It’s not exactly news that Razorfish has a health practice, but the digital agency, which was acquired by Publicis last year, is making it official with the launch of Razorfish Health, an “independent, dedicated” health and wellness agency.
The shop will be headquartered in Philadelphia and headed by general manager Katy Thorbahn, who led the Seattle-based firm’s Philly shop.
“My job is to expand the brand so that we have a physical footprint in places outside of Philly,” said Thorbahn. Razorfish Health services clients in New York, Chicago and San Francisco through the offices of sibling shops, but the plan is to have dedicated digs elsewhere. “We’re looking at global markets as well,” said Thorbahn.
She sees Razorfish Health and Digitas Health as “sister” shops. “We all believe that there’s room in the marketplace for another strong digital-centric agency,” said Thorbahn. “But we’re going to appeal to different clients. Digitas Health is historically very pharma-focused. Razorfish Health has the opportunity to play to a broader mix of clients, including payors, OTC and wellness brands.”
Once strictly a consumer shop, Razorfish Health is moving into promotion to healthcare professionals, which now comprises almost a third of the shop’s work. “There’s a lot of growth opportunities on the professional side with the decline of the sales force,” said Thorbahn. “There’s a lot of questions being asked about how physicians want their information.”
Razorfish chief Bob Lord said in a statement: “For more than 13 years, Katy’s team has been building relationships with health clients, and it’s now time to take our next step with the launch of this brand.”
The shop also unveiled a redesigned website, at razorfishhealth.com, featuring “The Health Conversation,” a social tool that pulls in content from Twitter and Digg based on health categories every ten minutes, illustrating trending topics.
From the April 01, 2010 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
