Backstory

Chandler Chicco Agency was founded in New York City nearly 30 years ago by Burson-Marsteller healthcare veterans Robert Chandler and Gianfranco Chicco as a healthcare-first firm with no walls and no titles, an unusual entrepreneurial approach that aimed to give people “the freedom to see, the power to do.” In 2017, CCA—along with sister healthcare PR agencies Biosector2 and Chamberlain Communications—became part of Syneos Health, a fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization spanning more than 110 countries across six continents. In September, Syneos was acquired by a consortium of private investment firms including Elliott Investment Management, Patient Square Capital and Veritas Capital, becoming a privately held company. 

Locations

Chandler Chicco itself has close to 50 people working in New York, Los Angeles, and London, but Syneos has 14 offices in North America, another 20 in Europe, and a reach that extends into Asia and Latin America.

Performance

 CCA’s path post-Syneos has not always been smooth, but the past couple of years have seen a greater emphasis on the values on which the firm was founded and a corresponding return to growth: CCA is up by more than 38% over the past couple of years, including a 10% increase in 2023 despite the fact that the healthcare sector as a whole was not exactly surging. With healthcare clients more likely than others to avoid the spotlight, CCA doesn’t talk much about its clients, but it has been working with industry leaders like Genentech and Boston Scientific for more than a decade because. Last year, the firm expanded its work with anchor clients Genentech and GSK, and added a total of 11 new accounts in disease categories that span food allergies, oncology, gut microbiome health, mental health, neurology and immune deficiencies.

People & Culture

In May, 16-year CCA veteran Anna Khersonsky assumed the role of managing director—after previous incumbent Andrea Dagger took on a newly created role as head of strategy for Syneos Health US PR— and rallied the agency around a “big little things” identity that emphasized leading with heart, being intentionally creative and fostering connectivity. Other agency veterans occupy key roles: Alison Aromando, who started at CCA in 1997 as the agency’s first intern, was named its first head of client service; Edie Elkinson, EVP of media, is a 26-year veteran. They understand the culture and are committed to cultivating a fun and welcoming employee culture that remains more democratic than most. A DE&I Council advocates for underrepresented voices and provides strategic guidance on our diversity programs and the firm has a workforce that is about a third BIPOC.

Thought Leadership & Work

One area of growth in the healthcare space is clinical trial recruitment, and CCA has launched its StudyKIK service, which includes a social media platform that the firm is also using to engage patient spokespeople. The firm also rolled out a one-stop-shop dynamic metrics dashboard to track coverage, share-of-voice and sentiment against sales data and brand KPIs and executed influencer or digital opinion leader) activations for nearly three-quarters of its clients—an impressive number in the healthcare arena. The firm’s creative credentials also shone through in work for Genentech in the spinal muscular dystrophy category, working with patient groups to write, produce and perform a play aimed at addressing preconceptions about the condition. To encourage meningitis B vaccination, meanwhile, CCA worked with GSK to produce a short educational film collaboration with Lifetime.

— Paul Holmes

Backstory

Initially reporting into WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe, GCI Health was able to build a strong identity for itself as the giant holding company’s only healthcare-focused public relations firm, and—now reporting to Burson—has established itself as a global leader in healthcare PR. GCI Health is focused exclusively on healthcare communications, but that hasn’t prevented the firm from diversifying its operations in recent years, as health PR has taken on new challenges, including more integrated digital and social campaigns, content creation, and more public health, social impact work, the need for greater equity in delivery and outcomes, and public affairs and corporate reputation assignments. It was the only firm to be a finalist in all three regional Healthcare Agency of the Year categories.

Locations

Headquartered in New York, GCI Health has a strong national network (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, DC) as well as a Toronto office, an established presence in the UK and Germany, and a growing Asia-Pacific operation. In total, the firm has about 530 people across 26 offices.

