CDM: 2017
CDM
220 East 42nd Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: 212-907-4300
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: cdmagencies.com
Finalist
Agency of the Year, Category I
Most Creative Agency
Best Nonbranded Campaign
Accounts
Account wins 22
Active business clients 70
Brands by 2016 sales
Brand-product accounts held 190
Services Mix
Professional Communications: 75%
Consumer Communications 25%
Digital 60%
Print 40%
CDM is changing, according to agency executives impotenzastop.it. They say after 34 years, the industry and creative powerhouse has revealed a new vision and branding that will unite all of its offices, from New York to Tokyo. This new identity taps into the driving force behind the agency’s recent creative and client successes: a passionate belief that every brand has the potential to create meaningful change in the world.
“In healthcare, we deal with the stuff of life itself,” says CEO Kyle Barich. “Our brands prevent heart attacks. Treat lethal cancers. Address rare diseases. Our clients trust us to change their customers’ attitudes and behaviors, change their brand’s trajectory, and make a difference in the communities they serve. When we are at our best, we believe our work is lifechanging.”
“Lifechanging” may seem like a high bar, but executives say one does not have to look far to see that CDM is already living and breathing this vision. Agency leadership points to brands such as Biogen’s Spinraza (nusinersen), a groundbreaking therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, an inherited degenerative neuromuscular disease.
“For the agency team, this is more than a brand launch,” says Chris Palmer, newly appointed president of CDM New York. “We are driven by a deep sense of purpose to transform how families, physicians, and communities experience this disease.”
Another notable example of lifechanging work is the Princeton office’s Little Lungs social campaign, created to raise awareness of respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. The campaign, especially a “knit in” to support preemies in need, has already exceeded industry norms for engagement, executives note.
The Year’s Accomplishments
In 2016, CDM offices achieved a new level of collaboration both within the agency and Omnicom Health Group. According to agency leadership, this “blurring of the lines” between offices has yielded significant multi-office wins for an increasing number of clients such as Spark Therapeutics (CDM New York and London) and Lundbeck/Otsuka (CDM London and Princeton), who seek a single agency partner across their global, regional, and customer needs.
According to agency management, CDM New York had its most creatively awarded year, ever. The tally included a Silver Lion and MM&M Gold for the Xifaxan Professional Website; a Clio Bronze for the Xifaxan “Gut Guy” DTC campaign; a Clio Bronze for Stupid Cancer awareness; an Rx Club Gold for an Oculus Rift experience; a PM360 Innovators Award; two Telly Awards; and recognition in Lurzher’s Archive.
“This creative success across channels and platforms reflects the agency’s strength and continued investment in technology, digital strategy, analytics, and IA/UX,” executives say. “This is also evident in the agency’s digital AOR assignments for clients such as Takeda Oncology and Biogen.”
In 2016, CDM New York led significant launches for brands including Takeda Oncology’s Ninlaro, Acadia’s Nuplazid, and Biogen’s Spinraza, and has continued to broaden its client base by adding Spark Therapeutics, United Therapeutics, and Allergan to its roster.
As evidenced by the Little Lungs campaign, CDM Princeton has distinguished itself as an agency that creates purpose-driven, experiential brands. According to Debra Polkes, executive creative director, “Under the lifechanging banner, we are the agency committed to creating lifechanging experiences.” In 2016, Princeton created a technology and experimentation lab, made a practice of hosting innovation days for clients, and hired a behaviorist/anthropologist to provide deeper customer understanding and codify a new model to bring brand experiences to the next level. New business wins included Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ Testavan, Lundbeck/Otsuka’s idalopirdine, and Shire’s Vyvanse.
Executives say CDM agencies outside the United States had their most successful year to date, driven by an increase in global and pan-regional AOR assignments. “Our clients are increasingly less interested in geography than expertise,” says Eric Berkeley, managing partner and director of Global Operations. “The strengths of our individual offices and our reach into Omnicom Health Group give us great flexibility and options when meeting their needs.”
CDM London achieved dramatic business growth in 2016 through both current business and new wins with Lundbeck/Otsuka, Grünenthal, Shire, Spark Therapeutics, and Novartis, managers say. The office also continues to distinguish itself as one of the most creative UK-based healthcare agencies, with their “Boring Symposium” work for Shield sweeping award shows with a Bronze Lion, PM Society Award, Creative Floor Award, and IPA Best of Health. Kicking off 2017 with a strong start, CDM London’s work for Ascensia received Best in Show at PM Society in February.
