HCB Health: 2016
HCB Health
701 Brazos, Suite 1100
Austin, TX 78701
Phone: 512-320-8511
Facsimile: 512-320-8990
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: hcbhealth.com
Accounts
Account wins 10
Active business clients 10
Brands by 2015 sales
Brand-product accounts held 41
$25 million or less 12
$25 million to $50 million 14
$50 million to $100 million 7
$100 million to $500 million 4
$500 million to $1 billion 2
$1 billion or more 2
Number of products yet to be approved/launched: 3
Services Mix
Advertising: 29%
Media: 10%
Interactive: 59%
Public Relations: 2%
Client Roster
Alcon Labs
AposTherapy
Astute Medical
Austin Gastroenterology
Baxter Healthcare
Bio-Tissue
California Pacific Medical Center
CareFusion
Covidien
Edgemont Pharmaceuticals
Gore
Harden Healthcare
Hollister Wound Care
Inova Labs
Invisalign
LDR Spine
Luminex
McKesson Specialty Health
Medac Pharma
The Medicines Company
Medtronic
Menninger Clinic
Myriad Pharmaceuticals
Novation
On-X Life Technologies
Optima Health
Pacific Health
Relay Health
Schumacher Group
Scott & White Health Plan
Sound Surgical Technologies
St. Edwards
St. Rose
Teva Neuroscience
Texas Center for Proton Therapy
Texas Oncology
Thyroid, Head and Neck Cancer Network
Tissue Regenix
United Therapeutics
The US Oncology Network
Vermillion
Vetter Pharma International
Beginning with the acquisition of Chicago-based Topin and Associates, 2015 would become HCB Health’s strongest year to date, agency leaders say. It was just one year earlier that CEO Kerry Hilton outlined his vision to double the agency’s size and expand beyond its Texas roots. The plan focused on broadening HCB’s footprint first by entering the Midwest. This “Close to the Customer” strategy has given the agency greater access to clients who appreciate HCB’s independent thinking and digital prowess. The plan quickly paid off, resulting in 10 new account wins by the close of 2015, executives say. With revenues exceeding those of the previous year by 50 percent, and with an additional 30 new staffers between its two offices, the agency has gained momentum and growth is accelerating.
“2015 was a record breaker,” says agency partner and CSO Nancy Beesley. “New marquee clients and the recruitment of high-profile talent have catapulted the agency from the mainstream to the short list for many clients seeking more nimble agency partners.”
According to agency leaders, The HCB Health Chicago office, led by Al Topin, has seen a tremendous amount of new energy and opportunity now that it’s part of the HCB community. “We’re now a bigger agency with bigger resources,” Topin says. “Clients have access to a wide spectrum of staff and skill sets, while employees have more opportunities within the network.”
Executives say what makes HCB such a powerful force is something inside the core philosophy of the agency – part of the DNA since its founding. They use a term they call “Badass Behaviors,” meant to show both the competitive nature of the agency and the relentless commitment to be the best at what they do. Executives say the agency self-elects a “Badass of the Month,” an individual who is consistently going the extra mile, creating a new process, or developing an award-winning strategy or campaign.
“Because HCB is independently owned, management and staff are fiercely determined to serve no one but their clients and their employees,” executives say. “When working with a new client, HCB is forthcoming about what the agency can and can’t do, as well as what the agency teams want to do – a refreshing change clients appreciate. It’s a culture that is contagious.”
The proof is in the pudding, agency leaders say, since HCB turned down more than a few clients last year, again citing the determination to deliver the best service and talent the agency can offer. Managers say they are selective in who they go after because potential client brand does not have to be the market leader, but it has to be a brand that wants to do things differently.
“We aren’t looking for the clients who want to always play it safe,” says Beesley. “The best work comes when you gently nudge a client out of their comfort zone. In a hypercompetitive world, only products that behave boldly will win. You can go big, or you can go home.”
Executives say at HCB, going big starts with the agency’s strategic officers diving deep into the core of a brand to uncover its powerful purpose and then developing strategies that align with the needs of target HCPs and patients. “Sometimes this kind of thinking can be uncomfortable and make the palms of a brand manager sweat a little,” executives say. “That usually means we’re onto something special. And once a brand’s code has been cracked, we don’t just focus on breaking through clutter, we concentrate on ideas that will force the clutter to step aside.”
The year’s accomplishments
Some of HCB’s 2015 wins include United Therapeutics’ Remodulin, a prostacyclin analogue vasodilator indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension; a PV Market Development assignment from Medtronic; Medac Pharma’s Rasuvo; three brands from The Medicines Company, Raplixa, Preveleak, and Recothrom Thrombin; and assignments from Baxter Global Nutrition. HCB Health and its strategic group won the global corporate branding assignment for Galderma Corporate in Lausanne, Switzerland, with additional duties spilling over into 2016 and beyond. Additionally, Alcon’s surgical group awarded the HCB team two blockbuster launches in 2015 – PanOptix IOL and UltraSert delivery system – with more critical launches in 2016 under way.
It was a banner creative year for HCB Health as well, executives say, as the agency topped its creative goals with a total of 16 awards, including a Manny Award for Best Philanthropic Campaign. Titled “Manhole,” this guerilla and social media campaign helped raised awareness of the need for colonoscopies among men. Also launched was an unprecedented campaign for the Alcon Surgical Franchise entitled “We’ve Got Work to Do.” It was a non-product specific campaign that was essentially a call to arms to cataract surgeons and manufacturers worldwide with a message that more needs to be done to eliminate cataracts as the leading cause of blindness. “It made audiences uncomfortable, determined and excited to be part of the change,” executives say. “This is the kind of work HCB does best.”
