After a 2021 in which revenue surged by 36%, Precisioneffect hit the new-business brakes during the first six months of 2022 in order to do some self-scouting.
“A lot of what we focused on was creating a foundation for team members and for the business overall,” explains EVP, managing director Lauren Westberg. “We wanted to have a more holistic perspective that would help us solve clients’ business challenges, not just their marketing challenges.”
That new-business intermission was fortuitously timed, given the brief wake of the Great Resignation. “We weren’t immune to that,” Westberg admits. “We saw a number of boomerang folks leave, thinking the grass might be greener. We had to be thoughtful in retaining our stars and making choices that would make sense in the long term.”
To that end, Precisioneffect conducted an internal survey designed to get a better sense of employee struggles as the country exited the pandemic. The unsurprising result: People are looking for more flexibility.
“They want to be able to manage their time and be with their families,” notes chief creative officer Deborah Lotterman. “So for us, it’s now about providing extraordinary communications and flexibility, and giving people the authority to manage that.”
The agency exited 2022 with the same number of full-timers, 250, that it had at the year’s outset.
Given the deliberate retrenchment effort, it’s not a shock that Precisioneffect saw revenue dip in 2022. The company generated $52.2 million during the year, down nearly 13% from its take of $59.8 million in 2021. Its client roster includes BiolineRx, Ferring GI and Exact Sciences.
In a bid to boost its omnichannel capabilities, the agency hired John Fitzpatrick, formerly a GM for Precisioneffect in the U.K., as its SVP of omnichannel.
“We have found that omnichannel work requires a different level of expertise,” Westberg says, adding that it is now “woven into the fabric of who we are, rather than just a bolt-on service offering.” That offering was developed in part through parent company Precision Value & Health’s acquisition of Across Health and its Navigator365 platform back in 2021.
Other staff additions included VP, group account director Preethi Navalur and a trio of VPs, client services (Staci Bullock, Elizabeth Grund and Gennyfer Santel).
Looking down the road, Lotterman says she thinks MLR reviews will become even more crucial as marketers look
to deliver messaging across disparate channels. “We want to deliver to the spirit and letter of the FDA,” she stresses. “But that’s going to require thinking differently and creating new systems and processes.”
This prospect hasn’t intimidated Precisioneffect’s clients — at least not yet, anyway.
“There’s much more of an openness among the companies we work with,” Westberg notes. “Instead of saying, ‘Here’s what I’ve budgeted,’ they’re asking us, ‘How should I spend this money?’ There’s a real eagerness to pursue new opportunities.”
. . .
Our marketing role model…
The team at OpenAI. It hasn’t been marketed in the traditional sense, but ChatGPT has become a cultural flashpoint, covered by every major news outlet and on the lips of countless influencers. It has achieved one of the most sought-after objectives of branding: It’s known to everyone (though the last two letters are frequently transposed). While the concept of AI has been around for ages, ChatGPT has managed to grab perceptual leadership in a matter of months. We are speechless — but that’s a problem ChatGPT can solve. — Lotterman
Click here to see Precisioneffect’s Agency 100 2022 Profile.
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From the June 01, 2023 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
