Dive Brief:
- In a competition against Wavemaker and Starcom, Omnicom Media Group agency Hearts & Science has been selected to be Amgen Limited's media agency of record, according to a report in Adweek.
- Hearts & Science will handle the direct-to-consumer media account, while SSCG Media Group, part of the Omnicom Health Group, will retain the healthcare professional business.
- Amgen began the process in October 2017 of looking for a new agency to handle all of its media and branding across the U.S. This is the first review of its advertising partners since 2003.
Dive Insight:
As pricing pressures increase within the healthcare sector, effective and targeted marketing both to patients and to physicians becomes increasingly important. Data will be a growing factor in decision-making, both on the agencies to choose and the placement of the media advertising.
In an email to BioPharma Dive, Isabelle Gauvry, director of public relations of the New York-based Omnicom Media Group confirmed that Hearts & Science had been awarded the Amgen direct-to-consumer media account, in a decision that followed a comprehensive and competitive review.
"Critical factors in [the] decision included [Hearts & Science's] data-driven approach, expanding the media mix beyond traditional channels, more efficient targeting [and] new and innovative approach and capabilities," Gauvry said in the email.
She added that the Omnicom sister agency SSCG retained the healthcare professional business, "based on strong performance to date and potential of future partnership with Hearts & Science."
Amgen declined to comment on the contract.
Hearts & Science has offices worldwide, and its U.K. clients include Yakult and the Alzheimer's Society. Amgen's previous direct-to-consumer agency was MEC (now part of Wavemaker), which has been in place since 2003. Amgen's measured media spend was almost $241 million in 2017, and could increase to $350 million in 2018, according to Adweek.