Med Ad News Recognizes Healthcare Communications Excellence At The 30th Annual Manny Awards

LIVINGSTON, N.J., April 19, 2019 – Med Ad News – the leading pharmaceutical business and marketing publication – unveils the winners of the 2019 Manny Awards, celebrating the best in the healthcare communications industry. The 30th anniversary of the black-tie gala event took place last night at Pier Sixty in New York City with 500-plus people in attendance. Manny Award statues were presented throughout the evening to healthcare agencies achieving excellence in 30 categories. 

Steven Michaelson & Judy Capano

The Med Ad News 2019 Industry Persons of the Year award was presented to Steven Michaelson and Judy Capano of Calcium. Steven Michaelson has spent over 35 years in the advertising industry, more than 25 of them in pharmaceuticals. Michaelson gained industry-wide recognition as the Founder and CEO of Wishbone, a highly successful and unique start-up that thrived for 13 years and was awarded Med Ad News Agency of the Year in 2009. Wishbone was eventually acquired by Rosetta and then by Publicis. Michaelson and his wife and partner Capano would go on to launch Calcium in 2012, pulling together some of the original Wishbone partners to help guide and run the start-up agency. In 2014, The Star Group acquired Vox Medica and, on a parallel track, Calcium NYC, merging them together with their own healthcare agency, Star Life Sciences. This new entity entered the market as Calcium USA.

During December 2015, Michaelson and Capano purchased Calcium and all of the agency assets. As CEO, Michaelson has been running the agency since August 2015. Calcium was recognized as Agency of the Year – Category III by Med Ad News during 2018.

Capano started her agency career as Director of Client Services at Harrison and Star. She then moved to the McCann healthcare network, where she held an important Global Operations role – charged with leading and building the McCann global network to more than 50 offices. Her latest career endeavors include leading Wishbone (as Managing Partner and Chief Strategic Officer) to exponential growth and the eventual acquisition by Rosetta and then co-founding Calcium, as Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer.

Capano is a cum laude graduate of Siena College, for which she sits on the board of trustees. Capano and Michaelson live in New York City with three children. Michaelson was recently named Chairman of the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame. He also serves on the board of Haven Kids Rock (a music program that was created for at-risk kids in the New York City child welfare and foster care systems), as well as on the advisory board of Med Ad News

TBWA\WorldHealth: Agency of the Year Category I

TBWA\WorldHealth was selected as the 2019 Category I Agency of the Year recipient. Category I agencies generate annual revenue of more than $50 million. Since launching in 2016, TBWA\WorldHealth has emerged as a disruptive force in healthcare advertising. TBWA\WorldHealth achieved an unprecedented 100% client retention, 10 new business wins, 12 wins without a pitch, and 63% organic growth during 2018. The agency successfully executed 15 high-profile launches for disruptive clients and their brands. TBWA\WorldHealth’s U.S. revenue and employee count more than doubled during 2018. Last year was powered by a fierce focus on client relationships, punctuated by strong growth and global unification.

Fingerpaint: Agency of the Year Category II

Fingerpaint was awarded the Manny statue for 2019 Category II Agency of the Year (for healthcare communications firms with annual revenue between $25 million and $50 million). 2018 marked the 10th anniversary for Fingerpaint, which made the Inc. 5000 list as one of America’s fastest-growing companies for the sixth year in a row, with revenue jumping from $31 million to $45 million. The agency reported 26 account wins. Fingerpaint’s Scottsdale office relocated to a larger space in nearby Phoenix to accommodate growth in business and headcount, and a fifth location was opened during October in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey. Fingerpaint also captured 2019 Manny Awards for Best Medical Device Campaign, Best Nonbranded Campaign, and Best Profession Web Campaign.

Dudnyk: Agency of the Year Category III

For healthcare communications agencies that produce under $25 million in annual revenue, the 2019 Category III Agency of the Year winner is Dudnyk, one year after the agency was a finalist in the same category. For Dudnyk, 2018 represented the agency’s 25th year in business. Dudnyk’s revenue grew by $3.8 million and the agency’s employee count rose by 16. Dudnyk conducted an unprecedented number of launches during 2018, with several planned launches on tap for 2019 and 2020. The agency’s “Unifying Effect” continues to drive success for specialty brands. Dudnyk continues to invest in its people through professional and personal development.

CultHealth: Heart Award

Every year the Med Ad News staff presents the Heart Award, which is designed to recognize agencies’ social responsibility and agency cultures that embody a high commitment to philanthropic and social causes. The winner of this award receives a check for $3,000 to donate to a charity, and the other two finalists receive a check for $1,000 to donate to a charity. The 2019 Heart Award recipient is CultHealth, and the finalists in the category are Area 23 and FCB Health New York.