According to leaders, HCB’s progressive perspective helped drive a truckload of resumes to the agency in 2015. “By the end of the year, the agency secured three top executives that left tenured positions at major pharma agencies because they wanted to be part of our growing agency,” executives say.
In Austin, Senior VP Creative Director Amy Hansen joined the agency from CDM Princeton. “Hansen’s creative leadership brings her deep, East Coast pharma experience to the Austin group — and clients are delighted,” executives say.
Nick Rambke, based in Chicago and formerly of AbelsonTaylor, was named VP, group account director. And Greg Niemczyk, formerly of GSW, came on board to help steer HCB’s new business acquisition department. Also joining the agency was Dave Russel as VP, director of media.
With so much new talent on board, Hilton and Beesley say they decided to elevate key players who could help bring exponential scale to HCB. Executive VP Amy Dowell and Executive VP Kim Carpenter of HCB Austin were promoted to associate partners. “These veteran staffers have been with the agency for more than a decade and have been empowered to lead the next charge in HCB’s explosive trajectory,” executives say.
And HCB Chicago has also seen a number of exciting changes, including naming Betsy Kramer its senior VP, director of account service. Kramer’s background and tenure with the Chicago office has proven her to be a true leader for Chicago’s growing account service department, executives say.
With unprecedented growth comes a new level of accountability, according to agency leaders. HCB Austin and Chicago realigned their operations group around Kathy Field, senior VP, director of operations. This team consists of Lori Lipscomb, VP, director of finance, Austin; Katie Keblusek, VP, director of finance, Chicago; and Michelle Nezamabadi, director of human resources. “These core leaders have made it their charge to foster our internal mantra of ‘all for one, and one for all,’” executives say. “Though we are housed in two great cities, we often say that we are still one agency with 1,100 miles between the 11th and 23rd floors of our respective buildings.”
Structure and services
At its core, HCB Health is an agency that thinks ahead, executives say. “In other words, strategy is at the center of all we do and includes a core team of therapeutic, digital and creative expertise,” they say. “As a result of our phenomenal expansion, Dowell now leads HCB’s Insights Group, a team of strategic thinkers from each account. And Carpenter has taken on the role of Head of Integrated Services with account services, media services and digital services reporting directly to her.”
In 2015, HCB also added a new discipline – HCB Consulting Group led by Beesley. “This year we’ve brought on some C-level execs at pharma companies who want more than strategic advice. They are looking for coaching and ideation to solve major issues they face. They need an objective viewpoint,” says Beesley. “My job is to deliver the truth – good and bad. And that is refreshing to many of these execs who have reached the top of their game. We want to help our clients become better leaders. That’s the intent of HCB CG.”
Agency leaders say because HCB has its roots deep in the heart of Austin, “digital is who we are.”
“We were part of the South by Southwest scene before most folks knew what SXSW was,” executives say. “Now we are judges, panelists and contributors in the fastest growing segment of the event. And with an onsite incubation lab that attracts top digital talent from gaming, coding and new media, no wonder more clients come to HCB for digital insights than ever before. The focus is to develop something that no one has even thought of. And HCB’s digital capabilities have expanded our media buying power to reach both patients and HCP communities.”
“There’s no doubt that digital media buying is crucial to the success of any marketing program today,” says VP Media Director Russell. “We’ve added both staff and technologies to augment this growth.”
To round out HCB’s expanded services, the agency added greater depth in public relations through its association with Crosswind Public Relations. Now clients have the option to include PR as part of a comprehensive marketing mix. Capabilities include crisis management, events planning, product launches and media training.
Future plans
“Because HCB Health has evolved to a model that allows top talent to reside just about anywhere and collaborate with others across its community, you’ll soon see a broader footprint,” executives say. “Can you say East Coast? To make this agency system work effectively, we’ll build it upon a digital engine that serves our privately held network. This engine will include a larger pool of resources, including an expanded development team, additional strategists and social media expertise. We’re also building our own Idea Lab to prototype forward-thinking tools that enable both patients and sales professionals.”
Agency leaders say two major events in March were expected to fuel HCB’s buzz and excitement. “Our two-office, agency-wide offsite meeting will align the agency’s 75 staffers with a common vision and a singular voice,” they say. “And at SXSW, HCB partnered with AbelsonTaylor and Juice Pharma to co-sponsor a key session with MIT. This two-and-a-half-day hackathon showcaseed MIT’s unique problem-solving process to bring to light real-world solutions for chronic diseases.”
“A lot has happened at HCB in the last 12 months. With a more diverse client roster, a broader therapeutic portfolio and a pitch-win rate of 50 percent, we see even greater momentum ahead,” Hilton says. HCB leaders believe revenue will exceed $20 million in coming years, with 2016 alone projected at around $15 million.
Philanthropy/citizenship
According to agency leaders, HCB Health’s brand purpose is clearly stated as “We transform lives.”
“This powerful yet simple statement is exemplified in how we transform the lives of patients, customers, staff and our community,” executives say. “That’s why HCB has made a commitment to giving of itself beyond the bottom line. One of our most precious resources is our time, and it’s this resource we proudly give to causes that shape the betterment of humanity.”
In 2015 HCB began working with CNN Hero Chelsea Elliott of the Half-Helen Foundation. Elliott, who is blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, launched her nonprofit organization to bring free vision and hearing screenings to school-age children. HCB is providing media training, brand creation, and website and collateral design to further her worthy cause.
Along with ongoing initiatives that include branding services for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas and charitable giving to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, HCB offers its staff a “Day of Service” in order to foster the agency’s commitment to community giving. Employees are encouraged to take a day off and make a world of difference to others in need.
For HCB Health, this year is all about continuing the agency’s forward momentum. It’s something Hilton looks forward to. “It’s our 15-year anniversary,” he says, “and we’re just getting started.”
