FCBCURE: 2021
FCBCURE
An FCB Health Network Company
5 Sylvan Way
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Telephone
973-451-2400
Website
fcbcure.com
QUICK FACTS
Accounts
Account wins 7
Active business clients 19
Brands by 2020 sales
Brand-product accounts held 37
$25 million or less 5
$25 million-$50 million 7
$50 million-$100 million 3
$100 million-$500 million 6
$500 million-$1 billion 4
$1 billion or more 2
Products not yet approved/launched 10
SERVICES MIX
HCP 70%
DTC PT 30%
CLIENT ROSTER
AbbVie
Adamas
Allergan
Allergan Medical Institute
Amicus
Bayer
Bristol Myers Squibb
Currax Pharmaceuticals
Eidos Therapeutics
Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Genentech
Heron Therapeutics
Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Merck Sharp & Dohme
Novo Nordisk
Origin Biosciences
QED Therapeutics
Shionogi
W.L. Gore And Associates
According to the leaders of FCBCURE, it’s not when things are going great, it’s when things go sideways that you see what an agency is truly made of. Despite a challenging 2020, management says FCBCURE showed that its strong leadership, sense of community among employees, and the drive, willingness and energy to push clients meant that not only did the agency survive – it thrived.
FCBCURE Managing Director Tammy Fischer praises employees’ challenger spirit for helping the agency get through an unprecedented year. “We are problem solvers who wake up every morning with something to prove,” Fischer says. “I truly believe that having this unique ambition prepared us for this challenging time – we were subconsciously training for this and running fast and hard, when everyone else was just plugging in.”
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Agency executives say FCBCURE’s “yes-we-can!” attitude did not go unnoticed by new and existing clients. The agency expanded its roster in 2020, winning 50 percent of new business pitches and welcoming eight new clients, including BMS, Allergan, Novartis, and a new COVID-19 therapy.
“We also experienced significant organic growth across five major clients,” agency executives say. “Add to that our 85-plus new hires, and FCBCURE is the model for our Network CEO and President Dana Maiman’s mantra of ‘not just surviving, but thriving.’”
On the awards front, agency leaders say they are most proud of FCBCURE’s MM&M “Best Places to Work” (midsize agency) win. “We were the ONLY agency to receive consistent 5-out-of-5 scores from our employees on the anonymous survey, which determined the winners,” management says. “Employees stated that the mutual respect and camaraderie they feel has only grown stronger during the pandemic. Upon quarantine, the agency made a massive effort to put job security first, and implemented more work/life balance initiatives such as ‘no-meeting Fridays,’ extra PTO, and mental health days.”
“Our sense of family and community really shined through this year,” says Management Director Dawn Contillo. “Yes, we worked hard, but we made a real effort to respect each other’s lives outside of the agency, and supported one another in whatever ways we could.”
Fischer takes all this to heart. “We took on the challenge of transitioning to a virtual world and embraced it as an opportunity to elevate the way we work together,” she says. “We leveraged this for our brands, creating inroads and boosting our engagements to personal levels.”
STRUCTURE AND SERVICES
Lockdown presented FCBCURE’s leaders the unique opportunity to hire outside of the tri-state area – they say half of the agency’s new hires are from outside the region. “The new virtual normal was the perfect opportunity to open FCBCURE’s doors to fresh and formidable talent from across the U.S.,” agency executives say. “Recent hires reinforced our existing capabilities, but also launched new offerings.”
On the creative leadership front, Associate Creative Directors Stacy Claywell and Elissa Karp-Khakee were recently welcomed to FCBCURE. Management says Claywell and Karp-Khakee are award-winning creatives known for pushing boundaries, and the team brings extensive global launch experience. Claywell’s experience in the industry spans close to 20 years, while Karp-Khakee came from sister agency AREA 23, a testament to what the leadership team calls the Network’s dedication to “proactive career management.”
“Our leaders believe that career development is fluid, and they make room for us to explore the myriad opportunities the FCB Health Network can provide,” Karp-Khakee says. “This means that we can transfer roles, client teams, or agencies – whatever it takes to help us grow.”
“You’d think that joining FCBCURE during a pandemic would be hard, but it couldn’t have been easier,” Claywell says. “You can just feel the warmth and community spirit, with everyone 110 percent committed to supporting one another while creating outstanding work.”
Most notably, the agency brought extensive social and engagement expertise in-house. “We found amazing talent to drive the social practice for our clients, along with data & analytics, forming a new, integrated strategy family. FCBCURE’s new Senior VP of Engagement and Social Media Elizabeth Gopaul came to the agency from Greater Than One. Gopaul established and amplified the agency’s social media and digital capabilities. FCBCURE leans in intently on employees’ ‘superpowers,’ versus titles, as our clients are never looking for one-size-fits-all solutions.”
Strategy welcomed new lead Senior VP, Strategic Planning Director Henry Mui. He came from Havas Health and You, and brought the benefit of more than 23 years of experience in numerous categories and therapeutic areas to the department, agency executives say.
“Our clients trust us implicitly.” Fischer says. “They’ll come to us and say, ‘We know this isn’t in your wheelhouse, but we want you to take it on.’ That’s how quickly we adapt. Our clients know we know how to solve a problem, and we’ll solve it quickly.”
FUTURE PLANS
In 2020, the people at FCBCURE deepened their relationships with each other and with clients.
“We will continue to invest in this special community of not only smart heads, but also great hearts,” agency executives say, “We achieved greatness together in a work-from-home situation and are already looking at hybrid models to allow our people more flexibility and, with the backing of our large network, we have a real opportunity to build something very progressive. We will also continue to embrace self-care in a way that challenges traditional productivity measurements.”
“With Quiet Fridays, for example, we ask that no meetings be scheduled that day,” Karp-Khakee says. “It gives us a bit of time to breathe.”
At FCBCURE, the agency places a high priority on the people it brings in. “We attract natural problem solvers who never say ‘we can’t do it,’ but instead say ‘we’ll find a way,’” agency executives say. “We know how to move and to achieve in the face of any issue. We’re now ready to reveal what the industry’s best problem solvers can solve. Our best is yet to come.”
PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP
In 2020, FCBCURE paid its success forward by elevating efforts to support the community and employees. The agency continued to partner with Oasis – A Haven for Women & Children, Action Against Hunger, and World AIDS Day, but did not stop there. “When the COVID-19 pandemic surged, we rallied behind frontline workers by delivering over 300 lunches to three different local hospitals that were hardest hit,” management says. “This contribution also helped generate income for local catering vendors and restaurants whose businesses were heavily affected by lockdown.”
2020 also saw the creation of Mentoring Circles at FCBCURE. Agency executives say these allow participants to gain all the benefits that traditional mentoring has to offer, while connecting and exchanging insights and experiences for the purpose of enhancing skills, network and community along with commitment to one’s career.