Euro RSCG Life MetaMax is the most global of the Havas healthcare agencies, with more than 70% of its business having an ex-US dimension. With a tradition of near-exclusive focus on promotion to healthcare professionals, the shop is playing far more on the patient/consumer side as it seeks to glean a more holistic view of the patient-physician dialogue.
“Strategically, we’ve been working towards really understanding all the stakeholders, whether that’s the patient, professional or payer,” says co-managing director Laurel Rossi, who came to MetaMax last year after selling her consumer shop, Strategy Farm, to Havas. “We’re putting more emphasis on looking at the whole relationship, the whole patient journey.”
MetaMax has added several consumer- and patient-focused accounts recently, including business from Walgreens, Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Sun Products, which makes the All, Wisk and Snuggle branded detergents. As a result, consumer/patient-facing accounts now make up about a third of their business.
The shop saw 13% revenue growth last year, and given those wins, no losses and lots of organic growth from existing clients, 2012 is looking like another double-digit gain.
MetaMax isn’t pitch-shy—the shop pitched seven accounts last year and won five—but prioritizes servicing current clients, says Rossi.
“One of the things we are really proud of is that all of our clients have gotten to their business goals for the year,” says Rossi. “And that’s really what we’ve been focusing on, is a high level of performance with our existing clients.”
Staff is up a click to 170, owing mainly to the growth of the firm’s digital strategy group.
MetaMax has collaborated with sibling Euro RSCG Life 4D on digital pitches in the past, but building up its digital capability is key to realizing the firm’s mission to be the transformation agency.
“As many companies shift from product to product-plus-platform, from pure professional focus toward a prevention focus, our point of difference is that we spend a lot of time doing research around what it’s going to take to create change,” says Rossi. “So transforming a more traditional client is something I think we’re particularly good at.”
MetaMax has also invested in building its analytics and measurement capability, aiming “not just to measure outcomes, but also ‘Were we able to change somebody’s perspective,’” says Rossi.
Notable hires include executive creative director David Garson, who joined MetaMax from imc2.
“He has a heavy digital background, and that’s been a big focus for us, so that was one of the reasons we wanted to bring David in,” says Rossi.
MetaMax also shipped in Christian Pattman from Euro RSCG Worldwide in Hong Kong , where he was director of global brands for APAC, to head global Pfizer Nutrition business, which the agency landed last year.
“There’s tremendous global resources in the network,” says Rossi, “and that makes it easier to get things done on behalf of our larger global clients, who need so much in terms of synergy, efficiency, access to research, etc. And there’s a good deal of unity in this full service environment, whether we’re looking at managed markets or medical education, professional or consumer, analytics, loyalty, you name it. Having access to everything all in one organization, everything an IM away, is fairly unique.”
From the July 01, 2012 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