FCB Health: Network of the Year

The Network of the Year Manny Award was presented to FCB Health Network, which during 2018 consisted of 30 offices, nearly 2,000 people and 100 new business-wins. The network’s Manny Award winners and finalists were represented by Area 23 (Winner: Most Admired Agency, Best Consumer TV/Radio Campaign, Best Interactive Patient Campaign, Best Philanthropic Campaign, Best Professional Print Campaign, Best Professional Video Campaign, Best Rare Disease Campaign, and Best Social Media Campaign; Finalist: Agency of the Year Category I, Most Creative Agency, Heart Award, Best Interactive Patient Campaign, Best Medical Device Campaign, Best Patient Engagement Campaign, Best Rare Disease Campaign, and Best Social Media Campaign); FCB Health New York (Finalist: Most Creative Agency, Heart Award, Best Professional Video Campaign, Best Philanthropic Campaign, and Best Rare Disease Campaign); FCBCure (Finalist: Agency of the Year Category II and Best Interactive Physician Campaign); Neon (Finalist: Best Professional Web Campaign and Best Nonbranded Campaign); and Area 23 on Hudson and Studio Rx Productions (Winner: Best Experiential Campaign).

Brick City Greenhouse: Agency on the Rise

For 2019, the Med Ad News team brought back the Agency on the Rise Manny Award, which previously was presented when there was only one Agency of the Year winner for all healthcare communications firms across all revenue ranges. Brick City Greenhouse was awarded the 2019 Manny trophy for Agency on the Rise. The New Jersey-based healthcare communications agency founded in 2015 and is led by Fred Kinch, Renee Wills, and Ashley Schofield. Brick City Greenhouse was also a finalist for the 2019 Vision Award.

The Med Ad News “MedAdvocate” jury convened on March 20 for a roundtable discussion of finalist campaigns previously determined via online voting, and included selections from more than 200 eligible voters across healthcare communication agencies. In order to take a deeper dive into the finalist campaigns, a panel of experts dubbed “MedAdvocates” were each assigned specific campaigns and tasked to initiate meaningful dialog amongst the jurors. MedAdvocates were selected based on their creative expertise and widely recognized performance within the industry. Ultimately, the team scored each finalist campaign using a point system that, combined with the popular vote conducted online, arrived at the eventual winners who were crowned on April 18. 

Med Ad News would like to thank Platinum Sponsors Calcium, Dudnyk, Fingerpaint, and TBWA\WorldHealth; and Gold Sponsors Concentric Health Experience, Evoke, GSW, Intouch Group, and JUICE Pharma Worldwide.

2019 Manny Award Winners

Industry Person of the Year

Steven Michaelson, Founder/CEO of Calcium & Judy Capano, Co-Founder/Managing Partner/COO of Calcium

Agency of the Year – Category I

TBWA\WorldHealth

Agency of the Year – Category II

Fingerpaint

Agency of the Year – Category III

Dudnyk

Heart Award

CultHealth

Vision Award

AbelsonTaylor

Agency on the Rise

Brick City Greenhouse

Network of the Year

FCB Health Network

Most Creative Agency

GSW

Most Admired Agency

Area 23

Diversity & Inclusion Champion

Intouch Group

Marketer on the Rise

Amy Williams, Associate Marketing Director, Avanos (nominated by AbelsonTaylor)

Best Professional Video Campaign

Area 23 – Heart Stories

Best Professional Web Campaign

Fingerpaint – Nature Calls

Best Professional Print Campaign

Area 23 – No Defense

Best Consumer Print Campaign

Intouch Solutions – A Beautiful Pair

Best Consumer TV/Radio Campaign

Area 23 – April Fools

Best Consumer Web Campaign

GSW – Dyskinesia Is A Jerk

Best Interactive Patient Campaign

Area 23 – TXT2HLP

Best Interactive Physician Campaign

Concentric Health Experience – Lonhala Magnair “Room To Breathe”

Best Nonbranded Campaign

Fingerpaint – Nature Calls

Best Medical Device Campaign

Fingerpaint – UltraMIST “Take Back Your Territory”

Best Launch Campaign

DDB Health – Aimovig

Best Philanthropic Campaign

Area 23 – The Rape Tax

Best Managed Markets Campaign

McCann Managed Markets – Genentech Patient Foundation

Best Self-Promotional Campaign

AbelsonTaylor – Feel The Data

Best Social Media Campaign

Area 23 – The Worst Restaurant In Town

Best Patient Engagement Campaign

CDM New York – Zac’s Play Day

Best Rare Disease Campaign

Area 23 – The World’s Smallest Booth

Best Experiential Campaign

Area 23 on Hudson and Studio Rx Productions – Parkinson’s House Call

About the Manny Awards
For 30 years, the Med Ad News Manny Awards have paid tribute to the creative work of agencies serving the healthcare market, their people, and their contributions to the industry. Each year at this gala awards ceremony, Med Ad News and agency professionals come together to celebrate creative excellence in pharmaceutical and medical device advertising and to acknowledge those making significant contributions to healthcare communications. On this special evening, more than 500 industry peers join Med Ad News in honoring winners in a range of award categories.

About Med Ad News
The pharmaceutical industry’s publication of record since 1982, Med Ad News provides broad coverage and incisive analysis of the issues, events, trends, and strategies shaping pharmaceutical business, marketing, and sales. More than 30,000 readers — comprising corporate executives, marketing, sales, and product managers — receive Med Ad News, which is a publication of Outcomes LLC. For more info, visit http://www.medadnews.com.

About Outcomes LLC
A marketing and media company built to quench the evolving consumption habits of B to B audiences, Outcomes supports the healthcare communications industry via industry leading brands Med Ad NewsPharmaLive, leading events including the Manny Awards and content marketing services. For more info, visit www.outcomes-marketing.com.

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