Among AbelsonTaylor’s numerous distinguishing characteristics, few loom as large as its longevity. While other agencies pat themselves on the back for sustaining client relationships for more than five years, AbelsonTaylor has retained clients — and members of its leadership team — for decades.
That’s why the personnel change announced last summer — in which cofounder and longtime agency leader Dale Taylor shed his president title, leaving day-to-day management of the firm in the hands of the newly promoted Jeff Berg — felt so seismic.
“For years, I’ve been proud to say all the people at the top of our organization are exactly the same, but that’s really not the case now,” Taylor says.
At the same time, he adds that most everyone at AbelsonTaylor believes that Berg is the right person to lead the company’s daily operations and help chart its future course. “Jeff is fostering positive change and has been responsible for a lot of new departments and initiatives you’re now seeing,” Taylor explains.
Berg’s appointment to the president role led to a domino effect of leadership changes. Lynnette Hunter, formerly SVP and account director, assumed Berg’s previous role as EVP, director of client services, while Jeanine Koch was elevated to EVP, project management. Overall, head count at the agency slid from 286 people at the end of 2018 to 254 at the end of 2019.
Owing to a smattering of client losses and expenses related to the agency’s investment in new office space — in Chicago’s famed Old Post Office building — AbelsonTaylor saw its revenue drop for a second consecutive year. The firm generated $45.5 million in 2019, down 17% from the $54.9 million revenue in 2018.
Much of the news on the client front was good, as AbelsonTaylor picked up assignments from Kite Pharma, Takeda and Allergan. It emerged victorious in 11 out of its 21 pitch derbies, Taylor reports, and still counts A-listers such as Amgen, Sunovion and CSL Behring among its roster mainstays.
However, the agency no longer works with Abacus Pharmaceuticals, and it took a big hit when another client ended work on a major assignment before it began. Taylor chalks up the losses to turnover among internal teams at client organizations.
“In a year when you place a big bet on moving to a new space, it’s no fun when you feel like the rug was pulled out from under you,” he says. “That made the year a lot tougher than it would have been otherwise.”
In the wake of the loss, Taylor says AbelsonTaylor “pitched like the world was about to come to an end” during the final months of 2019. And with the growing uncertainty across the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, those pitches that brought late client wins may be exactly what the agency needs to get back on track in 2020.
“That’s what you do: You go back to work and build it up again,” Taylor continues. “We’d already made the commitment for the new space, so we dug in and it paid off. We started winning a lot of pitches at the end of the year and the work is keeping us incredibly busy.”
The best marketing we saw in 2019…
The Rape Tax for the National Organization of Victim Assistance is a brilliant example of how our industry can use its talent and abilities for the power of good. It is provocative in concept, bringing awareness to an issue that few people know about — the hospital bills rape victims are forced to pay for their own sexual assault. — Dale Taylor
From the June 01, 2020 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
