Agency 100 MM+M TV | ConcentricLife: Transforming the Modern Health Experience

Hello, my name is Larry Dobrow. I am the editor-in-chief of mmm and I’m thrilled for you to join us today for this episode of m MM+M TV. This is our new video series in which we talk with some of the honorees of the agency 100 about what makes them tick and why they’re doing as well as they are and I do the long straw today for a change I get to do concentric life with two people that I like personally admire. Professionally Ken Begasse Jennifer Brekke. Thank you so much for being here today.

Thanks for having us.

We’re excited to be here.

All right. So let’s let’s go back to the I don’t want to say the beginning because the beginning goes way back

but the unification of scout health and Concentric Health experience and how it’s come together. I believe it was March when we made it official, right?

Yeah. We I think we tied to not on it in March.

Yeah, but obviously it led up to that. I wanted to work with Jennifer for a number of years

always been a big fan of scout what they’re doing their expertise and rare and it really happened to organically. I think that

know and I think the best Partnerships, you know come together organically where

we see the world similar. So in a similar way and we see the opportunity that exists within our current clients and also clients. We aspire to be partners with

and we recognize that really combining the power of concentric and Scout, you know in more really building a new company that is really a healthcare platform that can address everything from rare to Wellness.

and the modern capability set needed for for today’s marketers was was just too good for us to

to continue to do alone and we needed to you know, kind of come together make it happen.

Well and aside from just putting two companies that were both very proud of that have been in business for two decades together. We really shared this Vision. Like let’s do something different. Let’s look at the marketplace today and respond to what the marketplace needs by building something together that can really be the modern version of that answer to the to the marketplace. And so that’s that’s what makes it exciting to work together and in that shared vision,

and I think we’re you know,

That excitement is really I think magnified by the excitement we have about working in this particular space, I think.

There’s really nothing more exciting than working in in health and wellness right now. It’s where the action is where the action is. It’s where the

the opportunity to you know, innovate and and you know invent new experiences for customers, you know, that really transcend the what they have learned Health Care has been in the past. You know, I think that’s that’s a really big big opportunity for us when we look into the marketplace. There’s

Certainly the under this we call it the swell the ground swell is the consumerism of Health and Wellness, but there’s exciting new partners and you know new contributors to help, you know, springing up across the entire Spectrum from everything from you know, really addressing the needs in the in the rare space to you know, new consumer players entering the Health Market in significant ways and and really kind of changing the way people are addressing and valuing their health. So, you know, the great aspect I think of concentric life is we’re able to bring you know that deep expertise needed in those areas, but also share from that kind of holistic point of view of, you know, transforming Health experiences from you know, everything from rare through through Wellness.

That’s one of the things when we had our first conversation about concentric life a couple of months ago, but jumped out at me was that this was something that fit it wasn’t kind of taking a couple things and kind of jamming them together in a way that wasn’t natural the perspective and the philosophical similarities between the two organizations. As this has been brought into the market and more conversations come to the company together versus you know, when it was still kind of in the I guess the engage State it’s probably the way to put it tell me how the tender of those conversations have changed. What have you heard from the marketplace that is maybe made you adjust them a little bit.

To one six shot.

So I think if you back up and think in the past decade if somebody says in their life what has been one of the biggest shifts that’s happened, obviously the pandemic and health and that focus on individual’s health. So I think we knew that we saw that coming up post pandemic a lot of the data saying people are still highly highly engaged in their health. So I think when we put it together and theoretically and our vision of how this was going to work to address that it like you said it fit now the receptivity to that answer of we’re not just talking about disease management with our our customer. We’re talking about their holistic view of their health and wellness that conversation is resonating really deeply and so I think it’s proved out that that vision is really resonating in the marketplace.

I would say, you know,

Kind of look at these things and I say so what are you know, how are we addressing the needs of our of our customers if we’re doing that? Well, then the model itself will will prove it will prove its values. Right? And when I look at the early indicators, you know, it’s like you said it’s been about six months, you know, we’ve been operating this way.

Our organic growth is off the charts that of course

is a sign that you’re doing something right?

So that’s for me. That means the things that we elevated, you know by bringing both organizations together creating deep expertise and social medcoms commercial strategy experience design Omni Channel planning those

Capability sets those offerings that we validated in our in our in our model are driving organic growth within our current client roster.

