McCann HumanCare: 2017
McCann HumanCare
622 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: 646-865-3246
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: mccannhumancare.com
Accounts
Account wins 4
Active business clients 8
Brands by 2016 sales
Brand-product accounts held 13
Services Mix
DTC 100%
Client Roster
AstraZeneca
Bayer
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Janssen
Lilly
Novartis
Reckitt Benckiser
Takeda/Lundbeck
Upon entering the McCann HumanCare offices on the 18th floor of 622 Third Avenue, visitors see the words “Brave, Curious, and Human.” According to the agency leadership team, “These are not just words printed on a banner. They make up the philosophy that has helped fuel another year of significant growth for McCann Health’s consumer health and wellness agency.”
In 2016, under the leadership of President Leo Tarkovsky, McCann HumanCare more than doubled its revenue for the third year in a row and officially became part of McCann Health North America, managers say.
As part of this strategic move, a new partnership was formed between HumanCare and McCann Healthcare, the network’s specialist marketing agency for the professional health community, and Tarkovsky was appointed president of both New York agencies. He reports to Amar Urhekar, president of McCann Health Americas.
The Year’s Accomplishments
McCann HumanCare’s new clients include major pharmaceutical and healthcare companies Takeda, Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, with the HumanCare and Healthcare teams working together on several projects for the companies’ HCP audience, according to agency leadership.
“The new, closer connection between McCann HumanCare and McCann Healthcare has been very exciting,” Tarkovsky says. “It’s enhanced both agencies’ ability to grow their own businesses and deliver results for clients. And as important, it’s given the people working at both agencies expanded opportunities. I’m happy to report that by the end of the year, the majority of McCann HumanCare brands had established new partnerships with McCann Healthcare brands and vice versa, illustrating that the strategy of having these two agencies partner more closely together is working.”
According to agency executives, McCann HumanCare’s excellence in digital innovation is most clearly demonstrated in Janssen’s “Moments that Matter,” a revolutionary campaign that combined digital hyper-targeting and contextual content placement practices in order to maximize brand reach and relevance.
As the agency of record for MegaRed, Mucinex, Airborne, Move Free, and Digestive Advantage, McCann HumanCare’s engagement with Reckitt Benckiser continues to evolve. In 2016, the agency brought to life a continuation of a campaign that introduced the MegaRed Advanced 4 in 1 supplement. “This unique approach to the OMEGA-3 category, the 4 in 1 line, has proved to be successful in-market and is showing continuous growth for MegaRed,” executives say. “The campaign remains a fresh and captivating way to deliver an informative message to our audience.”
To celebrate Valentine’s Day in an innovative way, McCann HumanCare – in partnership with McCann New York – decided to send Mr. Mucus, Mucinex’s over-the-top brand mascot, into the real world and interact with real consumers in real time at JFK Airport. McCann New York created a walking, talking, life-size Mr. Mucus, using digital billboard and sophisticated motion capture technologies that had never been used by a brand. “The actor who portrayed Mr. Mucus wore a
Xsens MVN full body wearable motion capture suit and a helmet system called Facewares to capture his body and facial movements,” executives say. “Then, using Unreal Engine gaming software, a live Mr. Mucus appeared on the screen, who intercepted and surprised airport passengers. The event was a great success and exceeded the client’s expectations across many KPIs, including reach, brand recall, and search interest.”
“Bringing social media to the pharmaceutical market has long been a challenge,” says Augé Reichenberg, executive VP, executive creative director at McCann HumanCare. “However, our clients at Takeda/Lundbeck have been willing to push the envelope in order to connect with patients suffering from major depressive disorder.” By building a one-of-a-kind social media experience, McCann HumanCare created an award-winning disease awareness campaign for Takeda/Lundbeck’s Trintellix, executives say.
“Lighter Blue” is an award-winning, innovative social media effort that launched on Facebook in April 2016. “Lighthearted posts aim to educate the public on the symptoms of depression, which often extend beyond just sadness,” management explains. “These posts are intended to educate consumers in ways never before seen in the category: through an iconic, illustrated character and the use of humor.”
Going against the stereotypically dark and sometimes somber materials that have saturated the marketplace resulted in record-breaking engagement numbers for this social media campaign, according to agency leaders.
“The Lighter Blue social campaign is the first and only pharmaceutical Facebook campaign to get over 1 million likes on a post, and the number of followers continues to grow rapidly,” executives say.
Structure & Services
Tarkovsky’s leadership team, now in its fourth year of working together, includes Reichenberg; Erica Yahr, executive VP executive strategy director; Gary Chu, executive VP, director of account management; and Andrew Chamlin, chief marketing officer. Executives say the results are strong, from both an organic and a new business perspective.
The strategy department, headed by Yahr, has added several key hires, including Jacquie Lovelock, VP, strategy director, and Rob Zand, experience strategist, both previously from ROAR, a Publicis division.
Executives say the agency delivers a wide spectrum of services, including brand development, strategic consulting, advertising, point of purchase/care, CRM/eCRM, cause marketing and, of course, digital and social. McCann HumanCare continues to lead the charge in digital innovation in the health and wellness arena.
Future Plans
Tarkovsky plans to continue focusing on the three pillars of McCann HumanCare’s success: digital fluency, creativity, and integration. “The agency will invest in increasing its digital sophistication through talent acquisition and training, driving innovation through technology, and leveraging data-driven insights to strengthen production value,” execs say.
Tarkovsky believes that the demand for integrated solutions across numerous channels will continue to grow and now, as part of McCann Health’s unified, integrated offering in North America, McCann HumanCare is better positioned to help healthcare brands play a more meaningful role in people’s lives.
Philanthropy/Citizenship
Last year, McCann HumanCare created a pro-bono campaign for the Hope For Depression Research Foundation. Management says the campaign addressed the insensitivity and misunderstanding that millions of people who suffer from depression encounter, and was subsequently awarded a Clio for creative excellence.
According to agency leaders, McCann HumanCare is continuously searching for ways to break the mold of traditional health and wellness communication for the good of humanity in today’s ever-changing world. “This can be accomplished by continuing to survey the space through a more holistic and modern lens, which will unfold in the form of health IT, OTC, pharmaceutical marketing, and social responsibility assignments,” executives say. “While these areas may appear very different, they all have the same goal at their cores: to support positive well-being.
McCann HumanCare took on “a non-traditional challenge” in the human rights space: a philanthropic assignment that reflects the agency’s core values. “In perhaps one of its most human endeavors, McCann HumanCare recently partnered with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, an organization devoted to preserving the legacy of RFK and his mission to create lasting legal change and social justice for all,” executives say.
Last fall, the organization challenged McCann HumanCare to articulate that mission in a succinct and impactful way. “The agency’s response was a video manifesto that was shown at the organization’s largest event of the year: The Ripple of Hope Gala,” team management explain. “The video aimed to break down and define the three main objectives of the organization: advocacy and litigation, sustainable living, and human rights education. It successfully set the tone for an evening studded with influential activists, philanthropists, donors, and statesmen, including former VP Joe Biden. In fact, the response to the video was so impressive that McCann HumanCare is now in discussions with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights to plan out its 2017 communications plan.”
