YuzuYello: 2024

YuzuYello, an IPG Health company

100 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001

212-672-2300 • [email protected] • yuzuyello.com

 

Quick facts

Accounts

• Account wins: 8
• Active business clients: 12
  

Brands by 2023 sales

• Brand-product accounts held: 27
• $25 million or less: 1
• $25 million-$50 million: 1
• $50 million-$100 million: 3
• $100 million-$500 million: 4
• $500 million-$1 billion: 1
• $1 billion or more: 6
• Products not yet approved/launched: 1

Client roster

• ADC Therapeutics
• Amgen
• AstraZeneca
• Axsome
• Cytokinetics
• Day One
• Edwards Lifesciences
• Janssen
• Madrigal Pharmaceuticals
• Novartis
• Pfizer
• Sanofi
• Travere Therapeutics

Finalist

• Agency of the Year, Category III

“The IPG Health network is obsessed with doing what’s right for our clients, their brands and our people,” declare the leaders of YuzuYello. “As a specialty agency within that network, we at YuzuYello have layered our mission onto that bedrock. We build brighter worlds for the people our brands serve, our clients and each other.”

The agency was particularly proud to have been named one of MM+M’s 2023 Best Places to Work. “We feel this award reflects our belief that empathy isn’t a switch you turn on when you need it; it’s a way of moving through the world and leaving things in a better state than how you found them,” executives say.

Recent accomplishments

Shakespeare asked, ‘What’s in a name? To us, it’s everything,” agency leaders declare. YuzuYello is named after the yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit.

“Living up to our namesake drives everything from who we hire, to how we show up, to what we create,” executives say. “It’s not just a nice way to work  – it’s a smart way to do business. How we come across to each other is how we come across to our clients and, ultimately, to patients and caregivers.”   

Leaders say the agency’s core tenet can be summed up in a word the agency made up and uses all the time:  “Yuzufy [yu-zoo-fahy]: (verb) To make brighter, fresher, healthier.” They claim “yuzufying” the world around them snagged the agency the Digiday WorkLife’s “Most Innovative Culture” Award.

“We’re proud to embody what the WorkLife Awards stand for: ‘The 2023 WorkLife Awards winners demonstrated how organizations foster a growth mindset, continuous learning and creativity while prioritizing employees’ mental and physical well-being,’”
the leadership team says. “It’s about doing what’s right for our clients, their brands and our people.”

They claim it’s an approach that resonates with fellow marketers, as well, as in 2023 YuzuYello formed eight new client partnerships and 15 new brands. “In a year of economic constriction for markets around the world, we grew our revenue by an unprecedented 25 percent.”

Executives attribute much of that revenue growth to a five-fold business increase for the agency’s recently launched Illumineer ambassador program. “We believe that a patient is so much more than a story,” leaders state. “They are a source of brilliance. As such, they illuminate everything and everyone around them. From the everyday challenges they face, to the next wave of treatment success  – Illumineers show us the reality of where we are and the potential of how far we can go.”

Leaders declare by “Yuzufying” the traditional story generation process, the agency is infusing it “with a special combination of energy and empathy – to cultivate and amplify brilliance. The Illumineer program finds, engages, and illuminates the right candidates to bring powerful stories to those who need to hear them. We’re transforming the way our industry gains insight from and gives voice to individuals – for the next wave of patients, for our clients, and ultimately, for a brighter world.” As the Illumineers Program grew, so did the agency’s patient support-related services, particularly in the rare disease and oncology spaces. To accommodate this growth, YuzuYello increased staff by nearly 20 percent, not counting the launch of an additional team and office in São Paulo, Brazil.

“It was an exciting year to say the least,” agency leaders say. “Visions of a tranquil December danced in our heads. But it’s YuzuYello not YuzuYawn. Days before Christmas, we teamed up with our sister IPG Health agency, Hill Holliday Health, to launch Wainua — a life-changing medication for adults living with polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-
mediated amyloidosis.”

Structure and services

According to leaders, YuzuYello  designs patient services that solve human problems; develops learning strategies grounded in behavior science, cognition, and health literacy; creates program identities that elevate brands; promotes patient services to individuals and their care teams; and learns from, connects, and co-creates with patients and caregivers to inspire the world.

Departments include learning strategy, experience design strategy, creative, account, integrated production, and editorial

Managers say nearly 25 percent of staff members hold one or more advanced degrees or certifications in medicine, health education, professional writing, creative writing, fine art, photography, psychology, transdisciplinary design, strategic design, and design for health care.

 

Future plans

Our Illumineer offering – a rapidly expanding testimonial program – collects confidential data directly from patients and caregivers,” agency leaders say. “We appreciate the trust that patients, caregivers, and clients put in us to manage such personal and sensitive data securely, appropriately, and respectfully.”

This is why the agency has sought an ISO 27001:2013 certification. “This certification demonstrates to patients, caregivers, our employees, and our client partners that we assign the utmost importance to data security and can be trusted to handle sensitive data,” executives say.

Philanthropy/citizenship

While we Yuzus clock in from all over North and South America, our headquarters reside in New York. So, when we heard about the National Blood Shortage Emergency, we asked ourselves what we could do to brighten a dark situation,” the leadership team states.

Throughout 2024, YuzuYello is sponsoring quarterly, IPG Health network-wide blood drives. This is not the first time the agency created ways to serve New Yorkers in need, managers say. During the COVID-19 pandemic, YuzuYello launched a pro bono initiative with NYC Health & Hospitals to help underserved communities receive COVID vaccinations.