Havas Health CX is something of a rarity in the world of network agencies. Yes, it’s part of the gargantuan Havas Health & You family, but it goes about its business in a manner akin to an independently owned startup.
After a 2021 that saw the agency double in size — from an MM+M-estimated $7 million in 2020 revenue to an estimated $14 million in 2021 and from 50 full-timers to 95 — CX isn’t likely to be confused with an indie boutique any longer, if it ever truly was.
HH&Y global chief customer experience officer Pat Thistlethwaite, who also leads CX, acknowledges the “massive expansion.” At the same time, he describes the change as simultaneously “exciting and painful.”
CX opened its doors as a standalone brand in late 2019, just before the pandemic effectively shut down offices across the world for months. The agency thrived during the chaos, owing in large part to calls from Havas siblings that needed customer experience muscle.
As a result, it was able to bulk up at a time when most agencies could barely hold on to the talent already on hand. It scored a coup by adding former Bristol Myers Squibb VP, engagement planning and content Tara Stewart, who joined in December in the new role of managing director at CX.
“For us, it was less about the Great Resignation and more about the great opportunities,” she quips.
Other notable additions included global chief creative and design officer Jane Motz Hayes and EVP, head of data and analytics Maryann Kuzel.
On the client front, CX added engagements with Pfizer, Sanofi Genzyme, Sanofi Pasteur, NewYork-Presbyterian and Optinose. They joined AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Novartis and Florida Blue Cross and Blue Shield on the CX roster.
Thistlethwaite points to the NewYork-Presbyterian work, designed to enhance the facility’s reputation among physicians across the country, as a highlight. “The campaign came together quicker than anything I’ve seen in my career. It was an incredible effort, both in speed and quality of work,” he enthuses.
While revenue was flat in Q1, CX expects to grow before the books are closed on 2022. Not surprisingly, that has everything to do with the intensifying demand for customer experience work.
Thistlethwaite believes the best customer experience work often doesn’t come from staffers steeped in pharma, which is why the agency often imports talent from the automotive, travel and technology sectors. These individuals impart their broader expertise and CX trains them on the nuances of pharma and healthcare. Everybody wins, especially clients.
CX also anticipates growth from its new data practice, which consolidates strategy and science capabilities within the agency and significantly expands its omnichannel and product design offerings.
“If you look at the growth that the team has experienced, we don’t see that slowing down,” Stewart says. “We’re focused on what I’ll call stabilization in terms of driving consistent ways of working, which will allow us more agility as we grow across markets.”
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Work from outside pharma you admire…
Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” video, which deepfakes Kanye, Kobe and others. To support his album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, he partnered with Trey Parker’s deepfake technology company Deep Voodoo to produce a stunning visual work that tells the story of famous men through Lamar’s words and performance. It’s easy to be jealous of work that comes from Kendrick Lamar. — Thistlethwaite
From the June 01, 2022 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
