Category sponsored by Publicis Health
Gold
Elevate Healthcare
With revenue of $10.2 million and growth of 42%, this full-service agency continues to be a healthcare dynamo, with a client list that includes rare-disease pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices.
Its positioning as the “champion of challenger brands” became even more relevant in 2021, as healthcare companies continue to fight their way through industry upheavals. It promises to help clients find new ways to compete, overcoming assumptions, perceptions, complacency, ignorance and, sometimes, even themselves. The agency prepares them for life in the jungle and how to avoid being someone else’s lunch.
“Elevate is continuously bringing new perspectives to our brands, and the way they think about our business makes us push ourselves out of our comfort zone to think differently,” says Brian Peters, Medexus Pharma. “The Elevate team stretches our thinking and is always presenting something new.”
Exceptional work in 2021 includes brand and campaign launches for DePuy Synthes, Mycovia, Shield, Eyevance, Biofrontera and LivaNova.
It expanded its practice areas, adding customer experience to facilitate the design, documentation and implementation of omnichannel customer experiences. Derick Sumrall joined as the new division’s practice lead, with Bernadette Pitts signing on as VP, client engagement.
With 25 new hires, it now has 55 full-time staffers. And it promoted eight of them to new positions.
To stay competitive in hiring and retention, it’s moved to new office space, meticulously designed to accommodate every mix of remote, hybrid and full-time occupancy. It added mental-health initiatives at multiple levels, prioritizing self-care and career development.
Silver
Decode Advertising
With a 2021 growth rate of 162%, Decode Advertising morphed from a local digital boutique into an agency dedicated to the white space, finding the moment to reach people when they are most primed for genuine engagement. That shows in its work for vaccines for St. Luke’s Health, branding for Hike the Good Hike and heart month at the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health. All of these campaigns impressed the judges and had them interested to see where Decode goes next.
