JuiceJuice Pharma Worldwide rounded the 100-employee mark last year (current headcount is 115), and revenue was up 12%. Retaining the agency’s culture and ensuring everyone is aligned with its vision and core values has been a priority. “Our vision and core values haven’t changed, but we needed to formalize them better and create instruments to communicate them throughout the agency,” says Lynn Macrone, managing partner and executive creative director.
“Our mission is to become the most revered pharma agency on the planet,” says Lois Moran, president and CEO. “We use it as a guidepost [to determine if our actions are] in the service of becoming the most revered. If clients have the special Juice experience and we’re partners with them, ultimately, we’ll become revered.”
Wins last year included AOR status for Pfizer’s Tanezumab (pain) and professional and patient-facing interactive work for its hemophilia franchise (Xyntha, ReFacto AF and BeneFIX). Merck awarded Afluria (flu vaccine) and global AOR assignments for Saflutan (glaucoma).
The agency picked up some other accolades, including a “Perfect Partner Award” from its network Worldwide Partners. And, after being nominated by Pfizer, Moran and Macrone were honored with an “Enterprising Women of the Year Award” this past March.
Space in the New York office was expanded to accommodate continuing growth. There are currently 10-15 open positions, and Macrone says it’s still challenging to find good people. New hires have included EVPs Colleen Katzman (2009) and Laurence Richards (2010). Last August, the agency also gained satellite office space in Munich and London via its Worldwide Partners network.
Moran and Marcone are becoming “more radical” in thinking, and they see Juice as an “idea partner” more than as an agency. Moran adds that Juice strives to be a “magnet and not a megaphone,” in terms of promotion and communication. Critical thinking is also a constant goal, and programs are highly focused on achieving measurable business results for clients.
Macrone notes that pharma mergers have required Juice to “re-earn trust” and ensure the agency stays “hyper-relevant” to changing teams. “Getting the agency in line with our vision was instrumental in helping clients be comfortable with Juice amid all the industry changes,” she adds.
Macrone says digital is no longer optional, noting that it’s a major part of the mix for every assignment. “We talk about fostering an engagement revolution for brands—orchestrating total engagement,” she says. “Digital is obviously an excellent medium for that.”
Moran calls biotherapeutics “the new way in pharmacology,” noting a new business model for physicians will result. “There’s going to be resistance and education needed for doctors to feel comfortable in this new biotherapeutics model,” she explains. “We’re going to have to guide them along.”
The agency is on course for growth this year. In April Pfizer awarded AOR status for Tasocitinib (multiple indications). Macrone and Moran will continue to challenge themselves and their team to be “intellectually daring” for clients. “We’re head-to-head against ‘business as usual,’” Moran says. “Our clients don’t want business as usual. They know things are changing and they want to be part of it.”
From the July 01, 2010 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
