GSW: 2017
GSW
500 Olde Worthington Road
Westerville, OH 43082
Telephone: 614-848-4848
Website: gsw-w.com
Winner
Best Interactive Patient Campaign
Finalist
Most Admired Agency
Best Launch Campaign
Best Managed Markets Campaign
Best Philanthropic Campaign
Best Self Promotional Campaign
Accounts
Account wins 9
Active business clients 26
Brands by 2016 sales
Brand-product accounts held 75
Services Mix
Advertising
Marketing communications
Strategic/customer insight planning
Market research and development
Branding and brand strategy
Media strategy and communications planning
Direct marketing
Digital, interactive, closed-loop marketing
Mobile and wireless applications
Social media strategy/engagement
Medical/scientific insight and communications
Syndicated content/communication creation
GSW will celebrate a major milestone this year as the agency turns 40. GSW was founded in 1977 by Bob Gerbig, Chris Snell, and Rick Weisheimer, “three friends with long hair, wide ties, a baby blue VW, and one big, bright dream that’s still coming true: ‘Be big by acting small.’” According to current management, “Little did they know that GSW would grow into one of the largest healthcare advertising agencies in the world.”
“Our founders created an agency to stand the test of time and transform the way we think about communicating,” says Dan Smith, president, GSW-Columbus. “A legacy that has shaped who we are today and inspires us with the absolute confidence we can accomplish anything we put our collective minds to in the future.”
The Year’s Accomplishments
“Staying true to its roots to deliver simple, straightforward messages that are easy to digest, the agency’s Speak People mantra continued to be the cornerstone of all things GSW in 2016,” executives say. According to agency leadership, GSW’s victories in 2016 include receiving a Webby Award for LillyOncology.com; bringing home 14 awards at the Central Ohio American Advertising Awards, more than any other agency in town; receiving the Manny Awards for Best Philanthropic Campaign for Sexy Men of Technology and Best Consumer Campaign for Pradaxa “Redfish”; being nominated for its very first Emmy award for work for Susan G. Komen Columbus; and winning three Creative Floor Awards, including Best Digital Tactic – Lilly Journey Connections; Best Self-promotional Campaign – Speak People Experiment; and Best Mixed Media – Sexy Men of Technology.
Executives say the Speak People Experiments brought home one of only 40 trophies awarded to health creativity around the globe at the 2016 Global Awards.
Additionally, the agency revolutionized the decades-old art competition “Lilly Oncology On Canvas” by leveraging the power of social media to drive awareness as well as honed on a central tenet of the program, which was the healing power of creative expression; and magnified the personal connection that healthcare providers, patients and sales reps have with diabetes through the short film series, “Whose Diabetes Do You Have?”
In other achievements, executives say GSW gained significant momentum with its innovation consulting practice, with 27 unique engagements, 5,000 hours of memorable client engagement resulting in over 3,000 ideas created, and the release of the sixth annual popular trends reports series; and continued to invest heavily in technology, thought by many to be the next frontier in health communications.
In client achievements, the agency captured, analyzed and transformed the information exchange between patients, caregivers and HCPs to tell more meaningful stories for Vyvanse. “Efforts focused on enhancing marketing intelligence with real-time data analyses to drive extended conversations around ADHD and treatment best practices,” managers note.
GSW also created awareness and empathy for the major psychological and physical impact erectile curvature can have on men and their partners by visualizing the Xiaflex “Mindswirl” campaign. “We reached men and their predominantly male urologists where they naturally consume relevant content – Pandora, CNN, ESPN, local radio and consumer magazines,” executive say.
The agency launched UCB’s third entrant into the epilepsy space, Briviact. Management describes the campaign as “a hyper-focused strategy that created a unique value proposition in the marketplace.”
“Despite all these successes, some of our proudest moments came from our presence at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity,” executives say. “GSW received a short-list nod for our Pradaxa ‘Redfish’ campaign, making it the first-ever black box campaign to be listed. GSW was also named a festival speaker and brought together two very interesting dynamics on the Cannes stage as we presented ‘The Science and Art of Empathy.’ Our own Chief Creative Officer Dave Sonderman moderated a conversation between Jane Gauntlett, writer, producer and founder of the In My Shoes project, an internationally recognized empathy project, and Dr. Helen Riess, a psychiatrist, Harvard professor, entrepreneur and highly respected voice for healthcare transformation through empathy, as they explored what future health content may look like.”
Structure & Services
GSW, part of inVentiv Health Communications, is a full-service healthcare communications agency that goes beyond advertising to create personalized brand experiences.
“At GSW, our job isn’t as simple as providing marketing materials for our clients; it’s about connecting humans through engaging communications,” says Susan Perlbachs, executive VP, executive director, GSW-NY. “Whether our work is for patients or medical professionals, our Speak People moniker guides us toward our goal of creating authentic experiences that educate, create conversations and ultimately lead people to getting the treatments they need.”
According to agency leaders, GSW creates strategic marketing solutions for pharmaceutical, biotech, and health-and-wellness clients around the world using a wide array of comprehensive services, including research, analytics, marketing and brand consultancy, advertising, promotion, interactive communications and more. “These experiences involve, inspire, educate and activate people through ongoing brand journeys,” executives say. GSW’s services include advertising, digital and closed-loop marketing, strategic insight, branding, communications planning, predictive modeling, market access strategies, media and market research.
GSW has offices in Columbus, Ohio; New York City; the greater Philadelphia area; and Canada. Executives say the agency is led by a team of best-in-class marketers who have experience with a variety of stakeholders such as healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, payers, and consumers.
Future Plans
“As we look to the future, GSW remains focused on leveraging our strengths to offer clients more effective ways to create value and increase their success,” executives say. “As an inVentiv Health business, GSW provides a distinct advantage over our competitors based on our breadth of offerings and our ability to deliver integrated services. Working with and within a single organization has gained favor with clients, making GSW’s access to sister inVentiv firms even more desirable.”
According to Smith, “GSW has been passionate about translating health and wellness insights into action for 40 years. We continue to reject the notion that healthcare gets a pass on big ideas, big experiences or big talent. That’s demonstrated in what we do and how we do it. It’s why clients seek us out and stay. It’s why other agencies in the healthcare space admire us. And it’s why we continue to be a leader in the marketplace.”
Philanthropy/Citizenship
“At GSW, we pride ourselves on creating a collaborative, innovative and creative work environment for our employees,” agency leaders say. “We believe everybody has a voice, no one is afraid to speak up and no one is afraid to offer an idea. This approach was noticed in 2016 when our Columbus office was named a Top Workplace by Columbus CEO magazine. Much the same goes about for how we approach philanthropy.”
“Employees and their passion are the lifeblood of GSW. Many of our employees tell us giving back is important to them,” says Jon Nelson, executive VP, GSW-Newtown. “So we adopted a process that invites GSW employees to present and champion the cause they believe could benefit from our support. We have discovered encouraging volunteerism not only helps employees be more engaged in the community, but also in their work.”
According to management, in addition to the donation of service and time from GSW’s 500-plus employees, the agency’s work continues to prove its philanthropic spirit. In 2016, GSW did work for organizations such as Mental Health of America; Mid-Ohio Foodbank; Pelotonia, benefiting cancer research at The Ohio State University; The Memorial PGA Golf Tournament, benefiting Nationwide Children’s Hospital; Cure SMA; and MiracleFeet.