And sure the ultimate Vision with our is to help our clients build.

really favorable health and wellness experiences and you know, I look at we’ll go V which obviously

You know some people like my old Viagra days I think sells itself, right but the reality that you know, when you have a drug, that’s so trans, you know transformative and is so disruptive to a Marketplace you have to feed feed.

Feed that brand and that brand more than ever needs to kind of reimagine where it sits in the world.

And right now it’s it’s beyond obesity. It is a it is a wellness mainstream. Also mainstream it is a it is a foundational Wellness therapy that for for years will be learning through science how it supports overall wellness. And so we have to you know help marketers.

Who like like our Nova the Norris Partners, you know through our offering understand that experience is the way in when you have when you build that experience that customer experience that favorable experience you’re continuing innovating to kind of solve the customer’s problems needs. You know, your brand can take can have

A significant cultural and Commercial impact so, you know just got back from the sanofi and prevention bio launch of tzil another one that’s going another one.

I mean it’s to be able to have on both and I’m me on different spectrums right ends of the spectrums but to have both these Brands, you know that are Market defining brands that there is no playbook for these for these brands that existed.

You know, we are we are creating that and we’re creating that through experience. And so I think you know early indicators are what we did fits and it fits with our clients needs

writing that Playbook one of the things which I found fascinating about some of our earlier conversations was how the cultural piece, you know, it’s usually comes after the fact, you know, Scout and concentric did the exact opposite, you know, I believe that genuine had told us that a sister stagwell company helped on the cultural piece.

I

think that is something which any agency that’s doing something even remotely similar if they’re buying somebody if they’re merging with somebody they should be doing tell us how that came to be and what you learned from it.

Yeah. I think it was a really good first step. Like you said a lot of times it becomes a last step. Unfortunately that it was one of our very first steps is to make sure we can be culturally aligned and really have an environment where our people can Thrive and really do their best work which

Obviously translates to incredible client work. And so we met a consultant through our parent company and had the opportunity to really work closely with her and evaluating how to bring us together culturally. So we did a lot of the homework up front involved our staff in that that was very successful and then remember exact timing of when we talked about. I don’t think we had been to Florida yet. So then we brought our entire

it was like two weeks before all going on vacation.

So we brought

our education.

Yeah, it was working place. So we brought our entire organization down to Fort Lauderdale and really spent time on culture and really spent time and talking about what that means and and connection and all of that. So I think I think we we feel like we were able to Leap Frog connection so much better by physically being together and spending time and not talking about a ton of other things that we could have but really focusing in on the culture. So I think that’s been that’s been a really valuable thing for us to do and to keep doing

absolutely going back to the client piece of

Um, yeah both of you and your answers of reference the pandemic and how we’re very different place for obvious reasons that we were a couple years ago. However, the tenor of the conversations that you have with clients some how have they changed not just in that post pandemic context but also in the context of the two agencies coming together and being able to create this greater broader offering than what they had previously enjoyed you.

I mean, I think we’re you know,

Were opportunistic so we’re always seeking.

The opportunity when there’s a challenge that exists within any client at concentric life.

for us to kind of

Wrap ourselves around that challenge. So one of the key aspects of this new model is you know, again all these different capabilities and expertise wrapping around the business challenge of our clients. So what’s been really, I think I opening for some of our clients who have been working with us for a long time whether it was a scout client or concentric client. Wow, there’s a collection of really brilliant new new, you know, New Blood, you know, great minds to that are they’re being introduced to that are expanding even our clients, you know, visions and Ambitions for what they can what they how they can address that business challenge. So we’re again we’re not walking in doing capability presentations per se we’re walking in there and demonstrating the new capabilities that exist within within the organization and that has come, you know has really created a lot of new opportunities right now. We’re smacking in the middle of the number. I mean the reason why Mike’s not here today is because he’s doing that with

Our client up in Decatur. So, you know, we have a you know, 15 people up there.

Again, building an ambitious vision for a really great product out of Decatur in the rare space. So, you know that organic approach but focusing again on the business Challenge and showing them the new capabilities. That’s that’s really kind of been the secret sauce.

