Carling Communications

2550 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103

Telephone
619-269-3000
E-mail
[email protected]
Website
carlingcom.com

Quick Facts
Accounts
Account wins 4
Active business clients 8

Brands by 2018 sales
Brand-product accounts held 14

Services mix
Promotional advertising 90%
Peer to peer 10%

Client roster
Bausch & Lomb
Bryn Pharma
Dermira
Edwards Lifesciences
Endo
Merz Pharmaceuticals: Aesthetics
Ortho Dermatologics
Salix
UCB

 

Watching Carling Communications evolve during 2018 was like watching a time-lapse video on fast forward, agency management says. “At the year’s opening, the agency had established its hub in London and been a part of the Fishawack Group of Companies for only six months,” Carling executives say. “Since then, the modest San Diego shop-that-could has transformed itself into a premier global presence that does.”

Recent accomplishments

In 2018, Carling worked toward stabilization of our holistic business model, inclusive of diversifying our client roster,” says President Sherri Wilkins. “We’ve spread into new therapeutic markets and have become an agency where both seasoned professionals and recent college graduates want to grow their careers. We’ve been especially focused on sophisticating our personnel and creating roles that are critical to our ability to work smarter and to scale to match new and existing client needs, including adding a managing director, client services; an additional group creative director; and numerous digital capabilities. We have second-to-none professionals at every level poised to think critically, create inspirationally, and deliver efficiently across the globe.”
In addition to being a year of significant new business wins, 2018 saw Carling’s continued dedication to its current brands, including the UCB drug Cimzia. The launch of the brand in the U.S. and globally was the result of collaboration between the Carling offices in San Diego and London. The Carling London office orchestrated two congress experiences in June 2018: the European League Against Rheumatology event in Amsterdam and the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations gathering in Stockholm.
Back in San Diego, Carling continued its stronghold in dermatology expertise by rebranding campaigns for legacy brands Onexton and Retin-A Micro, both acne medicines from Ortho Dermatologics, as well as Cycloset, a treatment for diabetes from Salix Pharmaceuticals. For Cycloset, the Carling team was challenged with refreshing a unique MOA story; the product experienced 11 percent growth in sales over the previous year.
Carling worked with Ortho Dermatologics to prepare for two launches, replete with brand planning, creative campaigns, and a full rollout of tactics and sales force tools. With Bryhali Lotion entering the market in 2018 and Duobrii Lotion poised to launch in the first quarter of 2019, both formulations are expected to bring significant impact to the crowded topical market, executives say.
The San Diego flagship office also won the corporate business of Endo Aesthetics, a new subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals, known for products in endocrinology, orthopedics, and men’s health. Now defined by its Carling-crafted mission to take “a new perspective on beauty,” agency executives say the division’s corporate launch campaign was created to serve two purposes: establish a new and more inclusive baseline for beauty that goes beyond the pages of Vogue; and set the stage for the debut of the company’s first aesthetic product, a first-of-its-kind injection for the elimination of cellulite, already supported by results from two identical, placebo-controlled, Phase III studies.
Announced just days before the close of 2018, new business wins from Bryn Pharma, producer of a novel nasal epinephrine for anaphylaxis, and Kyowa Kirin, with its Phase I product for adult T-cell lymphoma, have positioned Carling for a stellar 2019, agency management says.
The agency’s biggest win was that of medical device manufacturer Edwards Lifesciences. Carling’s disease-state pitch laid the groundwork for the launch to come in 2019 ― a national campaign geared at turning attention to heart valve disease in a market permeated with messaging and awareness about heart disease in general. “Meaningful disease education opportunities are few and far between in the healthcare space,” says Lee Krauss, Managing Director, Client Services. “From the moment we first met with our Edwards Lifesciences partners, there was a shared passion that felt nothing less than contagious. There’s a current imbalance between HVD awareness and the negative impact that exists for patients and loved ones.”
Award recognition was plentiful in 2018. The San Diego office earned three finalists’ nominations (Luzu and two for Solodyn) for the 2018 PM360 Trailblazer Award. The London office earned its first award with the 2018 Silver Telly for videos created for Servier Oncology. The Rx Club granted the agency one Award of Excellence for work on Luzu and two awards for Solodyn. Recognizing the agency’s arsenal of top-tier professionals, PM360 Elite included Group Creative Director Lacey Christman and Vice President of Client Services Amy Pamus among their ranks in 2018.

STRUCTURE AND SERVICES

According to Carling executives, the resourceful agency continued its tradition of growing its client roster by challenging – and growing – its impressive collection of advertising professionals. That process began in July with the internal rise of Wilkins, who had been the agency’s Chief Creative Officer. This enabled the promotion of Creative Director Lacey Christman to the newly created position of Group Creative Director. In appointing Philadelphia-based Lee Krauss (previously of Digitas Health) as Managing Director of Client Services in October 2018, Carling established a new foothold on the East Coast, furthering the agency’s presence in pivotal markets. Management says Krauss also provides fresh direction and philosophy for a strong bicoastal client services team.
The biggest change to the agency’s infrastructure was the creation of a Shared Solutions department. Helming this Fishawack Group initiative on behalf of Carling is Director of Operations Melissa Labelle. “Over the last year we have evolved our service offerings by elevating our Shared Solutions teams, currently encompassing digital, motion, creative design, production, editorial, and meeting services,” Labelle says. “Across these specialties, and three cross-continent time zones, we now offer our clients a full range of services that really help define and refine our global delivery process. Our ultimate vision is creating an agile and customizable approach to process with the ability to provide low-cost solutions as clients want and need them.”
Carling’s mission to nourish a strong and cohesive employee family is evident in the agency’s growth as well as a 50 percent drop in voluntary turnover. The agency made a concerted effort in 2018 to identify career paths for every role so employees could plan and work toward personal and professional advancement.

FUTURE PLANS

Building on recent business wins, Carling executives say the agency will continue to develop the right systems of service geared for each client. “We are creating unique services that complement our clients’ strengths and wherever they are in their company’s lifecycle,” Krauss says. “One client is in the start-up phase, so we have a two-person team working with them. For another client, we assembled our best creatives with consumer experience to work on the launch – for the same account, the client services team primarily works out of the client’s office. This approach allows us better scalability and the ability to quickly adjust to evolving client needs.”
Carling continues to form complementary relationships with the creative agencies that joined the Fishawack Group in 2018, including Healthcircle and Blue Latitude Health.
Expansion plans continue as Carling builds out a presence in Philadelphia, established a footprint in New York City in first-quarter 2019, and plans for additional expansion in both the San Diego and London offices.

PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP

Carling is committed to giving back to local communities. Alison Walline, Carling’s office manager, created “Carling Cares” as a way to channel the agency’s philanthropic efforts. Walline spearheaded several initiatives: a pet essentials drive in support of Animal Rescuers Without Borders; a financial donation drive to support Father Joe’s Villages; a toy drive to support Traveling Stories; and a Holiday Adopt-a-Family event in support of Home Start International. Carling London created a reverse advent calendar in the run up to Christmas for which staff, family, and friends donated food to the Hackney Food Bank.