Biolumina Group: 2017
Biolumina Group LLC
75 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
Telephone: 646-364-1500
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: biolumina.com
Accounts
Account wins 1
Active business clients 5
Brands by 2016 sales
Brand-product accounts held 16
$100 million to $500 million 5
$1 billion or more 3
Products yet to be approved/launched 8
Services Mix
Professional Advertising 55%
Digital 35%
Relationship Marketing 10%
Client Roster
Agios
Array Biopharma
Genentech
Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Novo Nordisk
At Biolumina, curiosity builds knowledge, understanding, brands, stories, careers, teams, connections, and momentum – each one building on the next, according to agency management. “At the core of Biolumina is curiosity, around which everything else revolves,” executives say. “This mantra of curiosity is infused into everything the agency does.”
“Curiosity with purpose is a powerful natural resource,” says Kirsten Kantak, president of Biolumina. “And when you focus curious minds in the right way and for the right reason the results for our brands, clients, and teammates can be spectacular.”
Kantak says the approach has delivered tangible results, fueling the agency’s double-digit growth in 2016.
“Curiosity is central to scientific inquiry, and since we are all geeks at heart, curiosity is in our DNA,” she adds. “It’s only natural to leverage it.”
To encourage curiosity across the agency, management says Biolumina developed distinct values to create an environment that would reward purposeful questioning.
“Our values guide how we’ll accomplish our goals,” Kantak says. “True innovation can come from anywhere, so we wanted to create a safe environment conducive to risk taking that could pay off for our teams and our clients. Ultimately, we want to make a real impact on our corner of the universe, and by encouraging everyone to envision positive change we can work together to make it happen.”
According to leadership, the three values include “Open Mind, Brave Heart, and Ready Hands.”
“Open Mind” means always asking “why” to respectfully push ideas, and each other, to be nimble, and develop novel ways of working, executives say. Brave Heart means being brave enough to defend your opinions – but also being brave enough to change them. And Ready Hands means always embodying proactivity and pushing things forward, as well as providing support and guidance in any situation.
In particular, extending a hand in gratitude and creating a culture of appreciation is core to Biolumina’s culture. “Concise, memorable, and most important, actionable,” Kantak says. “That’s how we go about our business; we hold ourselves accountable for living these values and expect the same of each other.”
Biolumina continued to deepen its relationship during 2016 with Novartis Oncology, having been selected as U.S. and global agency of record for a major launch in the breast cancer category. Biolumina also added Cambridge-based Agios to its client roster. The biopharmaceutical company tapped the agency to work on the launch of an anticancer agent that reprograms cellular metabolism to reverse the block in cellular differentiation. Additionally, Biolumina continued to strengthen its working partnership with Array BioPharma while preparing for a brand launch in the area of advanced melanoma.
Executives say from a talent perspective, Biolumina added to the agency’s already deep bench of savvy scientific, strategic, digital/UX, and creative staff. Kent Barnes, senior VP, director of Scientific Brand Enhancement, joined MSCG, a sister company that also supports Biolumina; John Mucha took on the role of senior VP, Experience Planner; David Lubofsky, VP, Group Art and UX Supervisor, joined MSCG and bolsters Biolumina’s commitment to expanding digital and user experience prowess; Gerry McLaughlin serves as senior VP, executive creative director; and Val Wagner added her talents as senior VP, associate creative director. Each joined the agency in 2016 as part of senior leadership and work across all of the agency’s business.
Biolumina is a full-service, integrated agency delivering omnichannel solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, according to executives. Driven by their curiosity to derive a deeper understanding of everything they do, Biolumina’s focus is on using the power of science to translate customer insights into a clear and motivating brand story. “We like to think of ourselves as the ‘translational scientists’ of our industry,” says Brenda Aske, senior VP, Creative Strategist. “We take complex scientific ideas, distill them down, make them motivating and relevant – and ultimately translate them into captivating creative.”
“We’ve assembled a group of smart and inquisitive people who are stimulated by the process of learning,” Aske says. “We build brand experiences that go beyond the rational, using emotional hooks that tap into the heart of the customer to ignite action, change behavior, and create brand loyalty.”
Besides Kantak, Barnes, Mucha, Lubofsky, McLaughlin, Wagner, and Aske, other members of the leadership team include Laura MacSwan, senior VP, director of client services and integrated marketing; Mark Friedman, executive VP, chief creative officer; Judy Kides, senior VP, director of finance; and Jenna Rastiello Goscienski, VP, director of operational excellence.
Biolumina is committed to constantly striving for deeper knowledge – of the science, market, customer, technology, and the world around them, according to its leadership. “The intention is to continue on that path: planning customer experiences and triangulating customer insights and multichannel expertise with brand strategy to deliver truly connected brand experiences,” executives note.
Biolumina was one of the agencies involved in the creative Post-It War in May 2016, management says. “News of the phenomenon spread across the country and soon went international, from Korea to Australia, and it was then that Biolumina knew there was an opportunity to use the media attention for a good cause,” executives remark. “At the time, Memorial Day was fast approaching and it was decided to honor the soldiers who have fought real wars for us.”
Biolumina scheduled a “truce” event and invited all agencies participating, raising awareness of the event through social media and printed invitations to suggest a donation. “We challenged other agencies to put their money where their Post-It notes were to give a matching donation,” management states.
In the end, a large sum of money was raised for the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System. The money was donated along with a flag mural composed of red, white, and blue Post-It thank-you notes from attendees, which is still displayed in the hospital’s lobby, executives say.
The Biolumina team helped create branding elements with Array BioPharma and the Melanoma Research Foundation for their upcoming event to support research, awareness, and patients battling skin cancer: Ride. Rock. Rally. For details about the May 20, 2017, bike ride and outdoor music festival in Boulder, Col., please visit www.riderockrally.com.
