Intouch Solutions: 2017
Intouch Solutions
7045 College Blvd., Suite 300
Overland Park, KS 66211
Telephone: 913-317-9700
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: intouchsol.com
Winner
Heart Award
Finalist
Vision Award
Accounts
Account wins 43
Active business clients 52
Accounts by 2016 sales
Brand-product accounts held 148
Services Mix
Digital/mobile 80%
– HCP 50%
– DTC 50%
Other/multi-channel 20%
Client Roster
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Alkermes
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Amgen
AstraZeneca
Avanir Pharmaceuticals
AveXis
Bausch + Lomb
Bayer Animal Health
Bayer HealthCare Consumer Care
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals
Boehringer Ingelheim
Celgene
Chiesi USA
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA)
Galderma Laboratories
Gateway Alcohol & Drug
Genentech
Genzyme (a Sanofi company)
Gilead Sciences
H. Lundbeck
Intuitive Surgical
Ipsen Pharmaceuticals
JDRF
Livongo Health
Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
Meda US
Medtronic
Merck & Co.
Merck Animal
Nivalis Therapeutics
Novartis
Novocure
Otsuka
Pfizer
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Sage Therapeutics
Sanofi
Sanofi Foundation
Sanofi Pasteur
Shire
Shire/Baxalta
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
TherapeuticMD
“Undisclosed Pharma Company”
Vibrac Animal
Some agencies might find it easy to rest on their laurels after being named Agency of the Year, Category I, by Med Ad News in 2016. But the year proved to be anything but idle for this three-time Agency of the Year award winner, Intouch Solutions executives say.
Inspired by its purpose statement, “hacking healthcare for the people,” Intouch Solutions launched an ambitious new program in 2016 called #ALLin, taking the agency on a 3,800-mile journey around the country to spark health discussions and capture stories. First, Intouch outfitted an Airstream trailer to function as a mobile studio.
Then, Intouch took to the road to meet patients, diving deep into the healthcare challenges people face. Intouch attended events supporting multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, arthritis, leukemia and more, and captured more 30 on-camera interviews. Informed by those conversations, Intouch hosted a series of #ALLin Accelerators where employees, patients, caregivers, clients, and health-tech innovators came together to solve problems identified during the interviews. Intouch also partnered with the nonprofit Digital Health Coalition for proprietary research on the impact of caregiving and the role technology plays in the caregiving dynamic. Outcomes were published in a white paper, presented at Digital Pharma East, and will ultimately manifest in the HelpMeCare app for caregivers, fully funded by Intouch and due to launch in spring 2017.
“The answers that revolutionize healthcare aren’t always found at our desks. #ALLin has been a way for us to hit the streets, connect with people and spark meaningful innovation,” says Faruk Capan, CEO of Intouch Solutions. “We do important work for our clients every day. We also have a responsibility to contribute to solutions on our own.”
The Year’s Accomplishments
New business activity remained healthy, and wins included agency-of-record designations from Bausch + Lomb and Teva, among others. “We continue to see a blurring of lines between AOR, digital and consultancy services. Today we successfully serve that entire spectrum,” Capan says. Intouch additionally was hired to support new client Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals’ product-support program. Other major new assignments included work for Alnylam, Novartis, Merck Animal Health, Chiesi, and JDRF.
Agency executives say areas of growth in services included multichannel and digital transformation consulting, market access, data science and inbound marketing. Intouch earned more than 35 awards for client work in creativity, innovation and social media in 2016, including awards for Galderma, Shire and Teva. Client retention remained strong, with its first two clients – Sanofi and Teva – still on its roster 18 years later, and the average tenure of the agency’s top five clients at 11 years.
Continued growth drove the acquisition and renovation of an additional floor within Intouch’s Chicago office at 205 N. Michigan Ave., where nearly 200 employees now occupy the 31st and 32nd floors. Intouch employees were recognized nationally for their accomplishments in 2016, including Marty Canniff, senior VP, executive creative director, who was named among the PM360 ELITE. Social media director Jordan Deatherage received a Medical Marketing & Media’s Women to Watch award. And Intouch Solutions was honored as a 2016 Adoption-Friendly Workplace by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption for its adoption benefit program.
Structure & Services
Intouch Solutions made several big moves to show the agency is serious about serving clients outside the United States, according to management. In May 2016, Intouch opened its first international office in London. In February 2017, Intouch joined forces with digital agency Healthware International to share ownership of a Europe-based joint venture. Managing director Ariel Salmang was appointed to manage the joint venture.
Continuing its legacy of blazing trails in marketing technology, Intouch explored applications within healthcare for natural speech and artificial intelligence technologies like Amazon Echo. Regeneron hired Intouch to launch one of the industry’s first virtual and augmented reality experiences. The fully immersive experience was designed to help people understand what it’s like living with certain retinal diseases and was produced by experts whose work has been featured on the television shows Lost, Breaking Bad, and Westworld.
In recognition of the ever-expanding importance of data, Intouch boosted its analytics practice with the creation of a decision science unit and the addition of five analytics specialists.
“Our expanding decision science services and the Intouch minds behind them are already giving our clients a competitive advantage,” says David Windhausen, executive VP.
Intouch also expanded its Innovation Lab offering into a full-blown business unit called exp. In addition to hosting events that lead to rapid idea generation and prototyping, core services include partnering with clients to extend internal innovation initiatives; innovation consulting; and continuing to drive the culture of innovation agency-wide.
Future Plans
Intouch Solutions’ roots in digital marketing have served it well, and management says it expects clients to continue to call upon the agency’s digital aptitude and more. “The landscape changes rapidly. Intouch has survived and even thrived by continuing to evolve our offerings to meet client needs,” Capan says.
The agency’s newly established Market Access offering, led by group director Peter Weissberg, is expected to continue to see dramatic growth as the industry hyper-focuses on pricing pressures and patient outcomes. Intouch executives also expect increased global work through its newly established global joint venture.
Executives lauded stability within its leadership circle. “We have terrific client loyalty and we experience steadfastness at the leadership level, as well,” Capan notes. With no departures from senior-level agency leadership, key additions included chief financial officer Chris Shirling, senior VP of strategic development Jess Seilheimer, and VP of strategic planning and innovation Chris Humphreys.
Philanthropy/Citizenship
Intouch is always on the lookout for ways to make a positive impact on the health and wellness of the communities in which it operates, according to its leadership team. The #ALLin program not only gave Intouchers insights about the health challenges people face; it also provided opportunities to participate in other charitable activities. As part of the #ALLin program, Intouch paid entry fees for employees to participate in events that raised funds for healthcare- or animal-health-related causes. Employees participated in more than 45 health-related walks and runs in 2016, raising awareness for 40 unique causes.
Intouch employees in all three U.S. offices also participated in the agency’s annual Philanthropy Week. In all, thousands of items were collected for charitable organizations, including Children’s Mercy Hospital, the KC Pet Project, Gilda’s Club Chicago, the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago, the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge of New York City, and Ronald McDonald Houses in KC, NYC and Chicago. Throughout the year, representatives volunteered their time at local charities, and the agency donated $10,000 each to Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy and Ronald McDonald House.