Epsilon: 2016
Epsilon
6021 Connection Drive
Irving, TX
Phone: 469-262-0600
Website: epsilon.com
Accounts
Account wins 12
Active business clients: 24
Brands by 2015 sales
Brand product accounts held 50+
Services Mix
Omnichannel platform delivery 50%
Creative and strategy 20%
Account management and consulting 15%
Digital services 15%
Epsilon is dedicated to creating innovative brand, marketing and business strategies that drive creative platforms to help customers make better, more confident healthcare decisions.
“We connect brands to customers by delivering experiences that matter,” executives say. “We do this by helping clients see things that others don’t and doing things that others can’t.”
The year’s accomplishments
2015 was a path of transformation for Epsilon as the global marketing company moved from an agency grounded in database marketing and CRM to a digital agency focused on harnessing data, technology, and creative to connect brands to patients in a more intimate manner, executives say.
On the data and insights front, the agency launched its first Physician Digital Engagement Network (PDEN), which offers rich data encompassing HCP’s engagements through e-mail, web, and social media as well as their network connection and everyday digital life. According to Epsilon leaders, PDEN enables actionable insights consolidated over multiple brands allowing for a more efficient personalized communications strategy.
“We’re also combining 1:1 decisioning and intelligent media delivery with campaign management and performance measurement specifically for healthcare marketers to drive more empowered consumers through precision targeting and engagement,” executives say. “Additionally, Epsilon is standing up analytic environments that are cognitive decision engines for our clients. Brands know exactly what content and messaging to offer by cohort based on exactly where that patient is in their journey. Our partnership with Adobe and others allows us to deliver on omnichannel marketing which extends beyond direct mail and email to include site, mobile, live channels, content, and media.”
Additionally, Epsilon was selected by Shire to build, host, and manage a consolidated database of consumer and healthcare professional information that will enable improved and more effective communication in the U.S. and around the world, executives say.
Structure and services
Agency leaders characterize Epsilon as a full-service healthcare agency that is focused on CRM and digital enablement in pharma, health insurance, medical devices, hospital networks, and retail.
“We have a core group of strategists, client services and creative folks who provide services in high-science categories across digital, print, direct mail, email, social, mobile, and content strategy targeting and addressing the unmet needs of all key healthcare stakeholders: healthcare professionals, patients, and payors,” executives say.
The healthcare agency is part of a broader Epsilon agency network that extends its 1-to-1 agency services into broader initiatives such as TV, grassroots marketing, media, multicultural, events, and retail and shopper marketing services.
“While Epsilon is known for large scale enterprise services, we have a CRM platform and digital technology group that provides focused and scalable services in support of brand efforts,” executives say. Services include UX, site design, content management platforms and digital production in support of consumer and professional efforts.
In addition, the agency’s Live Channels group provides call center and customer services support with the goal of cultivating brand-to-human interactions through the personal touch. Services include contact center optimization, dialogic marketing support, social/mobile engagement and call center training.
Future plans
“We have a single charter: To help our clients see things others don’t and do things others can’t,” executives say. “All with the single goal of allowing our clients to connect with their customers.
“How will we accomplish this? By combining data, technology and creative to help healthcare marketers’ deliver omnichannel marketing and engagement campaigns of the future.”
According to Epsilon leaders, multichannel marketing of the near-future will be completely different because today the customer experience is the essence of messaging and not necessarily what the brand dictates. “We are focused on ensuring we can help meet client needs by offering world-class technology that creates actionable insights on the large amount of data available,” executives say. “The wearables market will make the omnichannel environment even more complicated – and healthcare marketers need to be ready to react. Patients are no longer content to merely have information about their health, they also want to be told what it means and any next steps they should be taking. Wearable devices and biometric data will have a bigger influence on the strategies that are a core part of health and wellness and disease management programs.”
With the introduction of Google Cardboard, and the release of the Samsung Gear Virtual Reality (VR), agency leaders expect to see the introduction of many more VR apps with a focus on education and adherence. By creating VR apps that explain the mode of action for a therapy area, patients may better understand the treatment journey and improve their compliance. Visuals, video, and snackable content will play a much bigger role in content distribution, executives say.
Additionally, executives point out how healthcare policymakers and payers are increasingly mandating what doctors can prescribe. Pharma marketing to professionals will embrace the core principles of B2B marketing where selling is at the account level. Pharma will need to identify all the decision makers and influencers at the IDN or ACO level and coordinate communication across all the many decision makers. Healthcare payers are measuring the pharmacoeconomic performance of different medicines. A widespread use of electronic medical records will give them the data they need to insist on outcomes-based pricing. Pharma will be collecting and using data with end-points in mind that move beyond measuring incremental NRX and TRX volume. Analytics will be far more sophisticated and alliances with EMR platforms will be much closer, executives say.
Philanthropy/citizenship
To guide specific philanthropic decisions and events, Epsilon leaders say the agency organized a committee called Epsilon Community Outreach (ECO). To guide specific philanthropic decisions and events, Epsilon organized a committee called Epsilon Community Outreach (ECO) to give back to the local communities our associates live and work in. ECO is fully managed and run by a group of volunteer associates. Not only do they sponsor and plan local events, but they also review and approve donation requests from our associate population, executives say.
“We also give in other ways,” executives say. “Whether it is a donation to a cause one of our client’s is passionate about, sponsoring an evening dinner at a soup kitchen, or one of our many other efforts, we believe that part of being successful means also giving back.
“At Epsilon, we view giving as being about more than donating money. Building a relationship to a cause or a community is an aspect of corporate life that many of our associates find deeply rewarding. It allows us to bridge boundaries across the world, knowing that at our core, we are all humans with a common goal: building a life with dignity and meaning.”