Performance

After several years of consistent double-digit growth, GCI Health saw that slow to the low single-digits in 2023, a reflection of the sector’s relative softness, while maintaining a headcount of between 350 and 400 people in North America. The bulk of the firm’s growth came from existing clients—a portfolio that includes industry leaders like Abbott, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Regeneron, and Sanofi. Much of that growth was driven by newer offerings, with clinical trial recruitment up 63%, design up 31%, research and analytics up 19%, and public affairs up 12%. In EMEA, growth slowed slightly in 2023, as client budgets tightened, but the firm still managed to grow by double digits over the past two years. GCI Health grew its Asia-Pacific revenue by 14% in 2023, comfortably making it one of the largest healthcare firms in the region.

People & Culture

Kristin Cahill, global CEO, leads a team that includes Sherry Goldberg, president, North America; Eleanor Petigrow, global chief growth officer; Amy Inzanti, global chief insights and strategy officer; David Chadwick, global chief content officer; and Dante Cunningham, head of diversity, equity and inclusion. Kath Harrison, president of EMEA, is responsible for overseeing the region’s expansion, leading business development and providing senior counsel to clients, supported by Kim Walker, managing director of operations in the UK. In Asia, Rikki Jones has built out an Asia-Pacific leadership team that includes regional MD Sophie Asker and local market leaders. The firm’s DE&I initiatives include a new Diversity Recruitment Plan and a partnership with Paradigm Blueprint to ensure accountability in creating an inclusive culture. 

Thought Leadership & Work

The firm’s focus on health equity, to the fore in recent years, was expanded in 2023 to include an emphasis on diversity in clinical trials, with a report that examined black women’s perceptions of clinical trials. GCI Health has also expanded its investment in data and  AI, with an increased focus on predictive analytics for measurement and issues management. As for the work, the firm’s Curation Communications subsidiary was SABRE nominated for its crowdsourcing & co-creating work with Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, and for the Narcana Nasal Spray campaign, on behalf of Emergent BioSolutions, which worked with former NFL star Emmitt Smith and sought to get the opioid overdose product onto college campuses across the country. For ViiV, meanwhile, GCI produced “Science on the Sofa” a campaign to prevent HIV in Black Women, while for GSK, it brought together eight influencers representative of the diverse lupus patient population to inspire lupus warriors.

— Paul Holmes / Arun Sudhaman

Backstory

In the decade since its launch, SPAG has already established itself as an industry game changer in the Asia-Pacific region — a hybrid firm operates at the crossroads of health and social impact communications and advocacy. And that expertise was further recognised when the firm was acquired by leading US independent Finn Partners in mid-2022, giving it the access to the kind of global scale and expertise that are already helping its regional growth aspirations. Finn, of course, has already been named a PRovoke Global Healthcare Agency and is one of North America’s best healthcare agencies — and adds formidable research, digital, creative and medical content expertise to SPAG/FINN existing capabilities in pharma, medtech, public health, wellness, sustainability and corporate. 

Locations

SPAG has grown beyond its three Indian offices to now operate a growing Singapore presence, along with offices in Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Greater China, adding up to 175 people in total.

Performance

SPAG/Finn grew its health practice by 18% in 2023, driven from across its geographies and underpinned by the firm’s social/digital and medical comms capabilities, along with continued expansion into health tech, employee engagement and internal comms. Key clients include Novo Nordisk, Roche, AbbVie, Abbott, Sanofi, Astra Zeneca and Janssen in pharma, along with medical tech/devices players such as GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Varian, Stryker, J&J Vision and Medika Bazaar. And SPAG Finn’s focus on healthcare policy is reflected by work for the US Chamber’s Global Innovation Policy Center and John Snow International. Over the past 12 months, there was new business from P&G Health, Medtronic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, Miltenyi Biotec, Institute of Global Tobacco Control, Bayer, Dr Reddy’s, Cooper Vision and DKSH.

People & Culture

Founders Aman and Shivani Gupta continue to oversee SPAG, supported by senior partners Priyanka Bajpai and Jason Cao in Southeast Asia and China, respectively, along with SVP Desiree Ann and India senior partner Ritika Jauhari. New hires included Sarah Rajan and Devleena De as partners in India. The firm’s employee culture benefits from a global exchange program, employee retreats, plenty of recognition and global internal training progra,s that cover digital, AI, soft skills and social media. As you would expect from a firm as culturally-focused as Finn, there are also a range of employee benefits, including flexible working programs, wellness and mental health support. 72% of the firm’s leadership is women, and it is committed to pay equity and increased diversity among its senior ranks. 

