The Bloc Partners: 2023

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The Bloc Partners

The Bloc Partners

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

917-305-5581 • [email protected]theblocpartners.com

 

2023 will mark the evolution of The BlocPartners, the leading global network of independent health creative agencies, to The Bloc, the only health-native global agency with world-class local talent and a centralized operational structure, according to the network’s leaders. “We will infuse our local roots in 34-plus markets into our leading expertise in data-driven, applied behavioral and medical sciences to boost global strategy, creative impact, customer experience, and brand success.” 

Recent accomplishments

Organic and new business wins in the past year include the Merck/MSD EEMEA and LATAM medical communications business, the OTC sleep franchise for an EU client, multiple global brands from Zambon, and an internal launch excellence program with BMS’s global immunology franchise, executives say.

According to leaders, BlocBuddies “came to life and was launched globally to create new connections across borders in our talent pool of 1300-plus people. The initiative brings together talent with similar positions in different countries to share best practices, solve business cases, and share the ups and downs of agency life.”

Recognizing the powerful perspective of young talent, the network’s Gen Y teams workshopped their way through its Youth Day. “The insights collected have reinforced our hypothesis that no matter the number of years in the industry, new and fresh thinking is needed to drive our business forward,” executives say.

“We also made some significant U.S. hires in the past year, with Christian Bauman as new chief creative officer, Jay Appel as chief digital and growth officer, and Itiya Wolman as senior VP, director of operations. They came onboard with extensive experience and all three brought immediate value to our U.S. and global teams.” 

In terms of awards, The Bloc Value Builders took home the Gold at the MM+M Awards for Best Use of Market Access Marketing. “Across the Atlantic, our team in London won the Best Business Impact Award at BOBI, in recognition of the excellent use of business intelligence in their work with AstraZeneca,” executives say.

“A number of our creative leaders served as creative jurors throughout the year. Xavier Sánchez from Umbilical [Spain]was a juror at the London International Awards and the Lisbon International Advertising Festival, and Praful Akali from Medulla [India] was a member of the jury in the Health & Wellness category at The One Show. Praful also recently participated in a panel discussion during the Veeva APAC Summit, where he gave his views on marketing in the digital age – its barriers, opportunities, and capabilities.”

Structure and services

Evolving toward a more centralized approach, we are pulling talent and expertise globally into a new structure of hubs of excellence,” network leaders state. “In this model, we are laser-focused on who we want to work for, what our best-of-breed offering must be, and how to best deliver at the local, regional, and global levels. At the base of it all, we have a strong financial, talent, operational, and digital foundation to support and future-proof our services.”

The network’s local footprint covers 34 key major and emerging markets, and its service offerings include insights, market research, market access, consulting, strategy, promotion, creative, omnichannel engagement, medical communications  including strategy, CME, med ed, and scientific events, social media, analytics and optimization, and localization.

Agencies are located in the Americas in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the United States; the EMEA in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom; the DACH in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland; and Asia and Oceania in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand,  and Vietnam.

Future plans

We are in the process of evolving our unique selling proposition into a flexible global-to-local turnkey solution fueled by data and insights,” network leaders say. “By understanding the drivers and barriers of human behavior, we will support brands in accelerating brand adoption, with the long-term goal of supporting patients in making better health decisions sooner and for longer.” 

Philanthropy/citizenship

In 2022, we continued our charitable giving, supporting organizations including Doctors Without Borders, Ahbap Association, Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, UNICEF, The Good Grief Trust, Movember, Working for Women, and Feeding America,” executives say. “In the wake of the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, we have also matched globally on charity donations.” 

 

The Bloc Partners

Rico Viray, chairman; Susan Miller, chief financial officer