Sound Healthcare Communications: 2021

Sound Healthcare Communications LLC

200 Crossing Blvd.

Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Telephone 

732-448-1100

E-mail 

[email protected]

Website 

sound-hc.com

 

QUICK FACTS

Accounts

Account wins 9

Active business clients 10

Brands by 2020 sales

Brand-product accounts held 19

$25 million or less 1

$25 million-$50 million 8

$50 million-$100 million 5

$100 million-$500 million 2

$500 million-$1 billion 2

$1 billion or more 1

 

SERVICES MIX

Advertising 40%

Digital 40%

Strategy 20%

 

CLIENT ROSTER

AbbVie  

Baudax Bio

Bausch Health

Biohaven

Boehringer Ingelheim

CareMetx

Clover Biopharma

Incyte

Merck/Bayer

Merck Vaccines

Pfizer

SOBI

 

Not even a global pandemic could halt the positive momentum of Sound Healthcare Communications in 2020, according to the agency’s leaders. “While many other agencies downsized or closed their doors, this unstoppable force not only held firm, they added a number of new blue-chip names to their client roster on the basis of an astounding nine new business wins,” management says.

According to Managing Partner, Client Services Ryan Perkins, “We’re thrilled to have been able to not only protect our existing business, but we were actually able to grow our client roster during a pandemic. That alone is quite the feat and something we’re very proud of.” 

Even while most agencies were re-evaluating their office plans for the “new normal”, Sound continued to press forward with a complete redesign of its new 38,000 square-foot headquarters, which leaders say is “filled to the brim” with the latest design and technology and has plenty of space for the ever-growing agency to fill. 

“COVID-19 made us rethink more of the common areas and the employee seating, but I think it’s critical for us to return to the office when the time is right,” says Managing Partner, Creative Jeff Hack. “Not only is it necessary for our culture to thrive, but we truly believe that we need that togetherness to build amazing ideas and experiences.”  

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

According to Sound executives, fueling the agency’s tremendous accolades is an unwavering commitment to client success.  

2020 has been characterized as an unprecedented year, which Sound leadership says meant that agencies everywhere had to get creative with their tactical approach – and fast. “Sound not only braved the new, fully remote environment of the pandemic, but the situation ignited change within the organization.” 

The agency focused heavily on bolstering its non-personal promotional offering and strengthening its digital credentials and capabilities. One of the ways Sound was able ramp up its skillset and expertise so quickly, management says, was by forming strategic alliances with best-in-class digital technology providers to help to push the agency’s thinking beyond the traditional pharma promotional model. 

“Almost overnight the industry we serve had to change its entire approach to customer engagement,” says Managing Partner, Strategy Nick Rhodin. “As a result, we quickly pivoted and completely revamped our omnichannel mix for every one of our clients. We have an incredibly talented staff at Sound, and we’re proud that we were able to be as nimble as the challenge required.”

In 2020, the agency focused on creating deeper relationships with existing clients, such as Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and SOBI, and management says this effort paid off as these accounts grew organically. According to Sound’s leaders, they have no plans of slowing down, as the agency is poised for significant growth in 2021. “In 2020, we established relationships with a number of promising new clients and were able to show them our level of thinking,” says Senior VP, Director of Strategic Planning Kieran Gorman. “I strongly believe our efforts in 2020 will pay off in spades in 2021.”

STRUCTURE AND SERVICES

Sound is characterized by its leaders as a full-service, independent agency filled with critical thinkers who have the ability to bring any creative experience to life. Management says as an agency, Sound prides itself on its commitment to holistic excellence, setting incredibly high standards for its staff and the work they do. To ensure the agency is always filled with the industry’s best talent, Sound continuously invests in employee development, offering numerous online courses, workshops, and inspiration sessions to help grow skills within the agency. 

Sound also made a critical addition to its leadership team in Senior VP, Creative Director Kristen Pilkiewicz, a long-time Havas Health & You veteran, who joined the Sound team in late September. The leadership teams says they had a clear mission in mind for their new creative powerhouse: elevate the work and the talent. 

“I am thrilled to have joined such an amazing agency,” Pilkiewicz says. “I’m surrounded by brilliant thinkers and I feel challenged in the right ways each and every day. I’m incredibly excited to help take Sound to the next level.” 

But according to Sound’s leaders, it can’t be all work and no play when it comes to agency life. Culture and the happiness of employees remained a top priority at the agency. Even in the face of a global pandemic, Sound somehow found a way to bring all employees together for their annual summer outing – a virtual summer concert featuring New Jersey’s most popular cover band, The Nerds. “Everyone really enjoyed themselves, myself included! We had tons of requests coming through in the chat and the band put on one heck of a show,” Hack says. “It was a great event that allowed us to feel close even when afar.”  

FUTURE PLANS

In an effort to serve clients’ ever-increasing need for strategic services, Sound has recently formed Fathom Health Group – an in-house strategic consulting division that will offer an unparalleled level of service and a full suite of proprietary strategic offerings. “We saw a need for a more specialized model when it comes to strategic consulting,” Rhodin says. “What’s great about Fathom is that it will allow us to deliver an expanded portfolio of unique strategic consulting services.”

PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP

The pandemic has caused both a public health and an economic crisis, the effects of which are widespread. Sound says the impact was especially felt in New Jersey, a state that had the second highest unemployment rate in the nation. “COVID-19 has affected so many families in a multitude of ways, and one of the most devastating is the fact that many are unable to put food on their family’s table,” Perkins says. “Right now, New Jersey has one of the fastest growing rates of food insecurity in the nation affecting over a million residents.” 

In an effort to help combat this situation, the agency made a large donation to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state’s premier provider of food and nutrition programs. “Given the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on food insecurity in our state, supporting the CFBNJ was a no-brainer for us this year,” Perkins says.