The Bloc: 2019

 

The Bloc

32 Old Slip, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10005

Telephone : 212-524-6200
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: thebloc.com

Quick Facts
Accounts
Account wins 18
Active business clients 25

Services Mix
HCP 62%
DTC and DTP 25%
Managed markets 13

 

Client Roster
Acorda Therapeutics
Alkermes
Allergan
Amarin
Astellas Pharma
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
Bayer
Becton Dickinson
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Greenwich Biosciences
Illumina
Kuros Biosciences
L-Nutra
Merck
Mission Pharmacal
Northwell Health
Novo Nordisk
Otsuka
Pfizer Animal Health/Zoetis
Pfizer Essential Health
Regeneron/Sanofi
Sanofi/Genzyme
Selecta Biosciences
United States Pharmacopeia

 

“Looking back on 2018, we believe it was among the most pivotal years in our history,” say leaders at The Bloc. “After experiencing a series of challenges that tested our mettle in 2017, we made significant changes in management and strategy that took root and gained momentum over the course of 2018. With an 82 percent win rate across organic and new business opportunities, last year’s success set the agency on an unprecedented trajectory as we entered 2019.”

 

Recent Accomplishments

In recognition of the great strides made last year, Jennifer Matthews has been elevated to President and CEO. She and her management team are focused on the onboarding of 18 new assignments with annualized revenue of more than $20 million.

“They are deepening relationships with our clients and each other, sharpening our strategic approach, expanding our creative bench, and driving operational excellence across everything we do,” management says. Sue Miller, now Chairman of The Bloc, and Rico Viray, Chairman of The BlocPartners, are turning their efforts outward, spreading the word about the agency’s significantly enhanced offerings. “We continue to celebrate our independence as an agency even as we nurture our interdependence as a network,” The Bloc executives say. “And we believe we occupy a unique and attractive position that no other agency can match.”

According to agency leaders, “We are on a mission to ‘be great to do good.’ Even as scientists with a creative flair and artists with a passion for science, it’s not easy to change health behaviors.”

Dr. Barbara LePetri, who has been promoted to Associate Partner and Chief Scientific Officer, “has upped our game by fully embracing the science of communication,” management says. “And she has made it her mission to fully instill the emerging discipline throughout the agency. Together with the potential of innovation and technology to connect across the healthcare continuum, we intend to get to great for all of our clients, ensuring access and empowering all.”

In 2019, the agency built upon its existing BlocSky service model, which delivers greater efficiency without sacrificing quality, to establish BlocSource, a global model that insources talent and ideas from our award-winning global network to deliver world-class ideas at a great value. “This new offering complements with our core Bloc offerings of strategic and creative innovation and The Bloc Value Builders (our strategic team focused on advancing the Triple Aim of population health, net cost reduction, and patient experience) demonstrating our commitment to staying ahead of our clients’ diverse and emerging needs,” according to agency leaders.

The Bloc’s creativity and innovation has been recognized with numerous awards across domestic and global forums. Management is proud of the fact that the agency is driving exceptional quality for several clients, including Spencer Health Solutions and Novartis’ Promacta brand. The Bloc has been recognized for ground-breaking pro bono work for the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America (SARDAA) with its “Hearing Voices of Support” platform and for Tribute.

 

STRUCTURE AND SERVICES

The Bloc is a health creative agency based in New York. The Bloc is also the founding partner of The BlocPartners, which management says is the strongest global network of leading health creative agencies and will celebrate its 15th anniversary in May 2019 at its annual meeting in Switzerland. “As an independent agency, our success has been inextricably linked with the global network we founded 15 years ago,” agency leaders say. “Through our new BlocSource model, The Bloc now has a valuable portal to our reservoir of world-class talent and worldwide resources. Our global clients tell us that working with The BlocPartners is unlike any previous network experience. The network grew stronger in 2018 as we entered into a strategic partnership with MIMS, Asia’s largest multichannel provider of drug information, medical communications, events management and marketing services – thus extending our global reach in this strategically importantly geography.”

According to management, to best align The Bloc’s talent and resources with current and future clients’ needs, the agency is organized into business units: General Medicines, Specialty, Wellness and Health Tech, and Payer Marketing (known as The Bloc Value Builders).
Services include branding, medical strategy, digital, mobile, CRM, customer experience planning, channel planning, analytics, social, access, planning, consulting, adaptation, and global.

The leadership team consists of Katya Petrova, Dan Sontupe, Ane Jones, Chris Panetta, Brit Till, LePetri, Prodeep Bose, Antoinette Bobbitt, and Jonathan Pepe. As Executive VP and Associate Partner, Katya Petrova leads the General Medicines team with a current deep focus on cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Dan Sontupe, Executive VP and Associate Partner, continues to lead the expansion of The Bloc Value Builders, which management says is poised to double in size this year. As Executive VP, Managing Director, Ane Jones has expanded the Specialty-focused team with the addition of four new clients as well as a presence on the West Coast under Rob Roth, a former Bloc employee who is leading expansion efforts from San Diego.

“Long-time Bloc veteran Chris Panetta, SVP, Managing Director, is leading the Wellness and Health Tech team. Together with Brit Till, Executive Creative Director, and strategy leads, Barbara LePetri, newly named Chief Scientific Officer, Prodeep Bose, EVP, Innovation, Antoinette Bobbitt, SVP, Brand Planning, and Jonathan Pepe, VP, Engagement Strategy, we have a best-in-class team focused on what’s next,” management says.

 

FUTURE PLANS

The Bloc is “the Health Agency of the Future,” according to agency leadership. “What does that mean? We will combine our deep strategic and creative heritage with technology solutions that deliver compelling experiences across every conceivable platform. Our next generation of thought leaders will stay ahead of the curve and continue to set industry trends that others will follow. We will enhance our creative edge, attracting top talent across disciplines and clients. We will pilot new technologies and processes to improve workflow and enhance output. Above all, we will continuously strive to be the preferred partner for all of our clients.

 

PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP

In 2018, The Bloc continued a long history of donating to charities its staff believes in and supports, such as Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Sanitation First, New York Public Library, Boys & Girls Club, New York Public Radio, New York Road Runners, New York Road Runners Kids, Michigan Animal Health Foundation, ASPCA, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, City Squash, the Parkside School, WWF, American Heart Association, and Floris Elementary. Management says the agency’s favorite charitable tradition, however, is The Bloc’s Brew Cart, where, every Thursday, “our employees are encouraged to give to a particular cause while enjoying a well-deserved drink (or two).”