has undergone significant growth in the last four years, nearly quadrupling in size under their leadership. Their campaigns are consistently recognized with top honors from CLIO Healthcare, the Global Awards, the Effie Awards, the Manny Awards, the MM&M Awards and, of course, Lions Health. In 2017, Area 23 was the first agency ever to win all top honors from Med Ad News, scoring Agency of the Year (Category 1), Most Admired Agency – for the second consecutive year, and – for the third consecutive year – Most Creative Agency. It was also named Mid-Sized Agency of the Year by Medical Marketing & Media consecutively, in 2014 and 2015.

About FCB Health
With more than 30 years of experience marketing to healthcare professionals, patients and consumers, FCB Health produces work that is both strategically relevant and creatively compelling. The agency provides its clients with multichannel capabilities, including DTC and HCP communications, professional education, branding, scientific services, strategic planning and media services. Its high energy, diverse culture and global network have resulted in a robust client roster, including AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ironwood, J&J, Lilly, Novartis and Genentech. It was named “Agency of the Year” by Med Ad News in 2006, 2009 and 2015 and by Medical Marketing & Media in 2007, 2010 and 2013. For the past seven out of eight years, an FCB Health Company has been named Most Creative Agency by Medical Advertising News.

FCB Health is a unit of FCB, itself a member of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). Under its network umbrella, FCB Health has an impressive roster of separate full-service, multichannel healthcare agencies, including Area 23, Neon and FCB Cure, as well as units focusing specifically on managed markets and medical education: Mosaic, ProHealth, Hudson Global and Trio. For more information, visit www.FCBHealthcare.com.

About FCB

FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding) is a global, fully integrated marketing communications company with a heritage of creativity and success dating from 1873. Based on a deeply developed understanding of diversified local markets and global cultures, FCB focuses on significantly changing consumer behavior to the benefit of its clients, its people and society. With more than 8,000 people in 109 operations in 80 countries, the company is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG). Learn more at www.FCB.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@FCBglobal) and Facebook (FCB Global).