Kansas City-based Intouch Solutions has reorganized its offerings into Intouch Group. The entity comprises two separate creative shops, a joint venture with an Italian healthcare agency, a media agency, a technology and production services hub, and an analytics practice.

The creative shops are Intouch Solutions and Intouch Proto. The joint venture with Healthware International, which was established more than a year ago, is Intouch International. The full-service media buying company is Intouch Media. Intouch B2D is the technology and production services hub, and Intouch Analytics is a full-service analytics practice.

Executives say Intouch Group provides “a flexible working model for clients and employees as the six affiliates work autonomously or in partnership with one another respectively.”

Intouch CEO Faruk Capan

“Our clients have been asking for us to align our operations to reflect our vast expertise and depth of service offerings,” says Faruk Capan, CEO, Intouch Solutions. “We have achieved that goal with these changes, while maintaining our culture of collaboration and teamwork. Ultimately, this structure allows us to compete at a new level, and be seen as the powerhouse organization we are.”

Capan says Intouch Group has taken steps to house each of its entities separately from Intouch Solutions. For example, Intouch Proto is mostly based in Chicago. Intouch International has an office in London.

Before making any of these changes, Intouch consulted with a group consisting of clients and vendor partners to get their feedback and advice. Their recommendations included making sure the Intouch entities were physically separated as well as keeping the Intouch name as part of the brand, Capan says.

While the Intouch name remains, the organization has undergone a brand refresh to reflect the new Intouch Group structure. “Using elements of the original Intouch Solutions logomark, the new visual identity system was designed to reflect the vibrant future of Intouch Group while honoring the successes of Intouch Solutions’ past,” executives say.

Despite the changes, Intouch remains dedicated to the life sciences vertical and its own digital roots. “Through Intouch Group, the organization will build upon its core capabilities, as well as gain the opportunity to expand its services over time,” management states.

“We are driven to be the go-to partner for full-service needs – now and in the future,” Capan says. “Intouch Group offers the advantages of a network’s size and scale, with the creative, innovative spirit of an independent. We continue to experience growth as an organization and we are excited about the opportunities Intouch Group represents for us.”

The agency continues to expand its personnel. In July, Intouch Solutions added several executives to its New York team. Wanda Cruz became senior VP of marketing intelligence, and Karen Kranack was made VP of user experience.

As senior VP of marketing intelligence, Cruz is leading the marketing intelligence group. Executives say in this role, she will focus on business development, including analytics, data science and field experience strategic support. “Ultimately, Cruz is responsible for elevating Intouch’s offerings to drive revenue through new business opportunities while supporting organic growth efforts,” agency executives say.

Cruz possesses more than 18 years of experience, most recently serving as the associate director of marketing at Valeritas. According to executives, she holds expertise in areas related to digital strategy, brand marketing, sales enablement, and EHR, and has held positions with several global, multibillion-dollar companies and start-ups, including Novo Nordisk, Novartis Oncology, and Johnson & Johnson.

“I am delighted to join the team at Intouch for what is going to be exciting times ahead,” Cruz says. “Analytics, data and data science have become one of Intouch’s many differentiators, elevating our ability to offer more strategic value to our clients. I look forward to leading the marketing intelligence group to drive more results for Intouch and its clients alike.”

According to executives, as VP of user experience, Kranack leverages 18 years of knowledge in the digital, user experience and product development realms to refine the user experience vision and strategy across Intouch. “While promoting innovation in user experience thinking across the agency and building client relationships, Kranack also serves as a mentor to her team,” management says.

Before joining Intouch, Kranack served as VP of strategy and research at Modus Agency, where she created and oversaw the agency’s research and strategy practice, led multi-disciplinary project teams, and managed user experience project strategy and vision, from conception and research to development. Kranack also previously served as the global head of user experience for Estee Lauder Corporation, and ran her own consulting firm.

“I’m tremendously excited by Intouch’s dedication to design thinking,” Kranack says. “I’m thrilled to push our user experience expertise to the next level in creating digital experiences that support client goals while servicing customer needs.”