Fingerpaint Marketing: 2022

Fingerpaint Marketing

395 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-693-6960 • [email protected] • fingerpaint.com

 

QUICK FACTS

Accounts
Account wins 21
Active business clients 45

Brands by 2021 sales
Brand-product accounts held 72

 

Services Mix

Digital 40%
Traditional 35%
Strategy 25%

 

Client Roster

Alere
Alexion
Almatica Pharma
Alnylam
American Regent
Amylyx
AngioDynamics
AstraZeneca
Avadel
Avion
Bausch & Lomb
Becton Dickinson
Biocodex
Biohaven
Blue Earth Diagnostic
BMS
Catalyst
Celgene/BMS
CSL Behring
Curium
Dendreon
Dynavax Technologies
Edwards Lifesciences
Endo
EPI
Fulcrum Therapeutics
Gilead
Global Blood Therapeutics
Grifols
Janssen
Neurelis
Otsuka Pharmaceutical
Passage Bio
Pear Therapeutics
Puma
Roche
Salix/Bausch Health
Santen
Sarepta
Servier
Sun Pharmaceuticals
Talaris Therapeutics
Teva
Turning Point Therapeutics
Ultragenyx
Vertice
Zoetis
Zogenix

 

FINALIST

Agency of the Year, Category I
Best Digital Patient Campaign

 

“What if growth didn’t just mean getting bigger?” asks the leadership team at Fingerpaint Marketing.

For Fingerpaint, named in 2021 by Med Ad News as the Agency of the Year in Category 1, growth also meant deepening its roots, strengthening its core offerings, and branching out to make sure both client partnerships and employees had an opportunity to grow, management says.

As it continued to navigate a global pandemic and remote workforce, Fingerpaint Marketing delivered revenue upwards of $107 million for its marketing offering, and more than a 100 percent increase over two years. “Sure, the story of how the company got there is certainly one of growth, but it was the type of growth rooted in its people-first culture and shaped by its empathetic DNA,” management says.

Recent Accomplishments

After receiving Agency of the Year awards in Categories 1, 2, and 3 over the past several years, Fingerpaint Marketing still managed to exceed all internal goals and projections for 2021, agency leaders say. “That recipe included equal parts cultivation and strengthening of existing client relationships while forging new paths and partnerships, with a total of 21 new accounts wins for the year.” For example, Teva is working with the agency on the launch of its long-acting injectable formulation of the antipsychotic drug risperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia, developing an unbranded campaign and HCP and consumer branded campaigns.

Managers point out that the company’s relationship with Zoetis remains as strong as ever after taking on another HCP AOR designation in its expanding animal health business. Roche tagged Fingerpaint to partner on the company’s global launch of a key compound for Alzheimer’s disease. Most recently, Global Blood Therapeutics awarded Fingerpaint with HCP AOR business for a sickle cell disease treatment.

“This mix of nurturing existing business while fortifying its portfolio with new business is made possible by the agency’s fiercely independent and entrepreneurial spirit,” management says. “That culture has continued to attract and retain top clients.”

Putting people first is at the forefront of the culture at Fingerpaint Marketing, and in that pursuit, the company prioritizes recruiting and retaining talent, which led to a 25% increase in headcount to more than 407 total employees. Illustrative of its internal expansion, Fingerpaint named Bill McEllen as global president of all business units, paving the way for founder Ed Mitzen to assume the role of chairman and CEO.

“Bill’s experience and extensive understanding of the global challenges faced by the evolving biopharma landscape make him a natural fit to lead the company while staying true to the foundation Fingerpaint was built on,” Mitzen says. “Our people and our clients will continue to benefit from his forward-thinking approach.”

