At the start of the pandemic, leaders of medical marketing agencies feared that their businesses would come under intense pressure. They were right – but for a different reason than expected: Agency services were in such high demand that companies couldn’t staff up fast enough to meet it. Here’s how MM+M covered some of the year’s biggest developments.

1. Calcium accepts PE investment

Founder and chairman Steven Michaelson said in November that the agency will do what it’s always done, “but on such a bigger level.”

2. Another week, another acquisition: Fingerpaint snaps up analytics shop Engage

The deal followed Fingerpaint’s purchases of Splice Agency, MedThink and others during 2021.

3. W2O rebrands as Real Chemistry

The company, which blew by the $300 million revenue mark in an acquisition-filled 2020, fine-tuned its offering to appeal to an increasingly innovation-minded industry.

4. The Top 100 North American healthcare agencies of 2021

MM+M’s Agency 100 revenue chart painted a picture of an industry in the throes of a growth spurt, pandemic or no.

5. Lasting Impact

The pandemic led to more work helping clients reimagine healthcare communications for an altered promotional and medical landscape.

6. Klick Health tops the MM+M Agency 100

Revenue spiked 22% to an MM+M-estimated $421 million in 2020.