Less than surprising for an agency with “360” in its name, the folks at Lanmark360 are interested in working on every part of the brand process with clients. Equally unsurprising for a group devoted to the “full circle,” the agency has found itself stretching beyond the traditional of late. Highlights of 2013 included increased spending among core clients in digital and medical education, plus the acquisition of clients in the biotechnology field. The agency is now working with disease states such as multiple sclerosis, bone regeneration, human growth hormone deficiency, nuclear cardiology, and genetic testing of saliva.
In line with that full-circle thinking, Lanmark360 has pushed the closed loop marketing angle, highlighted by its Demand360 closed loop platform offering.
“As a B-to-B healthcare agency, without violating confidential agreements, we are doing much more closed loop marketing communication programs from initial customer contact with a prospect, to lead qualification and sale,” says the agency’s CSO managing partner Michael McCarthy. “Also, smaller companies wanting to start their marketing efforts earlier [are] finding Lanmark360 to be the right-sized agency and agile enough to work within their initial budgets.”
This has done wonders to solidify Lanmark360’s finances. While the agency couldn’t relate exact numbers, it is enjoying good profitability increases year after year while maintaining its staff size. A 360-degree approach, it seems, also means dollars in the door for 365 days, without too many gaps.
“We are fortunate that we can forecast our annual performance by the end of Q3 of each year, and are happy to have clients consistently market their products throughout their entirety and continue to execute marketing programs consistently throughout the course of each year,” McCarthy says. “Our work flow has been consistent month-to-month throughout the year with no downtime—much different than 10 years ago when summers tended to get a little slow.”
Any 360-degree approach in healthcare today of course means exploring the potential—and potential challenges—of technology, and the leaders at Lanmark360 have not been shy about doing so. Tied into its Demand360 offering, the agency is employing more mobile touch points to physicians. Telemedicine education has also been gaining pace as an agency offering, helping to break down barriers for access to clients’ audiences. The acceptance of social media as a tool to carry medical news is another matter of interest. But before educating the audience, sometimes a little education of the client is necessary first.
“New technology is expensive,” McCarthy says. “Educating clients on how to properly use this technology to gain share of voice among their customers is a necessity. Budgets must be flexible enough to incorporate a healthy balance of an efficient marketing mix. Never before have we been able to get such a personalized message to our clients’ customers via a digital platform and provide immediate ROI back to our clients and have access to the metrics needed to provide a direct course of action.”
Looking forward, McCarthy is aiming for the same, but more so, from his agency. “[Our goal is] to maintain and exceed our current client expectations while also attracting more new business to diversify our portfolio,” he says. “With the ever-changing technology environment we want to keep our staff current through education and networking within the industry.”
From the July 01, 2014 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
