SOUND Healthcare Communications: 2019

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SOUND Healthcare Communications

200 Crossing Boulevard
Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Telephone
732-448-1100
E-mail
[email protected]
Website
sound-hc.com

Quick Facts
Accounts
Account wins 5
Active business clients 9

Brands by 2018 sales
Brand-product accounts held 18
$25 million-$50 million 2
$50 million-$100 million 3
$100 million-$500 million 3
$500 million-$1 billion 2
$1 billion or more 4
Products not yet approved/launched 4

Services mix
Advertising 50%
Digital 30%
Strategy 20%

Client roster
AbbVie
Bausch Health
Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly
Incyte
Pfizer
Pharmacosmos
Recro Pharma

 

 

SOUND Healthcare Communications turned up the volume during the agency’s fourth full year of operation since being founded during late 2014. The leadership team says SOUND is one of the industry’s fastest-growing agencies and becoming a force to be reckoned with after several big new business wins in 2018. According to management, the growth has been so explosive that the independent, full-service agency outgrew their space in downtown New Brunswick, N.J., upgrading to a vastly larger, more modern space centrally located in New Jersey’s ‘power corridor’ region of nearby Bridgewater.
“We loved our time in New Brunswick, but it’s very exciting to be moving on to bigger and better things,” says Ryan Perkins, Managing Partner and Executive Director of Client Services. “The new space is going to be perfect for us. More collaborative areas, more creature comforts for our staff, and tons of conference room space. We were really busting at the seams with the way we’ve been growing.”

Recent accomplishments

By the close of 2018, SOUND had landed multiple new AOR account wins including Incyte’s blockbuster hematology treatment, Jakafi; the global business for OFEV, Boehringer Ingelheim’s respiratory drug; and Monofer for Pharmacosmos, a world leader in iron deficiency anemia treatment. According to managers, the company nearly doubled in size in 2018, bringing in more than $12 million in billings.
Recent successes have been coupled with the addition of top senior-level talent from around the industry, executives say. On the account side, SOUND brought in the talents of Jonathan Pecarsky to serve as Senior VP, Director of Client Services, as well as Christie Whitehead and Carol Ahmad in Senior VP, Group Account Supervisor roles. Heading up the project management department is industry veteran Marc Hydrick. In addition, SOUND continued to lure top talent from NYC agencies, including Damon Tutulic who serves as the agency’s new VP, Director of Digital Experience, as well as industry veteran Ed Stehlin who steps in as the agency’s new Senior VP, Creative Director.
“While it always starts with strategy, what’s different here is that ‘SOUND’ thinking resonates through every department – it’s just who we are,” Stehlin says. “I’m really excited to help further expand our creative offering to provide even more value for our clients.”

STRUCTURE AND SERVICES

Management characterizes SOUND Healthcare Communications as a full-service, independent agency that provides a suite of strategic, creative, and multichannel tactical services to help clients successfully market healthcare brands.
“SOUND offers its clients the best of both worlds – a team of thinkers with ‘big agency’ experience that can drive brands forward, all delivered with a personal touch and a streamlined process you just can’t get with the big shops,” the executive team says.
“Our culture is the key to our success,” says Jeff Hack, Managing Partner and Executive Creative Director. “It’s all about maintaining a culture of positivity – a comfortable office atmosphere built on collaboration. Great work is the natural outgrowth of that process, and the rest just takes care of itself. Our clients love the work we’re doing for them.”
“The mantra here is ‘Everything we do is sound,’” says Trevor Fusaro, Senior VP, Strategic Planning Director. “And that rings true whether we’re implementing a branded campaign strategy or planning an internal lunch-and-learn on digital innovation. Every detail is carefully and genuinely thought through. We’re committed to quality and excellence in all things, and that’s what really excites me about being a part of SOUND.”

FUTURE PLANS

According to Nick Rhodin, managing partner and executive director of strategic planning, this year’s focus centers around a theme of continuity. “As we grow, we feel it’s very important to stay true to who we are and to maintain the values and ideals that helped get us here,” he says. “We believe that if we continue to do that, we’ll continue to find success.”
Management says the first order of business for SOUND in 2019 is to quickly settle into its shiny new office space in Bridgewater, because the year is shaping up to be quite a busy one. “This is an exciting time for us because we’re going to be launching and relaunching a number of amazing brands this year,” Perkins says. “There’s nothing more exciting for us than taking on a new challenge and helping our clients move the needle for their brands. That’s what really gets us up in the morning.”
And to help fuel future growth, agency leaders are also focused on continuing to hire the best talent in the industry. “I used to say, ‘We’re building something special here,’” Perkins says. “But really, we’ve already built it. Now the key is to maintain it and to grow it.”

PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP

During the holiday season, SOUND’s first employee – Mike Fiore, VP, Group Art Supervisor – helped initiate an agency clothing drive to benefit a local charity, New Brunswick Tomorrow. Winter coats and cold-weather clothing accessories were collected to help more than two dozen underprivileged children prepare for the winter weather season.