With the majority of its roster comprising global business, CDM Barcelona has also broken through the “local ceiling” and distinguished itself as a strong AOR partner, executives say. With more than 60 employees, CDM Barcelona is one of the largest agencies in the EU and recently doubled its office size to accommodate its rapid growth. With capabilities across five different languages, Barcelona provides a truly global solution for clients such as Shire, Amgen, Alexion, and Teva.
There was strong performance in 2016 from other CDM offices. Montreal reached into the U.S. market with wins from Beckman Coulter and Ethicon, Paris continued to solidify its medical education offering, and Sao Paulo merged with Drucker Digital Consulting to create innovative, data-driven offerings that fully deliver on the CDM promise of lifechanging work.
Structure & Services
As a part of the new agency vision, Barich has made changes in the leadership of the flagship New York office. Chris Palmer, 17-year veteran and former managing partner, executive creative director, is now president. According to Barich, “Advertising is a business about soul and purpose, creative and strategy, clients and people, and ultimately love. Chris Palmer embodies all these traits to his core. There is no one better than Chris to lead the evolution of CDM New York as a lifechanging agency.”
Stepping into the role of associate partner, co-executive creative director are longtime creative partners and CDM-ers Carolyn O’Neill and Ted Kossakowski. Agency leaders say in their new roles O’Neill and Kossakowski bring a deep belief in making every brand a “passion brand” to inspire innovative and transformative work.
To more deeply serve client needs and relationships, CDM has also reimagined the traditional director of client service role. Jen O’Dwyer, associate partner, director of client relations, and Lila Shah, associate partner, director of client operations, now co-lead the account and operations groups.
In a new addition to the partner group, Denise Henry was named associate partner, director of HealthWork. As director of HealthWork, a highly successful collaboration between CDM and BBDO, Henry is an employee of both agencies. Executives say her recognition as associate partner reflects her significant contributions in driving agency growth, employee passion, and infusing new ideas and approaches within CDM.
Elizabeth Yi, associate partner, director of MSA, and Chris Fiocco, associate partner, director of planning, continue their integral roles in CDM New York leadership.
In another significant change, Debra Polkes, formerly associate partner, creative director in New York, was named managing partner, executive creative director of CDM Princeton. Polkes brings a stellar reputation for award-winning work and talent development to her new role in shaping the future of the Princeton office along with Chuck Wagner, president; and Managing Partners Jill Beene, director of Strategic Services; and Craig Romanok, director of Client Services.
Recognizing the increasing desire for agency support in Asia, CDM will soon be announcing the launch of CDM Tokyo under the leadership of Adam Weiss, managing director. Weiss started his career at CDM New York before he achieved industry recognition as execution creative director of McCann Health Japan.
Under the leadership of Weiss, CDM Tokyo will provide high-level strategic and creative services to global and local clients in the world’s second-largest pharma market.
Future Plans
“No matter where you are in the CDM world, it is clear that the new vision, branding, and structural changes have already begun to propel the agency forward,” executives explain.
“The passion is already evident in the work that we are doing and the strength of our client relationships,” Barich says. “But we’re also putting the lifechanging lens to the services that we offer and the investments we make.”
Believing that data should be at the center of everything the agency does, CDM will continue to develop and advance industry-leading analytics offerings, executives say. The first such offering is Personology, a data-driven approach to physician targeting and communications that considers their personal consumer behavior and preferences.
2017 will also mark the launch of CDM Rare, an offering that draws on extensive experience in rare disease and offers a unique point of view and client solutions.
“With the advent of precision medicine, more of our clients are developing therapies for rare diseases,“ says O’Neill, who is spearheading the effort. “They want to know their agency has experience engaging with rare disease communities.”
So how does the CDM offering differ from other agencies? “You hear a lot of agencies talking about the themes and commonalities,” O’Neill says. “But in our experience, there is no roadmap. No two communities or brands are truly alike.”
Management says CDM Rare offers customized approaches and offerings for every client, brand, and community. Notably, CDM Rare is currently supporting the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in developing its 2017 awareness campaign.
Philanthropy/Citizenship
CDM continues to support the Phoebe H. Stein Child Life Program at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM), hosting Pharmapalooza for the 9th year in a row in February 2017. Pharmapalooza has become a much-loved industry event, raising more than $1 million for CHAM over the past nine years. Each CDM office also supports causes close to home, such as Trenton Homefront (CDM Princeton) and the Shoebox Project (CDM Montreal). “After all, there is nothing more central to a lifechanging agency than a commitment to improving the lives of others,” leadership says.