M e d i c i n e A ve 2 WPP OmnicomGroup Inc. I I A\#A C ■ ■# I f f U W O R L D W I D E successful initial public offering (IPO) in 1997 as Healthworld (now Ogilvy Healthworld, part of WPP). Over 130 healthcare agencies are currently listed in the MM&M Agency Guide. More than 25 new agencies were created during the 1990s. These included Medical Broadcasting (now Digitas Health), Dudnyk, Kane & Finkel, Pace, Pacific Communications, Palio, Regan Campbell Ward, Sandler & Recht, Williams Labadie, and Wishbone. Over 44 new agencies have been created since 2000, including Cadient, Centron, EuroRSCG Life, Juice Pharma, and The Cement Works. It is interesting to note that the majority of new independent agencies created during this period were not named after the agency owner or owners, as had been the practice in the past. On the client side, mega-mergers were driven by a need to consolidate, provide cost reductions, ensure product pipeline, or improve therapeutic coverage and market reach. Well-known client names (and often long established client/agency relationships) like Beecham, Wellcome, Upjohn, Ciba-Geigy, Sandoz and Searle disappeared and were replaced by names like Novartis, Aventis and GSK. (see chart on facing page) As part of industry efforts at cost reduction, many pharmaceutical companies introduced a fee or cost negotiating process, often called a procurement division, into their agency relationships. This client initiative placed a new focus on the costs and subsequent charges involved in advertising development. A new challenge for agency management and creative staff emerged: to produce a highly creative product through the most cost-efficient process possible. The advertising examples in this book reflect the success many achieved in meeting this challenge. 88
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