CrowdPharm: 2021
CrowdPharm LLC
4600 Madison Ave., Suite 1500
Kansas City, MO 64112
Telephone
913-77PHARM
Website
crowdpharm.com
QUICK FACTS
Accounts
Account wins 6
Active business clients 9
Brands by 2020 sales
Brand-product accounts held 9
SERVICES MIX
Advertising 65%
Interactive 30%
Relationship marketing 5%
During 2020, CrowdPharm celebrated a brand launch for a rare disease, achieved a 125 percent increase in organic growth and a 45 percent increase in new clients, expanded its global network in talent and in geography, earned six new accounts, and experienced a 169 percent increase in revenue. The leadership team says the agency firmly established itself as an independent new model in healthcare marketing offering refreshing flexibility, responsiveness, and affordability.
According to management, the agency takes a unique spin on crowdsourcing with a proprietary creative and strategic healthcare talent network designed to work with brand teams and agencies. “We have the capacity to develop an abundance of original strategic and creative solutions across time zones and deliver solutions – and value – faster,” CrowdPharm leaders say.
“Our model is different. This is one of the largest global networks of talent devoted to healthcare, medical, and pharmaceutical marketing and advertising,” says Mike Myers, managing director. “The work we deliver is bold and exciting and clients are rethinking how they approach their marketing partnerships.”
RECENT ACCMPLISHMENTS
Over the past three years, CrowdPharm has steadfastly grown its network. “We now have more than 3,000 vetted global members across 50 states, 52 countries, 31 time zones, and 12 specialty hubs across North America, Europe, and Asia,” CrowdPharm executives say. “The network covers the spectrum of marketing disciplines: strategy, planning, copywriting, art and creative direction, production, social media, digital, and editorial. Healthcare agencies and brand teams can put us to work, or ‘Pharm it out,’ on anything from specialty products to blockbusters.”
Strong talent and client relationships evolved small projects to more in-depth scopes of work, and CrowdPharm experienced substantial organic growth with current clients, according to agency leaders. CrowdPharm built powerful teams that scaled to clients’ needs while working on brands that transformed their respective categories, which included regenerative medicine, animal health, rare disease, neurology, and COVID-19. “We delivered a wide range of relevant perspectives, comprehensive brand strategy solutions, multichannel campaigns, websites, virtual tradeshow exhibits, and printed and digital sales materials,” management says. “We also worked with healthcare advertising agencies – boosting their creative departments with white label support for campaigns and new business pitches.”
CrowdPharm worked with leaders in strategy and account service at Cross & Wild, an advertising agency and strategic consultancy, to support the launch of Fintepla, a product developed by Zogenix to treat Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that begins in infancy and is marked by frequent, treatment-resistant seizures. “The campaign’s creative and strategic approach – focusing on HCP education and spanning a variety of channels and tactics – was grounded in the realities of what patients experience and the upending impact this rare disease has on their families,” says Dan Lutz, executive creative director.
CrowdPharm leaders say the agency kicked off January and February of 2021 with a record number of 10 new business pitches – eight focused on disease states including pediatric adrenocortical insufficiency, hypertension, leukemia, COVID testing, oncology, preeclampsia, and telehealth, and two focused on boosting agencies’ capacity with white-label support.
(top row left to right) Mike Myers, managing director; Steve Bernstein, partner; Dan Lutz, executive creative director
(bottom row left to right) Kaley Wagner, director of client operations; Patty Byrnes, director of finance; Ed Decker, director of operations and finance
STRUCTURE AND SERVICES
CrowdPharm is designed to make clients’ marketing dollars work harder, smarter, and faster, without sacrificing quality by tapping into its global network of experts, all dedicated to healthcare, agency leaders say.
“We have been deliberate in how we vet professionals joining the network,” says Steve Bernstein, partner. “We offer a different solution to the market – one that is flexible, cost effective, and delivers high-quality work. Clients pay only for what they need, and when they need it.”
CrowdPharm has a “work from anywhere” philosophy, and unlike most companies in 2020 that needed to pivot to a new virtual reality, the agency was already there from day one, the executive team says.
“We consciously empowered employees with a set of tools that seamlessly integrate across desktop and mobile devices, that are scalable and discreet, and that allow our teams to work and engage with clients anywhere they happen to be,” management says. “And we encourage them to send us images of their ‘office spaces’ from around the world.
“So, what did we do with all the time saved from not having to pivot from the office to working from home? We launched a new promotional campaign for one of our agency partners, Cross & Wild; unveiled our own website and promotional campaign and enhanced the content on our social platforms; strengthened our foundation and infrastructure around process and policy; and further invested in technology and platforms, something firmly baked into our DNA.”
One good example of this investment is Veeva. In 2020 CrowdPharm became a full-service Veeva content provider, able to help clients with programming and CRM content creation.
“We provide our clients with the tools they need on the platforms they rely upon to help drive the effectiveness of their sales forces,” says Kaley Wagner, director of client operations. “It’s important that we continue to invest in technology and increase strategic partnerships around the world that help us to drive efficiencies for our clients.”
Probably one of the most important initiatives CrowdPharm set for itself in 2020 was a more formalized embodiment of core values, agency leaders say. “We brought the agency together to brainstorm and champion the ideals that will help us achieve our goals and that encompass our commitment to each other and to our clients.”
FUTURE PLANS
According to the management team, CrowdPharm is busy gearing up for a few product launches in 2021. “Using technology to increase speed and efficiency will continue to be a strong focus this year. And, as we work across time zones, we will be looking at the roles that automation and artificial intelligence can play in helping us work smarter.”
According to its leaders, CrowdPharm will have far exceeded 3,000 network members by the time this profile publishes. “We have set our sights on 10,000 global network members across 50 time zones by 2025, and with multiple partner hubs on each continent (excluding Antarctica, of course),” executives say.
“Ultimately, our goals include living our values, providing growth opportunities for our people, having fun, and doing great work that makes us proud,” Myers says.
PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP
In 2020, CrowdPharm shared and promoted a creative initiative from the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and Talenthouse to help educate the world about COVID-19. “This was a perfect opportunity to tap into CrowdPharm’s global creative network,” Lutz says. “The pandemic was affecting every country differently and it was interesting to see how each creative ideated from their country’s point of view. The work was outstanding, truly representing the scope of the talent in the network. And that inspired us to provide our own awards ceremony.”
CrowdPharm teamed with leaders at Cross & Wild, who volunteer at the organization, to raise awareness for Frosted Faces Foundation’s Seniors for Seniors Program. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that delivers the promise of family and quality veterinary care for senior pets whose love and lives are in jeopardy, matching senior pets with senior people. “Together, we worked with the Foundation to deliver materials that included photography, content generation, and a branded brochure,” management says. “And for the second year, we took our commitment a step further and focused our holiday cards on the Foundation, complete with images and bios of dogs. We also made a monetary donation to support their mission on behalf of our clients.”