Mark Willmann was promoted to head of Fingerpaint Marketing. In the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., headquarters, Beth Beck was promoted as lead, while Lori Thatch was promoted to lead strategy. Twenty-year veteran Pedro “Pete” Irizarry joined the N.Y. office as the head of account service. Fingerpaint also tapped industry heavyweights Laura Yoars (account service, Cedar Knolls, N.J.), Joana Friel (creative, Phoenix, Ariz.), and Bill Kwiatkowski (strategy, Conshohocken, Pa.) to lead departments in various offices.

In addition to the hiring of talent across the country, management says the company doubled down on its philosophy of expansion by acquiring Bay Area healthcare communications firm Splice. The Emeryville, Calif., group was fully integrated into the Fingerpaint family of marketing locations to expand the company’s West Coast footprint.

“Our people are the engine that drives our creative success,” Willmann says. “We are so proud of and inspired by the work Fingerpainters across the country have created this year. And we’re not the only ones to notice. The company brought home more than 80 awards across 17 brands in a wide range of categories.”

In 2021, as well as being named Category 1 Agency of the year, Fingerpaint earned creative awards and year-over-year recognition from Ad Age and MM+M as one of the best places to work. Last year also marked the ninth consecutive year Fingerpaint was recognized on the Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Companies and MM+M’s Top 100 Agencies.

Structure and Services

As part of its commitment to providing growing and versatile opportunities to clients, Fingerpaint Marketing stands at the center of an expanding capabilities group. Management says those capabilities include market access and commercialization firm 1798 and Photo 51, a consultancy laser-focused on gene and cell therapies. These are in addition to its Shift platform, which deploys proprietary marketing technology to optimize and inform all Fingerpaint’s work with data that will grow clients’ brands.

New this year are Leaderboard Branding, a naming and branding consultancy; MedThink, a medical communications agency; and Engage, a global full-service data and analytics-enabled solutions provider.

Fingerpaint Marketing continues to be a full-service company that offers the right mix of digital, creative, and strategic solutions based on its clients’ specific needs, the leadership team says, adding that the organization’s purposeful expansion serves to complement its marketing services.

“We are creative powerhouses, strategic masterminds, and agility specialists, with as much passion as smarts,” Willmann says. “But we’re also honest and hardworking and respect each other’s opinions.”

The promotion of Nick Megjugorac, Ph.D., to chief strategy officer was an exciting development in the company’s ever-evolving goal of delivering analytics-enabled marketing solutions, management says.

Future Plans

The plan for the future? Keep growing the right way,” McEllen said.

That means growth under the guidance of Fingerpaint’s founding principle of putting people first with empathetic leadership, according to the managing team, adding this makes persistent growth and leadership not only possible but also responsible.

“We’ll continue to acquire and integrate more companies throughout the industry and do so while keeping our fiercely independent, empathetic culture at the forefront,” McEllen says. “The goal always is to serve clients through the development and nurturing of their brands while also providing our employees with opportunities to grow.”

Philanthropy/Citizenship

Philanthropy has been at the company’s core since its creation in 2008, and it was never more apparent than in 2021, management says. Each agency location has a philanthropy committee that drives community involvement, rallying around causes that are close to the hearts of employees. One such partnership is with Momentum and Value for People of Color (MVPOC), a non-profit with a mission to help young people of color prepare, perform, progress, and prosper in their education, leadership, and early professional careers.

“Last year, Fingerpaint and its employees continued to embody our core principle of giving back,” Mitzen says. “The company contributed more than $350,000 and more than 5,000 hours of pro-bono/in-kind time to nearly 75 different global organizations with an emphasis on serving causes near and dear to the hearts of Fingerpainters.”

That spirit also fuels the company’s commitment to creating and maintaining a workplace of diversity, equity, and inclusion. A cross-functional team works alongside the People and Culture team to develop and deploy educational resources and events for employees.

“Whether it’s investing in medical care in another country, serving the underprivileged or underserved in our communities, or even helping our own employees build better futures for themselves and their families, people-first extends beyond our walls,” the leadership team says. “Giving back is an important part of who we are.”