And I think at the end of the day post pandemic and everybody being dispersed in different places and learning how to work collectively as a team all over. I think the one one of the very unique things about concentric life is that

Our bespoke teams that we build are still all part of concentric life. They’re not bolt on really separated to take somebody from here that really is difficult from a collaboration efficiency, you know pulling the team together. So I think our clients are really responding to that saying, oh I can pull that in with my existing team augment that bring that talent in for what I need and then not necessarily use them for things that I don’t need and I think that flexibility but knowing it’s all housed Under One Roof that piece of collaboration has become extremely valuable

it started with culture if that wouldn’t existed as

It wouldn’t have been that’s effective if we didn’t focus on the culture first and then I think really importantly everyone together to also cultivate that culture in, you know in in Florida and really kind of shape it and and now people don’t think of themselves as what they were before. They think of them as concentric life.

Well, who is it? Who is the right?

Person for concentric life what are some of the traits that you have for

values would speak to that? I

yes clearly when you think about some of the agencies best performers some of the most, you know, trusted people that you work with. What are they having common? What kind of fuels them?

I would say.

First of all, I think we are fortunate. I mean we have

three of our managing directors who started off as interns at concentrate.

So they have been with us for a number of years and some of them have left and come back. We always loved the boomerangs. They come left leave and come back.

But would why they why they are successful at concentric life and why they are drivers of our business is really that that kind of internal fire of that entrepreneurial spirit. I mean they wreck they really like to be part of something where they can shape and have impact on the client’s business on individuals and on the agency and I think that is one of the

Those are the one of the that’s one of the things.

You know, we’re in our 10, you know rules of greatness when we look at that.

You know those behaviors are the behaviors that I think separate those entrepreneurial behaviors are really this behaviors that really separate.

us that in the fact that I you know

We we do have people who are jet who are sincerely say this.

Kind and generous and you know good people, you know there you could have a lot of you could be in a situation where you have really great talent, but not really great interpersonal skills and and you know, empathy and I think you know, our group is very well-rounded in that regard.

and I think

You know, there’s there are a lot of people that work in the health space that they may like the industry but it’s a job. I feel like there’s just a a pervasive passion about this category at our agency that that fuels a lot of excitement about being there because and because we do range all the way from rare through hell through Wellness, there’s a lot of different types of Health that is talked about worked on and inspiring and so I think there’s just you add this entrepreneurial spirit and this passion for the health and well Wellness space and I think that’s a somebody who thrives in that environment

and we you know,

we talk about

Like matching our talent to the talent of our clients, like what’s the best client for us?

We talked about that, you know even today we’re just

talking about we’ve done this a serious time. We look like we’re where we most successful when we build those relationships that are growing relationships over over years. They have there’s a juicy challenge. That’s that’s there. But there’s also, you know the builds of a real team aspect to it moderate, you know, and that to me is you know, trailblazing clients, you know clients that have something new and different I think, you know, we look back at well, you know, some of our biggest successes their Market defining brands

They’re not.

They’re not just roll out the same Playbook over and over again and and introduce a new product to the marketplace. They are brands that require us to go and Define their value help move a Marketplace as perspective of what that value can provide and really kind of introduce new modalities new, you know new products into you know new Solutions into marketplaces when you’re doing that. I think there’s all immediate alignment with your client. Like this is a big deal. This is not to be taking lightly. This is not just you know, hey, let’s you know put some hands in that in you know in the rap Sands or blow some DTC out. These are like these are carefully crafted experiences and Brands and they and they and there’s a there’s a real purpose behind them, you know, and I think that’s what we look for for like the best clients for concentric moving forward. It doesn’t matter again.

You know, you know it could be rare. It could be in the wellness space. It could be Health in the middle. But if they Trail blazing do they have a product and do they have a mindset that they’re going to be, you know, blazing a new a new Trail in the marketplace

mindset is key too because you could have the product and not have the mindset and sometimes of the mindset not the product but usually I think we find it’s more of the the really the partnership aspect and I think some agencies really do marketing for a product versus we’re really a commercialization partner. Like we’re in there really strategizing on all the things that can just mention that is sort of Market defining steps that need to be taken those critical strategies that need to be fleshed out and brought to Market. So that’s the exciting part when you find Partnerships like that

and I have to think having those all-encompassing assignments. They got to be a lot of fun, right? You know, you’re not just going in and all right. We’re gonna do little here a little there, you know, you go in you get your hands dirty and you build those types of integrated assignments. I assume those are the things

That you know make you excited to get up in the morning to start working.

