Asked to articulate what distinguishes his firm’s approach from those of his agency-world peers, Healthcare Success CEO Stewart Gandolf is quick with a response. “Almost everything we currently do is about driving new patient inquiries,” he says.
As far as areas of specialization go, it’s a good one for this particular moment. While Healthcare Success also runs its share of programs designed to influence HCP decision-making, lead generation for physicians — ones working at small practices and within larger hospital systems alike — is the agency’s bread and butter.
It proved a solid proposition during 2019. Healthcare Success saw its revenue increase nearly 15%, from $8.2 million to $9.4 million. Staff size remained relatively static, nudging upward from 23 full-timers at the end of 2018 to 24 at the end of 2019.
Gandolf believes his company is on the cusp of more significant change, noting it is likely to push past the $10 million revenue milestone in 2020. “Up to that point, the CEO drives just about everything,” he explains. “Around that point, it just becomes too much.”
Anticipating the potential additional demands on his time and resources, Gandolf moved to bulk up the agency’s executive suite during 2019. Additions included strategic adviser Darlene Dobry (who arrived from Ogilvy Health), client accounts director Melissa Martinez (from Anderson Marketing) and managing director Robert Miller (from BPD Advertising).
“This is the beginning of the executive team transformation,” Gandolf says, adding that Dobry made her presence felt immediately. “She helped me recruit a new executive team to manage our growth.”
On that front, Healthcare Success added a wealth of hospital systems and medical practices to its client roster last year, including Thrive Medical Management, Eye Specialists of Louisiana, Dekalb Vein Center, Gateway Rehab, and Stepping Stones Therapy and Learning Academy. It also added assignments from Becton Dickinson Life Sciences, Verdi Oncology and Certis Oncology Solutions. The agency no longer works with Trinidad & Tobago IVF, The Hernried Center of Medical Weight Loss and Simmons Plastic Surgery. At the end of 2019, it counted 57 clients on its roster, all but one of which were AOR engagements.
As for the rest of 2020 and beyond, Gandolf expects Healthcare Success to push forward with its growth strategy even amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. “The biggest thing for 2020 is not only to survive — which we will — but to be ready when the marketplace reopens,” he says.
Along those lines, Gandolf and his new executive team have been brainstorming ways to retool for whatever comes next, which will likely include the development of a new corporate website.
“All these people I brought in over the last couple of months will be featured during the next year,” he promises. “They’re all people who have scaled the ladder at high-growth agencies before.”
The best marketing we saw in 2019…
I like the Kaiser Thrive campaign because it focuses on health, not sickness. It was groundbreaking initially, but now just feels relevant to the growing trend of consumerism in healthcare. — Stewart Gandolf
From the June 01, 2020 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