Thought Leadership & Work

There has also been a notable uplift in the firm’s thought leadership output, most notably the launch of the Health Issues India platform that focuses on policy, alongside such initiatives as the first Healthcare Changemakers Conclave, with the HEAL Foundation, and several roundtables that discussed social impact in business practices. Campaign highlights included IGTC’s tobacco-free initiative, #ReadytoSlowDown for Bayer CKD, #ProtectMyVision for Coopervision, and Connecting Healthcare for All for DKSH Healthcare. 

— Arun Sudhaman

Backstory

Virgo celebrated its 20th birthday last year, having grown from a UK medical communications specialist to one of the leading healthcare agencies in the UK, employing more than 90 healthcare specialists and working as part of Golin and the IPG network on UK, European and global business. Virgo works across the healthcare spectrum, with pharmaceutical, diagnostic and consumer health companies, industry bodies, public and private health providers as well as patient organisations. Its work in the highly-regulated sector is always research- and data-driven, but Virgo’s strength is focusing on the human factor to help people make better decisions around healthcare, whether clinicians considering the best treatment, patients understanding their disease better or empowering consumers to self-treat. Last year, it strengthened its corporate communications and global media relations practice, changed its approach to medical education and medical affairs, and launched an integrated consumer health offer with sister agency Golin, Credible Creative, which blends scientific rigour with creativity.

Locations

Virgo has owned offices in London and New York and works with the Golin and IPG network across the rest of the US, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

Performance

Under the leadership of MD Sarah Gordon, Virgo Health has delivered year-on-year strong double digit growth for the past five years and in 2023 had its most impressive bottom line to date. Over the past two years, Virgo Health has grown fee income by more than 40% on margins of 25%. The agency won over $3.5m of new business last year, with a win rate of 71%. It retained all its top clients and organic growth accounted for more than $1.5m of income. Virgo works for the likes of Specsavers, Nurofen and Reckitt Benckiser, and last year won two seven figure accounts: a global pharma and a leading medical education client in the area of influenza. 

People & Culture

Virgo is known for its inclusive, friendly ‘Being Human’ culture, but ensuring this stayed as the heart of the business as it grew rapidly was vital. In 2023, it had 77% staff retention – the highest in five years – and surveys showed 93% of the team recommend Virgo as a great place to work and 96% are happy with its hybrid work model. Virgo also introduced salary transparency for candidates and existing team members, with competencies linked to an L&D programme. As a result, 84% believe they have a well-aligned career path at Virgo, with 20% of the team promoted in 2023 and 89% intending to remain at the agency for the foreseeable future. Virgo invested in a future-fit new office and refreshed its focus on culture and belonging, engaging the team to co-create a ‘Smart Hybrid’ culture and making the office the heart of its community with regular team socials and all-agency learning days. With DEI director Nina Bhagwat, Virgo set out to improve inclusion and belonging, investing in inclusive line management and inclusive leadership with DEI specialist The Unmistakables and launching employee relationship groups for minorities. Educational events increased team confidence in discussing everything from disability at work to trans perspectives on pronouns. More than 20% of the team identifies as being part of the global majority.

Thought Leadership & Work

One of the standout campaigns of the year by Virgo Health and Golin was ‘Misheard Lyrics’ for Specsavers, shortlisted for a SABRE Award. To raise awareness of early signs of hearing loss and encourage people to get tested, the team forged a partnership between Specsavers and pop legend Rick Astley. They created a mass hearing test as part of a witty, earned-first integrated campaign that destigmatised the issue, leading to a 66% increase in hearing test bookings during the campaign. The team also worked with a major global pharma on a media training programme for 180 leaders around the world, as it launched a game-changing new drug. Other stand-out work included the ‘See my Pain’ campaign for Nurofen, highlighting the Gender Pain Gap Index report, which shows women’s pain is not taken as seriously as men’s, unveiling a free tool to help women get support, diagnosis and treatment, leveraging influencers and mounting an immersive exhibition attended by politicians, charities and journalists; the campaign drove the highest level of positive sentiment for Nurofen to date. 