Yeah, I you know, I think that’s where we do our best work. And when we were looking at the formation of concentric life we had that in mind, right we had the client that we certainly you know, would love to continue to partner with that. We would add to a family of amazing clients and we had the people you know that we knew and the type of people that we knew needed to be the drivers of the platform But ultimately it was about going in and helping clients create this integrated experience right this whole listing Health experience and and really help them break down some of the silos that exist in their own organizations through strategic leadership and so our ability to work with, you know, early commercial products with our commercialization strategy team and then bring that bridge that to medcoms and bridge that to you know, traditional brand development.

And in you know, then ultimately into creating a holistic experience that’s engaging customers and moving their behaviors through their Journey. That’s kind of the whole reason why we did what we did. It’s the most rewarding sometimes when you when it’s when you’re only playing a piece of it you’re you could see the gaps.

Yeah,

you know, you could see the gaps in and in the customer experience and it must

be frustrated. You can’t do anything about it. Right

and it’s often friends rushing for the client if the client is silent like that too and their own organization. So trying to help bridge that across is a really important role we play and you know, being the commercialization partner for many clients over the years and now collectively together. I mean, I think our average 10 year of our clients is like five seven years. I mean, I mean we stick with them a long time through this commercialization process as can set a lot of them really early on that early commercialization strategy piece.

All the way through to the brand development.

Yeah, and I think again when you go back to the model the model is built to be able to move with a client through that through that process right recognize that there’s gonna be heavier emphasis in certain areas, but when we move we can move, you know with a agility with them, you know as they continue to to kind of evolve and their needs evolve but let’s maintains what’s maintained is the, you know, the Strategic foundation and obviously the relationships

You’re Building.

Yeah

actually leads in nicely to my last question. It’s the crystal ball question. We’re having this conversation again for the 2024 agency 100. What do you hope to be telling me? What do you expect to be telling me?

well, I’m

I I I’m like I said, I’m never been more excited to be sitting in the seat to be.

Provided with the opportunity with some amazing breakthrough Brands and some amazing clients to help us, you know build rewarding experience for their customers. I think you’re gonna see concentric and you know 2024

Have a very successful 23 which you know, we’re well on our way. I think you’ll see continued expansion.

Of these kind of deep, you know modern expertise, you know in a deepening of those modern expertise. I think you’ll see continued growth in the data in analytics capability at concentric life which will fuel again us to our ability to create these seamless learning experiences for our clients Brands.

How about a nap from where you’re suggestion?

Yeah, I think agreed with everything. Ken said we’re set up for a great 2023 and Well on our way in that and I think by next year, you’ll start to hear our clients saying wow, I really see how this model brought things that I didn’t even necessarily think I was missing. For instance. I’m a rare disease client and I was very focused on the disease management, but now I’m looking holistically at that patient and everything, it needs from health and wellness perspective and they brought that to me and I didn’t necessarily even see that Gap, but now I see how it’s all tying together and then across, you know health and wellness that

The filling in all of the things that our model is able to help them do I think we’ll solve problems that sometimes the clients may not even realize there were gaps there and they will be very pleased at how that’s all come together in a really collaborative environment that is hard to find.

And that’s the way you’re building these long-lasting relationships by yourself solving problems before they manifest themselves.

Yes.

All right.

We have one bonus question here because this is m Eminem TV.

Yes

for both of you. And I think this the answers have been largely informed by children who take over the car radio. What was last? What was the last song that both of you heard?

Oh Cruel Summer Taylor Swift. I had a 12 year old 14 year old girls. That is my entire world right now.

Wow, that’s a great question.

And I you know, I I don’t know if it’s an actual song, but I’ll tell you the the station. I’m addicted to the Doobie Brothers radio.

You know, what’s great, you get the best of Yacht Rock, but you also get that kind of 70

record. I pick Taylor Swift and he picked up the record

the camera the camera documents everything here.

You know, I like music that always brings me back to a time and a place and

There’s a lot of good memories in the 70s 80s.

Hey Michael, McDonald still out there on the road singing those songs.

I mean, he’s got a voice of an Angel, you know.

He’s just amazing.

Really Swift

different Generations Jennifer Ken. This was absolute Delight. Let’s do it again. Next year. Can we get yes done. All right for mmm TV. I’m Larry dobrow many. Thanks and be well.