Chandler Chicco Companies

Position 1 Fees £10,642k Growth 11%

Gained new clients Hall

Once again Chandler Chicco Companies reigned supreme at the summit of the healthcare league tables. ‘We came into 2009 off the back of another year of significant growth in 2008,’ says European MD Fiona Hall. ‘It was a busy year, but a really positive one. We won some new clients and hung on to all of our existing clients.’ With this kind of performance, leading to a growth of 11 per cent, it is no surprise that Hall says there were no real low points for the agency in 2009.

New faces joining the Chandler Chicco team included Caroline Maddock, who joined from Cohn & Wolfe, and Karine Jegard, who came from Hill & Knowlton. There were also some key internal promotions for Neil Beasley, who became MD of the Biosector 2 division, and Kelly Teasdale, to MD at Ingenda division.

In terms of account wins, Hall points to the agency’s Allidura consumer healthcare division winning a campaign for smoothie maker Innocent. ‘It’s a really cool, funky brand and a great opportunity for the team,’ she says.

Big campaigns included Windows for Health for Pfizer, a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis of glaucoma, and work for Litmus’ Women for Positive Action in HIV, a partnership that promotes care and equality for women living with the condition.

While some healthcare agencies have reported a degree of nervousness among clients when it comes to social media, Hall says clients were asking what Chandler Chicco could do in this area in 2009. ‘In the pharmaceutical world, there were some reservations but there is a desire to understand it better.’ Despite the economic situation in 2009, Hall, who has worked through three recessions, says: ‘Health tends to be the last sector to be affected and the first to return.’

2009 AT A GLANCE

High points of 2009
Evolving the business model, driven by the needs of clients, and creating opportunities for staff.
Seeing parts of the business come into their own.

Low points of 2009
There were none.

Virgo Health

Position 6 Fees £4,100k Growth 17%

Big account wins Wiles

Virgo Health co-MD Angie Wiles says 2009 was one of the agency’s best years to date, as demonstrated by its impressive growth figures. ‘2008 was a tougher year for the healthcare industry as a whole,’ she says, pointing to an unexpected government renegotiation of PPRS, the percentage of profit the pharmaceutical industry gives back to the Government. ‘The Government renegotiated three years into a five-year deal and that sent shock waves through the industry.’

Off the back of this and in anticipation of a difficult 2009, Virgo ramped up the pitching early in the year, and Wiles said this led to some very fruitful business. ‘We won some really big accounts early on,’ she says. These included the global business for cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix and the UK and Europe launch of weight-loss drug Alli.

Just as crucial was the agency’s organic growth of existing clients. ‘We put on almost £1m of organic growth,’ says Wiles. ‘That represents a real show of confidence and belief in what we are doing for’

The agency hired 14 new people in 2009, including Paul Archer from WPP medical education shop Darwin Grey, and Rebecca Rhodes from Cohn & Wolfe.

A disappointment for Wiles in 2009 was the industry’s fear of embracing digital and social media. ‘We wrote a couple of articles and blogs about it, and wanted it to have made an impact. But clients are using regulations as an excuse not to further explore what they can do.

‘There are a few that have put their toes in, but a lot are incredibly nervous.’ She adds that Virgo has ‘invested a lot’ in digital and social media, and is hoping clients will become more confident.

‘Healthcare is always behind consumer on things such as this,’ she acknowledges.

2009 AT A GLANCE

High points of 2009
Exciting hires such as Archer and Rhodes which enhanced the team.

Low points of 2009
Having to work harder to make the same amount of money.

Say Communications

Position 20 Fees £816k Growth 25%

Specific recruits Rucci

Say Communications joint MD and head of health Stefi Rucci says 2009 was a ‘successful’ year for the agency, and its growth in fee income of 25 per cent compared with 2008 reflects this view. The agency also celebrated its 25th birthday. ‘It was a strange year, people continued to spend but in a different way,’ she says. ‘The briefs from some existing clients changed, there was a preference for more cost-effective products and an emphasis on ROI.’

Despite this change in emphasis, Say was able to keep all its clients in 2009, as well as add new ones. Rucci says the NHS was a good source of business with several foundation trusts coming on board. Even with the looming public sector spending cuts, Rucci is confident Say has a portfolio in place to ride out the storm. ‘It will have an impact, but we do not tend to offer the tactical aspects, as the NHS always feels it can do that in-house. Our relationship with some of the foundation trusts is at a senior level, offering strategic advice, and we believe this kind of business will continue.’

Rucci says the organic growth the agency managed in 2009, developing existing clients, was key to Say’s success.

She points to an account with Aptamil, an infant nutrition company, as a key example. ‘We traditionally had a medical education brief with the firm, but it handed us the consumer outreach work. That was the case with many clients last year.’

The agency recruited several new team members in 2009, including Elizabeth Shearing-Green, who joined from Cohn & Wolfe as an account director. ‘We recruited to specific needs, such as medical writing, which was an area we needed to enhance,’ says Rucci.

Looking ahead, Rucci hopes the agency will retain and add to its mixture of pharmaceutical, functional foods and NHS clients.

2009 AT A GLANCE

High points of 2009
Growing existing clients organically and bringing in new clients, and celebrating Say’s 25th birthday.

Low points of 2009
Coming second on a couple of pitches ‘which we knew we should have won’.