— Maja Pawinska Sims

Backstory

Weber Shandwick’s own healthcare capabilities, spearheaded by Laura Schoen, are formidable, but The Weber Shandwick Collective also includes the dna communications brand, which adds a layer of scientific knowledge few others can match. Healthcare was a major contributor globally, but especially in EMEA, where it was our Healthcare Consultancy of the Year, and Asia-Pacific, where the firm was shortlisted for the same title.  Weber Shandwick has been a force across EMEA since its formation 23 years ago, but over the past two years its healthcare practice has emerged as a jewel in its regional crown, and one of the most impressive and innovative parts of the business. Last year the practice – led by EMEA healthcare president Rachael Pay – continued its reinvigorated era of integration and collaboration among The Weber Shandwick Collective (TWSC) agencies. In Asia, Weber Shandwick’s cohesive regional strategy for the past decade often means that the whole often adds up to more than the sum of its parts, with healthcare emerging as the firm’s key growth driver in recent years.

Locations

Healthcare is one of TWSC’s leading global practices. Weber Shandwick has teams of healthcare communications professionals across the EMEA region, including in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, and the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. There are more than 100 people across Weber Shandwick’s Asia-Pacific healthcare practice, with Hong Kong/Singapore serving as the biggest markets, followed by significant depth in Japan and smaller operations in China, Korea and India. 

Performance

Revenue from The Weber Shandwick Collective’s top 20 healthcare clients across EMEA was up by double digits last year – far stronger than 2022 – with particularly strong performance from Novartis and British Myers Squibb. The team of around 300 people across the region picked up new briefs from Pfizer and the WHO Foundation, which joined existing clients including Sanofi in the agency’s EMEA healthcare portfolio. Healthcare was again Weber Shandwick’s strongest-performing sector in Asia, growing 38% across the Asia-Pacific region thanks to specific expansion in China (+239%), HK/Singapore (+45%), Japan (+37%) and Korea (+10%). Much of that reflects Weber Shandwick’s ability to provide creative and strategic insight, along with counsel into such areas as data/analytics, corporate affairs, ESG and DEI.

People & Culture

In EMEA, Significant new healthcare hires in 2023 included Tess Evans as health creative director, after a career in healthcare copywriting and creative at agencies including VCCP, Havas, Ogilvy and FCB; Matt Hare-Scott, who formerly worked with healthcare clients at FleishmanHillard and Hanover, as corporate health director, and former VCCP and McCann scientific director Sara Candeias Jenkins as EVP of scientific strategy. Overall, after refreshing its approach to talent and its employee value proposition across EMEA in 2022, TWSC continued its focus on DE&I, with a new talent attraction model. In asia, key figures include Hong Kong/Singapore healthcare EVPs Robert Broad and Windcy Chan while Kaoru Nakagawa and Wei Wei head healthcare in Japan and China, respectively.

Thought Leadership & Work

Weber Shandwick’s creative capabilities remain in strong shape, reflected in a thought leadership platform that focuses on solving at the intersections, at a time when the overlap between practice areas and sectors calls for a more integrated mindset. That approach has brought particularly benefits in terms of Weber Shandwick’s work across business/society, health and brand, along with a strategy and analytics/insights practice that spans cultural relevance, ESG, change/employee management, geopolitical strategy/risk and Asian companies going global. In the healthcare space, it is particularly notable in the Women’s Health offering. In EMEA there were SABRE shortlistings for several campaigns for Sanofi, as well as work for Abbott. For the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, the integrated Hayat Organ Donation Campaign helped increase donor sign-ups by 612%. In North America, healthcare work like flu awareness for Sanofi stood out last year.

— Paul Holmes / Maja Pawinska Sims / Arun Sudhaman