You know, sometimes the last kid to be picked for the volley ball team isn’t always the worst.
And lately, a similar thing is being said about healthcare agencies at the ad industry’s top award shows. 4A’s Partner Award has pushed healthcare agencies into the spot light. We love you, healthcare agencies! (We even liked you before you became cool.)
As Marylyn Donahue, with PharmExec.com, goes into further detail on the subject:
“While not close enough to rub elbows with the Don Drapers and Peggy Olsons of the ad world, at least they’re being invited. This wasn’t always the case.
Even just in 2013, Advertising Age asked: “Are healthcare agencies and their clients the last group in the ad world not to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (arguably the Oscars of the industry)?”
But times change. And now (drum roll, please) the titular head of the industry itself — the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA or 4A’s), a 98-year old trade association has gone a step further. They’ve added a “Health & Wellness” category to their 2016 Partner Awards.
“And with this year’s Health & Wellness category we have the opportunity to honor the collaboration between agencies and organizations that promote health and wellness. Entries can include campaigns for corporate branding, education and awareness, and OTC, lifestyle, devices and pharmaceutical products.”
It’s a big market. In 2014, healthcare agencies garnered $4.3 billion in revenue up 10.3% from the year before.
Whoa.
Marylyn goes on, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and the rebounded agencies were more innovative and more diverse than ever before. In the interim many shops had changed the dynamics of their traditional deliverables, branching out into areas that emphasized collaboration.”
Essentially, healthcare agencies are the underdog.
All-told, it made for a perfect fit for the new 4As’ Partner Awards. The brainchild of the 4As’ Chief Marketing officer Alison Fahey, the Partner Awards were intended to be a reflection of the times. “We realize there are unique challenges that occur when individuals and companies with different personalities and cultures collaborate to achieve a common goal on behalf of a client,” said Fahey. “We wanted to salute those who put their egos aside for the greater good of creating meaningful work. As evidenced by the 4As Partner Awards 2015 winners, the very act of collaborating can elevate creativity to new levels. The jury did a great job of choosing the best creative collaborations in the marketing and communications industry.”
To read more, visit the full post.
Stated before, we love you pharma, and we’re going to share some of that love. Take a look at some of the work we’ve done in the pharmaceutical industry below, and click this link to download our pharmaceutical success stats (PDF).
To enter the 2016 4A’s Partner Awards submit entries by Dec. 18, 2015. Winners will be revealed at the 4A’s Transformation Conference, March 22, 2016, in Miami, FL. For further details, please visit http://partnerawards.aaaa.org/